![airline acoustic guitar serial numbers airline acoustic guitar serial numbers](https://jedistar.com/images/Mar2020/1961_Airline_guitar_back.jpg)
- #AIRLINE ACOUSTIC GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBER#
- #AIRLINE ACOUSTIC GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SOFTWARE#
Just reading that Washburn guitars was founded in Chicago as one of the lines for Lyon & Healy (as the plot thickens). Notice also no fret dot on the 3rd fret and only single dots.
#AIRLINE ACOUSTIC GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SOFTWARE#
Is there a better picture of the headstock? I've been zooming in and using editing software to be able to make out what appears to be letters, but it's like looking at those prints you stare at and it becomes the starship Enterprise. I don't think this guitar is that old to be a Regal archtop from the 30's. The Regals used as examples are flat tops with round sound holes.
![airline acoustic guitar serial numbers airline acoustic guitar serial numbers](https://vintageguitarblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/dscf5370.jpg)
I still say that tortoise shell pickguard was added on. Sovereign then ceased as a brand, but Harmony continued using it on a model line of Harmony guitars.
![airline acoustic guitar serial numbers airline acoustic guitar serial numbers](https://guitarpoint.de/app/uploads/products/1965-airline-barney-kessel/1965-Airline-Barney-Kessel-7.jpg)
In the late 30's, Harmony purchased several trade names from the Schmidt Company, including Sovereign and Stella. They have some people there that are very good at identifying old acoustic guitars. You may want to check on the Unofficial Martin Guitar board. It could be worth a couple of hundred dollars at best if someone is looking for that guitar to fill a hole in a collection, but it looks like a plain, no name guitar that's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I've seen similar looking guitars in "antique" shops (more like junk shops) that were found in an attic or basement while cleaning out an old house. Whoever owned that guitar, it looks like they enjoyed playing it by the wear on the fretboard. The pickguard on that guitar doesn't look original to me, but I'm not an expert. The Airline had that plain squared off headstock as opposed to more decorative headstocks made by the other brands. I agree it looks like an old Harmony, Stella, or Kay guitar who made guitars for Sears under the Silvertone brand, but it looks very similar to an Airline brand that was made for Montgomery Ward by Harmony, Kay, and Valco. I know it's a longshot, since this forum is mostly about electrics, but appreciate any insight you all can give me. If it may be worth more, I'd point him to to request an appraisal, but that will cost him $35. I'd like to make sure it's not something more significant, or else he should be asking for more than that. I said that even as a no-name, the original parts (especially the bridge and bakelite pickguard) would bring good money on eBay, and that a "sum of the parts" to me says the guitar is worth at least $200. I forgot to get a picture of the butt end of the guitar, but the trapeze tail is the two-prong style, not coming together in one piece.Īpart from identifying it, he wants to know what it's worth. Binding is intact and not overly cracked, and all the parts look to be original. The guitar is in great shape, though it has a pretty good bow in the neck (nothing that would affect acoustic/chord playing, but you wouldn't want it for solos). There are no markings I can find, either on the outside or inside, though I didn't have a mirror to check under the top. I told him I'd take a look at it (to see if it was something special) and turns out it is a no-brand model, but has (to me) all the hallmarks of a 1940's era box.
#AIRLINE ACOUSTIC GUITAR SERIAL NUMBERS SERIAL NUMBER#
For example, after 1969, it’s unlikely your guitar would have a label saying it was made overseas, but you might have a seven-digit serial number that could tell that story.I know a guy prepping his parents house for an estate sale and he has an old acoustic archtop guitar. Norlin acquired CMI and moved all of the production of Epiphone to Japan and subsequently to Korea.ĭuring each of these transitions, there were also changes made to how the instruments were labeled, which is part of the reason why the serial number identification process is so confusing. As they already owned Gibson, this merge brought the two powerful brand names under one umbrella.
![airline acoustic guitar serial numbers airline acoustic guitar serial numbers](https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--sL6pATaf--/a_exif,c_limit,e_unsharp_mask:80,f_auto,fl_progressive,g_south,h_620,q_90,w_620/v1417735853/qztvr9rggz04hji3aus8.jpg)
In 1957, the Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) acquired Epiphone. They grew in popularity and by the 1950’s, became Gibson’s main rival. In the 1930’s, they switched up their business model and began producing high-end guitars, and became the only manufacturer to successfully make the transition. To understand the significance of the Epiphone serial number, we first need to look at how their company historyintertwines with that of Gibson.Įpiphone started as a family business in 1873 as a luxury banjo manufacturer.