1920s Tenor Regal

[JeffD]

Droool worthy guitar. It sold before I could even get nervous.

[Verne Andru]

Very sweet. What did it sell for?

[ambrosepottie]

That model is 2 down from the top for these Regal tenors. Above is the rosewood model, below are several spruce/mahogany models, followed by spruce/birch and all birch which was the last model introduced I believe. There are also custom shop models. Mine is one model down from this, with less ornamentation, but basically the same. I've also had an all birch model. Lovely guitars.

[MdJ]

I also own one of these - fiddleback (cuban?) mahogany back and sides, inlayed (aftermarket ?) tortoise pick guard - mine was played really hard before i got it, fretboard divots and a few back cracks that needed cleating. Soooo lightly built and so wonderfully forgiving to play.....these are really unique and special instruments - one of the benchmark designs for a small body tenor guitar, and the build quality of the higher end models is equal to that of the vegas, martins, ss stewarts, and gibsons of the pre-war period.

Hard to find cases for tho- due to unusual length of the narrow body- i splurged and bought a martin terz size case for mine that cost 2/3 the price of the instrument....

Best
MdJ

[ambrosepottie]

The Martin terz case is a good fit? I've checked out a few hard cases including the one designed for the small Taylors, and yes the longer body width of the Regal was an issue. I have the original chipboard case and a so-so gig bag designed for kids classical guitars, but would love to get a reasonable hard case.

[Seonachan]

I searched high and low for a case for mine but didn't come up with anything very satisfactory. I was told that the "Baby Martin" cases weren't a great fit (not that I was anxious to spend over $200 on it). I wound up getting a case meant for a Puerto Rican cuatro, but it's not ideal. The case is a little too wide and long in the body cavity, so I'm going to put some cloth-covered foam in to secure it. It's also not the sturdiest of cases. But it's better than a gig bag and about $150 cheaper than the Baby Martin.

[MdJ]

This case fits my regal pretty well - the greater body depth of the martin 5-14 terz requires some padding under the back of the instrument (T-shirt) but a pretty tight fit. It is a heavy bugger and not cheap....

http://www.elderly.com/accessories/n...-GCMA-MINI.htm



All the best,

MdJ

[BradKlein]

I think the professional model Regal tenors are exceptionally nice instruments, and the original hardshell case pictured here shows how highly regarded they were back in the day. About the 'cutest' little guitar case ever made, in my humble opinion! (remember, it's less than a yard long!)



An advantage of finding one in that's been stored in its case, is the vividly bright colored binding around the edges, sound hole and back stripe. Most have faded, but a really bright example made me appreciate how flashy they were new!

Lot's of nice photos here at the Retrofret site but you really only get the full effect of the binding colors in person.

[Seonachan]

Sorry, when I wrote "Baby Martin" I meant the Martin Mini case linked above. Getting my diminutive labels mixed up!

[MdJ]

Dear seonchan,

Here is a pic of my regal in its martin terz case - its about a B+ fit, IMHO .... Length of body fit is spot on, neck support is very good (with a thrice folded tshirt below) about 3/8" play around the sides of the body, not perfect but i have never padded the sides and 3+ yrs i have never had a problem.

The quality of this case is impeccable - off the charts, the padding, stoutness of construction and hardware actually make it a fantastic value at 215.00..... But i would have been perfectly happy with lower grade 'Canadian' style / golden gate/ gator case if i had been able to find a fit. The stoutness adds quite bit of weight (which seems to be typical for martin cases) which would probably be good if i was doing a lot of long distance music related travel but i do not - and it feels like overkill sometimes....

All the best,

MdJ

[Verne Andru]

Would any of these work?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-me...e=UTF8&index=1
http://elderly.com/accessories/items/GCEV-PARLOR.htm

[MdJ]

Dear Verne,

These look nice - in my limited experience the critical dimension for the regals is the 16 1/2" body length. Which immediately excluded all the bari uke hard cases i could find. If either of these cases satisfied that criteria i would have gone for it and relied on secondary padding to deal with any width / depth fit issues....

Best

MdJ

[Verne Andru]

Thanks - I'm waiting on an Ibanez tenor and it looks to be close to these Regals with 14 frets to the body instead of 12. The Tric case is meant for the Seagull parlour guitar, so I thought it might be close.

[michaeloceanmoon]

Hi it seems this is an older thread, but I'm grateful for the tip on the Martin Terz case, thank you. I love my Regal. It's spruce and birch but really just a super instrument.

I'm also curious, how did the Ibanez turn out? I've been looking at the Ibanez AV1NT myself. Thanks

[Verne Andru]

Not sure who you're asking about the Ibanez, but since this thread I got a minty 60's Harmony Monterey. I've still not been able to physically fondle an Ibanez, but the Kala's I've tried didn't impress.

[Roman Pekar]

I see that this is an old thread, but from your experience - is it hard to find one of those Regals? How often they're showing on ebay or in stores? I'd really love to have one

[BradKlein]

I think that the very high grade Regals are pretty thin on the ground. Those are the ones with the gorgeous figured mahogany or rosewood backs and sides, and pearl logo. But the plainer birch models show up on ebay now and then.

[Roman Pekar]

thanks, BradKlein, this is what I expected
do you know estimate prices on those at the moment? Just to know what to expect if I'll see one

[BradKlein]

I'm no expert on prices, but I would expect the birch models to start at a couple hundred and the top of the line curly mahogany or rosewood models in fine condition w case to go up over $1000.

[Roman Pekar]

Thanks, I've put an ad on classifieds, let's see if somebody has one for sale

[MdJ]

Musurgia and jake at antebellum instruments seem to have regal tenors now and then... And both seem to cultivate a clientele who appreciate them.

Happy hunting

MdJ

[Roman Pekar]

Thanks, MdJ, I'll email them to get more info on current situation on Regals

[MdJ]

Thanks, MdJ, I'll email them to get more info on current situation on Regals

Btw - i ran across this today



possibly not the the model you are looking for... All birch, friction tuners - structurally sound - pretty with the sunburst and decals...

Send me a private message if you are interested - i will connect you with the seller.

Best

MdJ

[Roman Pekar]

Thanks MdJ, PM sent

I wonder, does somebody from the cafe have a nice video of Regal Tenor in action? I've found a couple on youtube, but all of these more like a demo and quite short.

Roman

[ambrosepottie]

I've haven't seen a Regal in a performance setting on Youtube. Jake, at Antebellum has very good recordings of a number of Regals. Very accurate representation of how they sound. Jake also uses DGBE and GDAE, as well as CGDA tuning in some of the recordings.