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Author Topic: Sears Supertone parlor guitar  (Read 11061 times)

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nixpix

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Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« on: February 21, 2006, 08:39:19 AM »
So I went to a local music store yesterday to educate myself in archtops. But a fine little guitar caught my eye and when I played it, man was it a revelatation! I need your opinion on this instrument. The label inside was from "Sears, Roebuck, & Co." The store has it labeled as a Supertone (see attached photo for similar looking guitar). The sales guy said it was from the 1920's.  It is a very nice guitar, with star inlays, tortoise binding, and an interesting bridge shaped like an airplane. The sales guy said guitar makers did that in honor of the 1st transatlantic flight. This was the first quality latter-braced guitar I've played and I was impressed. The volume on this parlor sized sucker is high! I was even drowning out a jazz guitar player on the other side of the room playing out of an amplifier!

Here's the thing: the price is $2500, which I think is steep. What do you all think? It seems that all these ladder-braced guitars have basically the same sound. Can I find a similar sound and feel (with nice wide neck, etc) for considerably less? If so, tell me where and how much I can expect to pay. I've forgetten about the archtops for now ;)

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Offline GhostRider

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #1 on: February 21, 2006, 09:45:37 AM »
Hi:

That price is outrageous. Ladder braced parlors can be had for less than $200 on ebay. I've seen real Stellas in good condition go for less than $800.

I have a couple (of ladder-braced parlours) myself and I really like them. All mine under $300.

Alex
« Last Edit: February 21, 2006, 09:51:24 AM by Pyrochlore »

Offline Slack

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #2 on: February 21, 2006, 09:48:17 AM »
You might email Todd Cambio at Frauilini.com -- he knows a lot about old parlor guitars and can give you a good idea of the value.  $2,500s sound way too high to me...

Offline Bunker Hill

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2006, 10:46:37 AM »
This may raise a smile. I own a 1970 Gunn publishing facsimile of a Sears catalogue for Fall 1900. In there it lists six guitars of their own make; The Troubadour, Encore, Oakwood, Marlowe, Kenmore and Gypsy. Prices range from $2.50 to $9.50 (which was probably a fortune then) but the best part is that any, or all, could be had on five days free trial, "upon receipt of a dollar"!

[Oh yes and a limited quantity of genuine Stradivarius violins, especially imported from Europe, were a mere $7.85 each].

The mind boggles....

Orb Mellon

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2006, 01:37:19 PM »
That price is too high. Neil Harpe sells Stellas in excellent repair for less than that. I got a 1935 Cromwell (i.e. ladder braced Gibson L-00) from a high end vintage shop in Philadelphia for $1200. It was in excellent condition and set up perfectly. I accepted a couple of hundred dollar or so premium to get a guitar that was in perfect, historically correct working condition.

Point being, for ladder braced guitars, which sound great IMHO, $2500 should get you a dead mint 80 year old instrument.  I doubt this guitar can be "like new." Anyway, if it was, you probably wouldn't want it anyway.

Also, Ladder braced guitars DO NOT all sound the same.

There are lots of ways to go, but I'm a big fan of Vintage Instruments, a store in Philadelphia. That is where I got my Cromwell. They have tons of vintage instruments (go figure) and are  very knowledgeable (Owner, Fred Oster even does stints on Antiques Roadshow). Their website is vintage-instruments.com I believe.

Offline uncle bud

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2006, 03:07:24 PM »
As others have said, sounds way too high, even if it is fancy. I'd estimate you can figure on paying $500 to $1000 for a basic parlor, more if it gets into fancier models or the most coveted Stella models. Check Todd Cambio's site at www.fraulini.com. Vintage Instruments as Orb says is also good to check, www.vintage-instruments.com. Another place with a similar web address is good to check as well: www.vintageinstruments.com (no hyphen). www.bernunzio.com is another place to try. And Neil Harpe's site at www.stellaguitars.com.

While you can still get some deals on ebay, there are some risks. E.g., all the above dealers are very reputable and can tell you the exact condition of the guitar and any work that might be needed or has been done - ebay sellers, who knows. What if that $800 Stella needs a neck reset and fretwork? Another chunk of change. Still, there are some good deals to be had, as Alex mentions.

Offline Cambio

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2006, 03:08:37 AM »
Guitars were made to commemorate Charles Lindbergh's 1927 trans Atlantic flight, but this wasn't one of them.  Those guitars have distinctively airplane shaped bridges.  This guitar seems to have a pyramid, or flattened pyramid bridge and it looks older than a 1927 model.  Here's a link to a commemorative Lindbergh uke:
http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Museum/Ukulele/Harmony/JMarvin/jmarvin.html
The guitars were similar to the uke.  That the sales person was claiming that this guitar was a commemorative Lindbergh guitar says one of two things; he didn't know what he was talking about or he was misrepresenting the instrument.  Neither scenario bodes well for the sales person.
What's it worth?  Well, guitars (like everything else in the world) are worth what people will pay for them.  It certainly looks like a very nice instrument.  It probably has Brazilian rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard and bridge.  The inlays and the purfling show that a skilled craftsman made it but you'd be hard pressed to fetch $2500 in re-sale.   Sears guitars aren't really in high demand, so the price does seem high.  I usually recommend Supertone guitars to people because they are often great instruments that can usually be had for a good price. But not in this case.
For the sake of argument though, contrast this guitar with a Stella "decalomania", a guitar which is the epitome of cutting corners.  Flat sawn birch, poplar neck, pearwood fingerboard and bridge and instead of real inlays, decals.  These guitars, which were mass produced and are not exceptionally rare, are fetching $1250 and up.  Why?  Because they are hot right now and people are paying it.
$2500 will buy you a whole lot of guitar, but you don't need to spend nearly that much to get a good one.  I recommend buying from reputable dealers and paying the difference in order to get something that is in good repair.  One thing to keep in mind if you're buying an older parlor or ladder braced guitar is the gage of string it will take.  Many of the old ladder braced guitars are very lightly built and won't sustain light gage steel strings, they should be strung with extra lights or silk and steel.  This isn't a bad thing, some people really like silk and steel (Mike Seeger plays a little oak parlor with silk and steel and loves it), but you may have your own preference.

Offline frankie

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2006, 06:55:36 AM »
Neither scenario bodes well for the sales person.

Well, the original poster did say that the photo was of a similar-looking guitar.  I took that to mean that it might not necessarily be the exact guitar in question, but had some similar qualities (the binding, ferinstance).  Regardless, $2,500 is too much for a guitar like that, imho.

edited to add:  in retrospect, it still doesn't bode too well for the seller...  not because s/he was being untruthful, rather because s/he is going to fleece you!  Or maybe s/he got fleeced already and is looking to spread the love...

nixpix

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2006, 03:32:52 PM »
Advice is well taken. I apologize if I wasn't clear: the guitar is similar to the one pictured, but not the same one. The one in question has the same bridge that Cambio posted: it looked like the bridge was Brazillian Rosewood. The back and sides, I'm not sure about. The sales guy said it was rosewood, but it was light colored - lighter than my mahogany backed Martin. I really don't think he knew a whole lot about these guitars. It is not in pristing condition: it's been played, but not abused. I noted two diamond shaped pieces of wood inside apparently used to repair a crack in the back some years ago.

Since I am a player and don't have a collector's bank account, I'd like something with the same sound. If possible I like the ornamentation on it and would wait for a comporable model, but if it dramatically increases the price I'll stick to the simpler model. So, what makers are recommended for sound, quality, and value?

Offline Slack

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2006, 05:56:29 PM »
Quote
So, what makers are recommended for sound, quality, and value?

Check Todd's site fraulini.com  -- he rebuilds old parlors as well as makes new, some great Stella copies.  His rebuilt, ladder braced parlors are generally between $500 and $1000 - definately a players budget.  He may have an inventory of un-rebuilt old parlors from which you could choose - email him.

Offline frankie

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2006, 09:01:56 PM »
Check Todd's site fraulini.com  -- he rebuilds old parlors as well as makes new, some great Stella copies.

Seconded - nixpix, if you were even remotely considering dropping $2,500 on that guitar, you should explore getting a new guitar from Todd.  $2,500 would get you a seriously whiz-bang guitar from him, plus

1.  you'd have him behind all the work in the event there was ever anything that needed doing to the instrument
2.  your money would directly to the guy building the guitar, not to someone benefitting from the real or imagined cachet of a Sears Supertone

The base price of a Fraulini Loretta is $1500 - likely a very similar body style to the Supertone you saw... you could probably order one from Todd with brazilian b/s and extra-fancy binding and still come out under $2,500...  food for thought...

nixpix

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2006, 09:17:16 AM »
I will contact Todd. I'm not able to spend anywhere near the $2500 they were asking. I was totally surprised! I thought they'd say $1200 or $1500 (mind you, I'm not good at pricing these things), and even then that's out of my price range at the moment. So an old one that's been rebuilt I think is the way to go for me...for now.

Offline Buzz

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Re: Sears Supertone parlor guitar
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2006, 02:05:33 PM »
IMHO: Ditto Frank and Slack--> Go to Todd Cambio's site, and talk with Todd.

I am proud Poppa of one of his restored parlor Stella knock-offs. (See posting under Guitfiddles etc) Beautifully restored, plays great, I am still in love with her. For $800-$1000. , you too could be one very happy Poppa ;)

Buzz (cyotegulch...Miller)
Do good, be nice, eat well, smile, treat the ladies well, and ignore all news reports--which  can't be believed anyway,

Buzz

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