Antique Hawaiian Guitar No.249 / Guitar / 1930 / Guitar For Sale
Antique Hawaiian guitar?
This instrument looks like a Gelas, but it is not a double top and the body is flat. Nevertheless, it is the closest example I could find but I will not set it up with a the first string swinging free from the fret board.
In this way, the guitar could be used as a "normal" guitar by turning the tuners around (notice that the tuners are in fact upside down, since such guitars are originally played on the lap). I can also adjust it for left handed players. On request I can also change it into the Gelas-type, with a free swinging string, left or right handed. All this is up to the new owner.
Some facts:
The strings are connected in a Gelas way true the bridge.
The lable says, Fabrica Instrumentos De Musica Gitarras Garcia Velasco.
The mark on the beautiful hand made brass tuners says, " Brevette SGDG
L.P Made in France" and you use them upside down.
There is a brand mark on the Maccaferri shaped head stock, which I can not read.
Until now, I believe it is made in France around 1930. It is a true collectors item. I did restore this oval shaped instrument to what I found out about it. As you can see on the pictures it was in a terrible state. I took the whole body apart en reconstructed it. It has a new ebony fret board, fretted with old brass fret wire. The fret board itself is quite small and has ivory markers. The tuners are also restored and have, new made, bone knobs with ebony dots. The new nut and saddle are made of ivory.
- Mensuur; (Scale) 65 cm.
- Woods all solid. top; good spruce back and sides; mahogany, neck; pear (ebonized) with ebony head, fret board; ebony with ivory markers, bridge; pear (ebonized), rosette; nice wooden inlays, no binding but nice wooden purfling
- Nut and saddle; ivory.
- Fingerboard; 40 - 50 mm.
- Frets;18 brass.
- Strings; Difficult to find Hawaiian strings for a bigger scale than 58 cm. So I used Optima Hot Club Gypsyfire 1737L, and made the ball ends, loop ends.
- Tuners; original beautiful hand made brass and bone knobs with ebony dots.
- Distance; from the top of the 12th fret to the bottom of the strings, 3 mm.
Price: € 1150
Click here for restoration pictures
Bruunari Guitars Foundation, Netherlands 
In october 2011 I will become 65 years but I refuse to retire.
All my knowledge, experience, materials, inventory, stock etc, etc, of "Artistic Lutheri Bruunari",will go into the New Bruunari Guitars Foundation.
I am greatfull to all off you, my worldwide customers, who had confidence in my work. I hope you and many new customers will support this new foundation.
What do I have to offer:
- I repair guitars that are damaged. If you have a guitar that needs repairing, feel free to contact me.
- I build new guitars from scratch. At the moment, I build classical guitars, flamenco guitars and gypsy guitars.
- I buy old guitars which need restoration, restore them, and sell them (see Collection).
My philosophy is:
The sound quality of a guitar is primarily determined by the wood from which it is constructed. Therefore, old (once high quality) guitars have a sound potential incomparable to newly build guitars. Not only because the wood is by definition older, but also because such instruments have been played on for 30 years or more.
For a new Bruunari guitar, the wood used is centuries old and carefully dried for at least 8 years or more. Guitars which I restore are vintage and I believe in maintaining their authenticity as much as possible (unless the client requests otherwise).
Please call me regarding ordering.
Bruno B.M. Merks
Floralaan 122
1693 GR Wervershoof
The Netherlands
Tel. 0031 228 584073
Mobile 0031 6 51340902
