Supro 1936 Hawaiian 6-String Lap Steel

Think back to the first time you heard of TikTok; it seems like a new thing right? Well when this Lap Steel was made, the electric guitar pickup was even newer technology than that!

When most of major instrument companies came out with Lap Steels in 1935, most had metal bodies. By 1936, most had switched to a solid wood design, and this was Supro’s first model; simply called the “Hawaiian Guitar”! This early version features a carved edge around the top, which later versions did not. When I first got it, I found a chart that allowed me to date the stamped serial number on top of the headstock (which I read as B1047) to 1936, though I cannot find that chart anymore.

This 6-string has seen some use over its 90 years in existence, but it still sings just fine! The paint is peeling in many place and there are many scuffs and scratches throughout the body. There are some visible separations of the wings from the body and the headstock, but they seem to be unmoving and still holding on strong. The evaluation of my luthier was that they were best left alone considering the state of the paint/finish on the body. It would be very difficult to do anything about the separations without peeling off more paint and doing more harm than good, especially considering the instrument is still structurally sound! The nut and saddle were replaced with bone before I got the instrument about 10 years ago, in what looked like a recent repair.

About 5 years ago I had a minor repair done to the original screw-on amphenol connector for the output jack, it was spinning endlessly and cutting out, and my luthier was able to fix it easily without replacing any parts. While he had it open, he also recharged the two large cube magnets in the pickup since they had lost some power over the 85 years since it was made. It improved the sound quite a bit, though I would still describe the pickup as having “low output“.

Currently strung for E7 tuning.

An amphenol screw-on to 1/4 female adapter is included with the instrument. No case or bag included.