1936 Orpheum No. 3 Archtop Hollow Body Acoustic Electric Guitar W/Original Case P90 Vintage USA

 The time has come to let go of this amazing guitar. Up for sale today is an incredible example of old craftsmanship. This is an Orpheum No.3 archtop acoustic made in 1936 in the USA. This guitar was built before the Orpheum name was taken over and the build quality drastically decreased. These guitars were built to compete with Gibsons of the time. This guitar has had the neck reset, refretted, a P-90 pickup installed as well as tone and volume knobs installed. This guitar is ready to sing for another 80 years. It obviously shows signs of age, which can be seen in the photographs, but there are no structural issues whats so ever. No cracks, or anything that will jeopardize the structural integrity of this guitar. The bridge appears to be an intonated unoriginal replacement with height adjustment, but does have a slight buzz on the high e string meaning the string slot needs to be adjusted slightly. This is something you could do or have a luthier do. The P-90 sounds wonderful with acoustic strings if you roll back the tone slightly, but really sings with flat wound electrics. This guitar is a jazz box, a rocker and folk machine all in one. The neck has a beautiful V profile that fits wonderfully in small and large hands alike. The action is set to my liking but still has room to be moved up or down. The neck is nice and straight due to a static steel rod reinforcing the wood from warping and the fact the neck was reset. The body is bound in a beautiful herring bone design which really makes this guitar pop. There is no pickguard included but a reproduction one can be found pretty easily. This means there are screw holes where it would normally be mounted, as well as another one where the original guard was adjusted. The finish has been cleaned up but left with the beautiful aging and signs of playing this guitar has received over all of these years. One thing that amazes me about the construction of this guitar is the lack of a sound post. This guitar was built so well that it was never needed and after 80 years, there are no signs of caving or give in the top arch. This guitar is a dream to play and hear.

This guitar will ship in an original case from the 30's that is in wonderful shape, but obviously used shape and can be used as it's main carrier, or you can house it in something more modern and more padded.

I will be shipping the guitar with the strings loosened, so you will need to adjust the intonation to your liking when you tighten up the strings because the bridge may shift during delivery. I have shipped many guitars over the years so you can rest assured it will be packaged properly and fully insured in case of loss or damage during transit.

This guitar is a player, PLAY IT. It looks wonderful on the wall, but it looks even better in your hands. This will be a great addition to any collector, or players line up. I hate to see it go, but it's time to move on.

Please ask me any questions that you may have before you bid on this guitar. It is being sold as is, as described and photographed and I will not be accepting returns, refunds, exchanges, etc. Please ask for any more specific photographs you may need to make your decision and I will be happy to send them you way.

The guitar will ship via Fedex Ground with full insurance coverage of the purchase price.