Slingerland May Bell Parlor Guitar Sunburst 1930's Vintage

Vintage 1930s Slingerland May Bell Parlor Guitar – Sunburst Finish

Restored and converted from its original Hawaiian setup into a playable parlor guitar.

This early May Bell guitar was originally factory produced by Slingerland as a dedicated Hawaiian slide guitar, with an extremely high action set up that prevented normal fretting. It has now been professionally converted into a standard guitar that frets and plays effortlessly while retaining its authentic vintage character.

Key Features & Condition:

Top: Spruce

Back & sides: Birch

Neck: Thick, comfortable “C” shape – Neck is perfectly straight with zero issues - it has never had nor ever needed a neck reset.

Nut width: Standard 1-11/16”

Action: Set to a comfortable ~4/32” at the 12th fret (treble and bass) with room to lower further

Frets: Unworn – they look almost new since the guitar spent most of its life in high Hawaiian setup

Strings: Currently set up with Phosphor Bronze Lights (.012–.054)

Tuners: Original and functioning tightly and smoothly

The guitar was expertly restored recently by the head luthier at Laguna Guitar Shoppe, a highly respected builder who specializes in vintage instruments.

Work included:
Professionally shaving the bridge and lowering the nut from the original Hawaiian setup to a standard set up for excellent playability

Repairing and stabilizing two small hairline cracks on the top and one larger crack on the side

Re-gluing loosened internal bracing

Overall setup optimized for both fingerstyle and open tunings/slide

May Bell guitars from this era are a hybrid ladder-braced design (angled bracing rather than strict ladder), resulting in an authentic vintage ladder-brace tone with good bass response. It has a full, woody voice that’s perfect for delta blues, folk, ragtime, and fingerpicking. It sounds warm, responsive, and full of vintage character.  Comes with its original (extremely worn) case. I’ll pack it well for safe shipping. This guitar has been carefully brought back to life and plays beautifully. No surprises — it’s clean and stable with a straight neck and ready to make music.