The first chord played on it (after 30-40 years?..) was alive and ringing. Very musical, very impressive. This instrument wanted to be played again. It continues to be one of the better pre-war herringbones we have heard, played, or had the privilege of working on. It was truly an honor to work on.
Restoration notes:
Every possible care was taken to ensure and maintain in every detail the originality of this instrument. Fortunately almost all of this guitar was in the case. The top, all of the bracing, the bass side, and the neck are all 100% original. After carefully re-assembling it we found that the only wood missing was a few small pieces of the back and the treble side ( less than a 1/3 oz of material). Those small pieces, located on the treble side, and at the tailblock on the back, were replaced with wood from another era-appropriate parts donor instrument. The bass side side has no damage, cracks, or repairs. The pick guard is from a donor '37. The original bridge plate was still glued on under some added patches. It remains in place with its original glue joint (did not need to remove or replace the bridge plate). The top finish was only touched up where it had been removed for the giant pickguard. No other finish was added or removed from the top in any other area. Some of the herringbone is from a few small donor pieces generously given by Wayne Henderson from an era-appropriate instrument. It is a perfect match, so likely from the same batch of herringbone as the original.
The action is currently 3/32" - 2.5/32" at the 12th fret with .012" of neck relief. This is a killer guitar!!
Before
