I mentioned this mandolin in the thread about the Martin for $6,000 plus dollars in the regual thread about wishful thinking on ebay by sellers. I just did it as a comparison in price as this was $380 and it is rosewood as well. Jim Garber sleuthed out the ebay listing and various people had a chortle over the concept of a "Regal Custom" instrument and thought $380 was somewhat pricey for an old Regal. However, as others have mentioned, and also in George Carlin's Regal book, a number of custom Regal instruments are featured- so it is for real, not the imagination of the seller and the label states "Regal Custom Built."
Anyway, the mandolin arrived this morning and after three hours of cleaning and tweakingt, it plays well and sounds good- and I am sure it will get a lot better but I am more than happy with its tone. The mandolin has an action of 1.5mm under the G strings. The neck is straight and the frets are perfect.
There was a suggestion that the " antique" part of the mandolin was the strings and that they were original. Well, you never know...the mandolin is virtually ding free and the headstock shows none of the usual scratches and marks made by string ends and heavy-handed string changes. The tuners are "patent applied for" Klusons from the late 30s- all the buttons are perfect- most unusual for this vintage and no bent button posts. The instrument tunes well and seems to hold tune. The binding on the body is not celluloid- it is wood- quite attractive, too. The finish is not massively cracked- it is really good and virtually unmarked. The carved top is not deformed- neither is the back which I assume must be pressed. The body is all solid rosewood as is the board. The board is quite wide- I think the nut is 1 & 3/16 inches wide- possibly 1 & 1/4- it feels really good to play. It has a really good compensated BRW bridge which I assume is original.
Here are the negatives- there is a tiny bit of the BRW veneer missing off the headstock. There is a very small crack where the hole in the side holds the pickguard bracket. The guard has gone while there is a small amount of binding missing from the end and one side of the board. I hope to get those two elements fixed/made. Good news is that it fits a nice 1930s G & S hard case I have, like a glove. I do have a soft spot for two-point mandolins- my first flatback was a Japanese copy of the Gibson A5. I wonder if this model inspired Gibson at all- it has that wider board? I see no sings of repairs but there appears to be a dowel through the neck block- that may be original- it may signify a neck reset, I am not sure- I will ask The Man. He knows I am after a pickguard- my super cheap Wards Regal sports the same shaped item but in black- that is somewhere in customs at present and will emerge whenever the bureaucracy has finished grinding.
All-in-all, I am very happy with it- I was concerned I might find something untoward but apart from dirt- as mentioned in the listing it is in very good order. I have a feeling I have uploaded the same photo twice in this little lot!
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