"Hollowbody of Mystery" Unknown Brand Vintage Hollowbody - Restored by Keith Holland Guitars
This guitar is a mystery wrapped up in an enigma surrounded by piles of questions.
It is our job at Keith Holland Guitars to figure out the exacting and minute details of a guitar's make, model and specifications. We've searched long and hard on this one and, despite all our Sherlock-Holmsing, we cannot identify this one. We suspect it may have origins in Chicago - alongside the likes of Kay, Airline, and Silvertone - but we are certainly guessing. For all we know, this guitar could be from an Eastern European maker, or perhaps a set-neck hollowbody of early Japanese production.
All we really know about it is that it is Cool with a capital C and we have never ever seen another one in the wild.
This enigma arrived in a sad state, with unplayable action, a sagging top, and with decades of accumulated crud, dust, and tarnish. We rolled up our sleeves and got to deconstruction, reconstruction, and restoration. Our luthier Ron LaFrance successfully corrected the sagging top and reglued the loose internal braces. Our master tech Jaxson Cottrell replaned the neck and refretted it with some generous fretwire, and also cleaned and rewired the electronics. Robert Witmeyer gave the body and chromed covers a deep clean while retaining the funk, made the executive decision to strip the chipped and cracked finish from the neck for maximum playability, and completely rebuilt the existing tuning machines. With the addition of some appropriate control knobs, a truss rod cover where there was none, and some "tone felts" to reduce the rattling of the original pickguard, this guitar was resurrected from the trash heap and now resides amongst our Jazz Box collection in our illustrious Woodshed.
Make us an offer on this labor-of-love and it could be yours. Find another one of these. I dare you.
Should you require any additional photos of this guitar, please reach out to us on Reverb, directly at the shop. or via e-mail at [email protected].
Laminate Mahogany Body
Checkered Rope Purfling on Top
Bound Top, Back, & Fingerboard
Top Braces Re-Glued
Tone Posts Installed to alleviate top sink
Maple Neck, Finish Removed from Reverse
Unknown Fretboard Material, possibly Cedar
*Note* The fingerboard was originally lacquered over and was stripped when we re-planed and refret the neck.*
"D" Neck Profile
Refretted with 19x 6150 Frets
2x Original Single Coil Pickups (heavily microphonic, but functional)
Individual Pickup Selector Switches
Original 3-On-A-Plate Tuning Machines
Adjustable Wood Bridge
Trapeze Tailpiece
Original Pickguard braced with "Tone Felt"
2 Volume Controls, 1 Master Volume Control, Knobs from Unknown Instrument
Aftermarket Truss Rod Cover for Non-Adjustable Truss Rod Access
24.5" Scale
12" Radius
1 3/4" Nut Width
This guitar is in Good Restored condition, showing signs of careful players grade restoration and many years of wear and careless storage. The structural restoration included regluing of the top brages and installing tone posts to alleviate the previously sunken top. The finish is thoroughly checked, though it has been buffed as effectively as possible to a satin/semi-gloss sheen. The finish has been completely removed from the reverse of the neck. The fingerboard has been replaned and refretted with 6150 fretwire. All metal components have been cleaned, included the original tuning machines. This guitar has original pickups and selector switches; the potentiometer harness has been upgraded to modern components. This guitar is being sold AS-IS. Should you require more photos of this instrument, please reach out to us via Reverb or directly at the shop.
USED & RESTORED
$799
408-395-0767
It is our job at Keith Holland Guitars to figure out the exacting and minute details of a guitar's make, model and specifications. We've searched long and hard on this one and, despite all our Sherlock-Holmsing, we cannot identify this one. We suspect it may have origins in Chicago - alongside the likes of Kay, Airline, and Silvertone - but we are certainly guessing. For all we know, this guitar could be from an Eastern European maker, or perhaps a set-neck hollowbody of early Japanese production.
All we really know about it is that it is Cool with a capital C and we have never ever seen another one in the wild.
This enigma arrived in a sad state, with unplayable action, a sagging top, and with decades of accumulated crud, dust, and tarnish. We rolled up our sleeves and got to deconstruction, reconstruction, and restoration. Our luthier Ron LaFrance successfully corrected the sagging top and reglued the loose internal braces. Our master tech Jaxson Cottrell replaned the neck and refretted it with some generous fretwire, and also cleaned and rewired the electronics. Robert Witmeyer gave the body and chromed covers a deep clean while retaining the funk, made the executive decision to strip the chipped and cracked finish from the neck for maximum playability, and completely rebuilt the existing tuning machines. With the addition of some appropriate control knobs, a truss rod cover where there was none, and some "tone felts" to reduce the rattling of the original pickguard, this guitar was resurrected from the trash heap and now resides amongst our Jazz Box collection in our illustrious Woodshed.
Make us an offer on this labor-of-love and it could be yours. Find another one of these. I dare you.
Should you require any additional photos of this guitar, please reach out to us on Reverb, directly at the shop. or via e-mail at [email protected].
Laminate Mahogany Body
Checkered Rope Purfling on Top
Bound Top, Back, & Fingerboard
Top Braces Re-Glued
Tone Posts Installed to alleviate top sink
Maple Neck, Finish Removed from Reverse
Unknown Fretboard Material, possibly Cedar
*Note* The fingerboard was originally lacquered over and was stripped when we re-planed and refret the neck.*
"D" Neck Profile
Refretted with 19x 6150 Frets
2x Original Single Coil Pickups (heavily microphonic, but functional)
Individual Pickup Selector Switches
Original 3-On-A-Plate Tuning Machines
Adjustable Wood Bridge
Trapeze Tailpiece
Original Pickguard braced with "Tone Felt"
2 Volume Controls, 1 Master Volume Control, Knobs from Unknown Instrument
Aftermarket Truss Rod Cover for Non-Adjustable Truss Rod Access
24.5" Scale
12" Radius
1 3/4" Nut Width
This guitar is in Good Restored condition, showing signs of careful players grade restoration and many years of wear and careless storage. The structural restoration included regluing of the top brages and installing tone posts to alleviate the previously sunken top. The finish is thoroughly checked, though it has been buffed as effectively as possible to a satin/semi-gloss sheen. The finish has been completely removed from the reverse of the neck. The fingerboard has been replaned and refretted with 6150 fretwire. All metal components have been cleaned, included the original tuning machines. This guitar has original pickups and selector switches; the potentiometer harness has been upgraded to modern components. This guitar is being sold AS-IS. Should you require more photos of this instrument, please reach out to us via Reverb or directly at the shop.
USED & RESTORED
$799
408-395-0767