Brand: Recording King
Instrument Categories: Archtop, Electric, Guitars, SOLD
From the 1920s to 1950’s, Roy Smeck was one of the best known American musicians, playing guitar, banjo and uke and offering instructional materials. Like Les Paul and Chet Atkins, he also took advantage of endorsement deals. One such was with the Recording King company, a lower-priced brand run by Gibson.
The Recording King Roy Smeck A104 was a ‘budget’ version of the Gibson ES-150, complete with the ‘Charlie Christian’ style pickup. On the Recording King version, the pickup coil form is rounded, but it has the same large three-screw mount. The volume and tone controls are mounted above the pickup, rather than in the now-standard lower treble bout. The top is Spruce and the back and sides are maple laminate, the neck mahogany with rosewood – likely Brazilian – for the fingerboard and bridge. The pickguard is likely celluloid, in a bound-faux-tortoise theme.
This delightful Roy Smeck endorsed instrument is in excellent and almost entirely original condition, and comes with the original fibre (cardboard) case. It plays well and the electronics work, though the pickup design is definitely not hum-free. The 1/4 inch output jack may be recent – this wear item is one of the first items to fail on most guitars.
- Model: Roy Smeck A104
- Year: 1939
- Class: Vintage
- Serial Number: N/A, built between 1938 and 1940 by Gibson at the historic Kalamazoo, Michigan plant.
- Country of Origin: USA
- Condition: Excellent
- Date Posted: 29/05/2017
- This instrument has been sold
- Consignment Item
- Required CITES documentation
- Including original Hard case
