Smakula Fretted Instruments, new, old, Vintage, unusual and better.

Smakula

Fretted

Instruments

304-636-6710

Guitars, contact us...

Page Updated 4-9-08

Guitars

1968 Martin D-28-S. Yes it is a Brazilian rosewood guitar, yes it is in excellent condition, and yes it is available. We purchased this rare guitar from the second owner. She had owned it since 1972 and hardly played it. Being a 12 fret neck slotted peghead guitar, the 1 7/8" neck was a little too big for her to handle, so there it sat in the closet for 20 plus years. Currently the guitar is going through it's 38 year maintenance which includes a neck reset, fresh frets, bridge reglue and a pickguard replacement. We also plan to install new Waverly tuners, as they look better than the pearloid button Schallers that replaced the originals. This is one more fine Brazilian D-28 added to our current collection. Call for the expected completion date. EC, OHC, Call

1949 Martin D-28. This is a wonderful post-war Brazilian rosewood Martin guitar that was professionally refinished here at SFI. Though I hate to refinish instruments, when I purchased this guitar it had been finished with Deft- a slightly soft polyurethane available at most hardware stores. I couldn't help but want to replace that hazy blue finish with a good looking nitro-cellulose lacquer. This guitar looks really good and has a great Bluegrass sound. Included in the restoration was a neck reset, a new Martin ebony fretboard with fresh frets, Waverly tuners, and a fossil ivory nut & saddle. Go ahead, play that bluegrass G-run, we don't mind. EC, HC; $7,000

1987 Martin D-28. The cornerstone of the Martin guitar line. With Indian rosewood back and sides and a Sitka spruce top this D-28 has all the bass and punch you need for your bluegrass band. It's 20 years old but the only evidence that it is a used guitar is some finish checking on the top and a strap button that you would install anyway. EC, OHC $1,300

1998 Martin 000-17 Custom. This custom shop Martin guitar has several features that are not found on catalog guitars. The Style 17 mahogany scalloped braced top gives this guitar warmth not found on spruce top instruments. The bridge is made of ebony and has the through saddle. The neck as a little wider that most, measuring 1 13/16" at the nut. In homage to some of the style 17 guitars from the 1930's and 1940's, the peghead is capped with a tortoise celluloid overlay. Last, the tuners are Waverly's. It doesn't get any nicer than this. EC+, OHC $1,900

1921 Martin 00-28, Herringbone. This is the sweetest sounding guitar in the shop. The finish appears all original with the exception of maybe the neck. The ebony fretboard has the subtle slotted diamonds at the 5th, 7th and 9th frets and the guitar retains the original bar frets. The top, as well as sporting the herringbone marquetry around the edge, has a tortoise celluloid pickguard. Unfortunately the pyramid bridge has been replaced. The only blemishes are a professionally repaired crunch on the top in the area you would place your arm when you play and some washboarding on the top near the fretboard. All in all very nice condition. Oh, Yes.... It is a Brazilian rosewood guitar. VG+, Calton case with a Small Dog case cover; $9,500

1999 Collings C10 Camper. If you are looking for a modern interpretation of an L-00 from the 1930's, this instrument should be one to consider. Collings made only a few of this model, so here is the description to familiarize yourself with this great guitar. Mahogany back and sides, spruce top, mahogany neck, ebony fretboard & bridge, and Waverly Tuners. The body is close in shape to the vintage L-00. The lower bout is 14 1/2", the upper bout is 10 1/8". The body depth at the neck is 3 3/8" and increases to 4 1/8" at the endpin. The neck is 1 3/4" at the nut and is shaped in a medium profile, (not too big, not too small) and is graced with a squared headstock. The sound is big with plenty of bass. If you want a modern small guitar, you will not be disappointed with this one. EC+++, OHC, $2,900

1948 Gibson L-7P, Cutaway. This guitar has been played and well cared for. The all original sunburst finish doesn't look a bit like it is 57 years old. No issues here, though I wonder if the tuners have been changed to single ring Klusons. The original McCarty pickup is a single coil pickup mounted with tone and volume knobs on the pickguard. No extra holes drilled in the top. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard is inlaid with the double parallelogram inlays. It also has a recent refret by SFI. Smooth sound, EC, HC; $4,600

1961 Gibson J-50. This guitar had belonged to a local Randolph county musician from 1964 to 2000 when we bought it. Unfortunately the owner had taken the guitar to a local guitar builder for a bridge replacement. And for some unknown reason, the guitar builder installed a new Martin bridge. When it was sold to us in 2000, we replaced the incorrect bridge (which had fallen off) with a proper Brazilian rosewood reverse belly bridge and touched up the finish around the bridge area. Enough of the bad news. This guitar sounds and plays great! Sure it has it's share of dings, nicks , scratches and pickwear, but no cracks. The frets are fresh as well as the bone nut and saddle. And no, we haven't hat this guitar sitting around since the year 2000. It was purchased and then recently traded back to us as part payment on a 1940's Southern Jumbo. VG, HC; $1,950

1935 National Style 1 Tricone Round neck Resonator Guitar. Wow, we had one of these last year and it's unfathomable that we have another of these rare original round neck tricone Nationals for sale. Still has the original cones and other parts including tuners with slightly different engraving on each plate. It does have one issue; a rather odd repair to the back of the neck in the first fret area. Quite solid, as it has been strung at tension and not played for more than 20 years, but the price reflects this non-original detail. VG+, with nice original hard case, $5,500

1980 Guild D-35. A nice natural spruce top guitar wit mahogany back and sides. With a recent refret and neck reset in our shop, it plays and sounds great. EC-, OHC $850

1952 Kay K-1 Cutaway Archtop. This is as nice a Kay acoustic guitar as they ever built. The 17 3/16" wide cutaway body is made with laminated curly maple back and sides and has a solid carved spruce top with F holes. The neck is slightly big and made of solid hard maple. The Brazilian rosewood fretboard is inlaid with slightly large cream colored celluloid dots. Finished in a red sunburst, this guitar has the look and has a sound that is significantly better that other Kay guitars of this vintage. Sure, a guitar this old will need a few replacement parts. The tuners are now modern 3 on a plate Kluson reproductions, the tailpiece is a replacement, the new ebony bridge is compensated & adjustable, and the frets are new since the original owner wore the frets to nothing. EC-, with the original brown SSC, $650

1950's Vega C-56. This is a nice F hole arch top with a 16 5/8" body. The attractive sunburst finish is what you expect from the era. The guitar was professionally played in the Columbus, Ohio area from the 50's through the 1970's. We refretted this guitar and gave it a good cleaning. At some point, the guitar had been dropped and the sides and neck block split through the heel of the guitar. It has been repaired. Not invisibly, but certainly solidly. The tone is right on. Comes with the excellent original brown hard case. VG, $1,200

1967 Harmony Rocket. There are 2 D'Armond pickups on this thinline hollowbody guitar. It has a dark red sunburst finish and an original white cardboard case that screams "Let's go bowling after practice". Get it, plug it in, and relive your garage band days. EC, OSC $425

New Cort Earth 200GC, 00 size, solid cedar top, mahogany back and sides, GB, $350

New Cort Earth Pack, dreadnaught, solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, GB $200

Guide to Abbreviations and Physical Condition;

New; An instrument that came to us from the manufacturer. It has never been owned by a consumer and has it's full warrantee.

Mint; As the instrument came from the factory. No blemishes at all

Near mint; Almost as it came from the factory

EC; Excellent condition, a very clean instrument that has a few minor blemishes

VG; Very Good Condition, reasonable wear for its age.

GC; Good Condition; plenty of player wear.

Plus or minus indicates the condition is half a grade better or worse.

HC; Price includes a Hard case, either made of laminated wood or ABS plastic. Hard cases offer the most protection for your instrument. The disadvantage is they are heavy.

OHC; Original Hard Case, the hard case purchased with the instrument when it was new.

SC; Softcase, refers to a chipboard (stiff cardboard) case,

OSC; The chipboard case sold with the instrument when new.

GB; Gigbag, a padded cloth bag. Usually with shoulder straps.

Shipping

We ship most of our instruments via UPS, as FedEx no longer will insure musical instruments. Cost to ship a mandolin is $15 to $25. Cost to ship a guitar is $15 to $50. The cost of insurance is extra. We will be happy to quote before shipping.

Small goods like banjo heads and other parts cost $5 per order for Priority Mail shipping in the US no matter what the order size. Out of the USA shipments will be quoted before they are shipped.

To Order
Please call us at 304-636-6710. As payment we accept checks and MasterCard and Visa.

Email; Occasionally a customer will let us know that the "Contact Us" button will not work on their computer. If you have that problem, please use smakula<at>meer<dot>net You will have to change the <at> and <dot> to @ and .