Finish: Lacquer, tobacco burst Body Material: Presumably Birch plywood with veneer, top has the appearance of spruce, might even be a solid top but it's difficult to tell being that the edges around the inside of the F holes are painted black .
Neck Material: Hard to say, probably Birch or Maple, Nice Rosewood fingerboard.
Neck Profile: Thick V
Fingerboard Radius: Flat
Scale Length: 25"
Nut Width: About 1 11/16"
Hardware: Original tailpiece, Kluson Deluxe tuning machines, Rosewood floating bridge may not be original
Case: Nope
Repairs/Modifications: Nothing is apparent, this guitar seems to have made it this far without any even sustaining a single noticeable crack. Pretty impressive.
Neck Details: Neck looks pretty straight with a very subtle forward bow, which is pretty ideal considering the lack of a truss rod.
Action: About .120" all the way across, measured at the 12th fret, pretty reasonable
Fret Wear: Fret wear is pretty minimal, slightly noticeable wear from individual strings on the lowest few frets.
General Cosmetic Condition: Well, it's very apparent that this guitar has definitely been played a good amount. Plenty of finish scratches and small dings all across every surface of the instrument culminate into a really cool patina of age, giving this guitar a real authentic 'heavy relic" sort of appeal. Also the lacquer has checked in most places. Just look at the wear to the back of the neck if you are looking for an indicator of how many tunes have been strummed on this fine instrument. Having said that, there's nothing wrong with a guitar that has seen some years, and this one has held up exceptionally well despite the wear.
You are looking at a significantly rare American made pre-war archtop guitar. From what I have been able gather from the limited amount of information available on the seemingly New York based Orpheum company, it seems most likely that this guitar was built for the Orpheum brand in the 30's by the fine folks over at the Kay instrument factory in Chicago.
It's a nice player with great volume and and an admirable patina of history about it. Structurally, it is in really good shape despite all the wear, and I have done my best to price it fairly based on the cosmetic condition. Let me know if you have any questions. Below is an excerpt of information I was able to locate which gives some history on the Orpheum brand;
"ORPHEUM: Instruments previously manufactured in Chicago, IL during the 1930s and 1940s, in Japan during the 1960s, and in Asia, between 2001 and 2006. Instruments Distributed by William L. Lange Company of New York, NY, and by C. Bruno & Son until 1942. Distributed by Maurice Lipsky Music Company, Inc., of New York, NY between 1944 and the early 1970s, by Tacoma Guitars between 2001 and 2004 and by Fender Musical Instruments Corporation between 2005 and 2006. Also see Lange. The Orpheum trademark goes back to 1901. Orpheum guitars were first introduced by distributor William L. Lange Company of New York in the mid-1930s. The Orpheum brand instruments were also distributed by C. Bruno & Son during this early period. It is estimated that some of the Orpheum models were built in Chicago, IL by the Kay company. Lange's company went out of business in the early 1940s, but New York distributor Maurice Lipsky resumed distribution of Orpheum guitars circa 1944. The Maurice Lipsky Music Company continued distributing Orpheum guitars, through to the 1960s (see also Domino). Until more research is done in the Orpheum area, prices will continue to fluctuate. Be very cautious in the distinction between the American models and the later overseas models produced in Japan. "What the market will bear" remains the watchword for Orpheums. In 2001, Tacoma reintroduced the Orpheum brand name on a line of acoustic instruments. In 2005, when Fender bought Tacoma and related trademarks, Orpheum became only a bluegrass trademark as mandolins, resonators, and banjos were offered. By 2006, Orpheum no longer appeared with Fender the status of the trademark is unknown. Sources: Tom Wheeler, American Guitars, Orpheum Manufacturing Company catalog courtesy John Kinnemeyer, JK Lutherie."
Feel free to ask me any questions and i'll be happy to answer to the best of my knowledge!
