B&J Serenader c 1930 | $875 | (v 2118) B&J (Beugeieisen & Jacobson) of New York was a jobber of musical instruments made by others (Harmony, Regal, Kay) and distributed and sold under its own brand. The Serenader appears in various forms, such as tenor, resonator, uke and six-string. This particular example is a round-hole arch top, and was likely made by Regal. It sports the Serenader brand on the head stock and inside the sound hole. The round-hole arch top with twelve frets and a slotted head stock has always been an intriguing guitar combination to us; they have their own sound. This example is in scary-clean, original condition. It's a 'catalog' guitar ..i.e. mass-market.. for sure, but is cleanly built from quality materials.
The back and sides are made from an attractive bookmatched set of solid mahogany. The top is spruce, pressed into the arch shape, and supported by several lateral braces. And in true 'catalog' guitar form, the bindings are white paint. The back is constructed like a flat top, with only the longitudinal arch typically seen on that style. The neck appears to be poplar, and the finger board maple painted black with four pearl position markers. The head stock is painted black and sports the romanticized B&J decal in full color. The raised pick guard appears to be black plastic. The bridge is maple painted black. The tuners are original, and still retain their 'as-new' shine.
The body measures 14 1/8" across the lower bout. Scale length is 25". The finger board is 1 13/16" across at the nut, and string spacing at the bridge is 1 5/16". The neck is carved in a typical 'V' of the era. The guitar is in remarkable original condition but for a missing end pin. There is some paint wear on the finger board in the first position, and a few nicks here and there, but otherwise pretty pristine.
The neck was reset, and the frets leveled and dressed.
Round hole arch tops like this are fun to play with the short scale, and have a unique sound. They are usually pretty choked but have a nice ring in the mids, and can come alive when using a thumb pick to drive the top a bit.
Comes with its original Geib soft case, also in excellent condition.
Check out the sound clip!
The back and sides are made from an attractive bookmatched set of solid mahogany. The top is spruce, pressed into the arch shape, and supported by several lateral braces. And in true 'catalog' guitar form, the bindings are white paint. The back is constructed like a flat top, with only the longitudinal arch typically seen on that style. The neck appears to be poplar, and the finger board maple painted black with four pearl position markers. The head stock is painted black and sports the romanticized B&J decal in full color. The raised pick guard appears to be black plastic. The bridge is maple painted black. The tuners are original, and still retain their 'as-new' shine.
The body measures 14 1/8" across the lower bout. Scale length is 25". The finger board is 1 13/16" across at the nut, and string spacing at the bridge is 1 5/16". The neck is carved in a typical 'V' of the era. The guitar is in remarkable original condition but for a missing end pin. There is some paint wear on the finger board in the first position, and a few nicks here and there, but otherwise pretty pristine.
The neck was reset, and the frets leveled and dressed.
Round hole arch tops like this are fun to play with the short scale, and have a unique sound. They are usually pretty choked but have a nice ring in the mids, and can come alive when using a thumb pick to drive the top a bit.
Comes with its original Geib soft case, also in excellent condition.
Check out the sound clip!