1950s Magnatone-Made Leilani Vintage Lap Steel Purple Pearloid

Up for sale, a 1950's Magnatone-made and Leilani-branded purple pearloid lap steel in excellent condition and in perfect working order. Manufactured by Magnatone in the USA, the Leilani brand was distributed by Gourley of Santa Monica from the 1940s through the mid '50s. This vintage steel has a smooth, snappy tone via the original single coil pickup mounted below the large chrome pickup cover.

The neck features a 24 fret range with diamond position markers, and the scale length is 22 1/2". String spacing at the nut is 1 7/8" and 2 1/4" at the bridge. The stock Kluson Deluxe single line tuners are intact on the headstock, and these tuners turn smoothly, fitted with new white buttons. The Leilani oval decal on the headstock face is nigh flawless.

The pickup retains its original windings and has healthy output, mounted below the pearloid wrap. The wiring harness has untouched solder joints on the Stackpole pots (obscuring the exact date of production) and the original Solar-branded paper-in-oil tone cap is intact. The original pair of cream knobs is present, and the chrome plating on the pickup coverplate is bright and clean.

The pearloid wrap has faded to gray but has a light purple tint with a spot of wear through the wrap on the treble side of the pick path, and very light wear on the edges of the fretboard graphics. The purple felt pad on the back is surprisingly clean.