# Octaves, Zouks, Citterns, Tenors and Electrics > Tenor Guitars >  Tenor guitars

## Sellars

Hi All,

I'm a huge fan of tenor guitars. Scattered around the forum are some nice pictures of tenors, so I was thinking, wouldn't it be nice to collect some in the same thread?

To start off: this is a tenor that Rob Dick (our very own Mastersound on the forum) is making for me (Rob: I hope you don't mind that I allready show it here?).

who follows?

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## JimRichter

Here's my recently acquired '30 Martin 0-18T. I bought this through Leo Coulson (Intermountain Guitar and Banjo), who told me he got it from David Grisman in a trade. It's currently out for a neck reset and fret dressing.

Jim

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## JimRichter

One more of the Martin

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## Darryl Wolfe

Here's my '60 O-15T

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## Eric F.

Old Harmony, young Sam:

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## lucho

I also have a 1930 Martin OT-18 I use in my ceilid band 
http://mx.geocities.com/nimloth_celt...ornimloth.html

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## Jim Garber

My Earnest Maccaferri-style koa B&S Selma model.

Jim

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## Jim Garber

Here's the koa back, nice and figured. Sweet sounding, too.

Jim

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## mandoryan

Wow jgarber, 
That's one cool tenor guitar right there! Your collection of instruments makes me extremely jealous. Old ones, new ones, etc, etc.

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## Lee

Hah, this is the best no-mando-content thread on the Cafe ever!

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## jefflester

Speaking of electric resonator tenor guitars...
Ebay sale

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## Bob DeVellis

Just to round out the Martin series, here's a 1945 0-17T. It was in incredible shape when I got it. the previous owner had used it as a baritone ukulele with nylon strings, so the frets were in superb condition.

I saw what was described as a 1928 National tricone tenor the other day in a local shop that usually has nothing particularly interesting in it. It had sold the day before. Looked sweet.

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## danb

Here's my current one (the front), a chanticleer, and behind it the 1930 national that I sold to buy it.

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## danb

I wrote up a review of the chanticleer here some many months ago.. I guess I liked it pretty well then too. More of a raw honk to it than the national.. I use it tuned GDAE or GDGD in Irish Jams. It's more of a single-strung bouzouki in feel, lots of sustain and not-quite-guitar tone.

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## Charles E.

Here are the two tenors I currently have. The one on the left is one that I built in 1996 and is based on a Martin style 1. The other is a 1931 National Tyrolian.

Charley

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## JeffD

> Hah, this is the best no-mando-content thread on the Cafe ever!


Strictly speaking you are right, but I think a lot of the mandolin community also plays tenor guitar, and it is tuned in fifths, and it is certainly an underserved community of players.

I think we can adopt the tenor guitar as an honorary member of the family, sort of like that crazy uncle I have who is invited to every Thanksgiving, but nobody can tell me how he is related to us.

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## violmando

I have an Kent that I have tuned to CGDA like my mandocello and tenor banjo. Sorry, no picture yet--it's pretty rough. Yvonne

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## thistle3585

Wow, glad to see so many resonator tenors. I just bought a resonator body from a fellow who acquired it when the National plant moved. What scale are on those resonators? Would you think a different scale would be better?

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## ninevah

1937 Martin 018-T, rare shaded top.

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## mandolooter

sweet martin! My 30's Bacon tenor is modeled after one of those it would appear, X braced top same size/shape for the most part. Its a great sounding tenor, currently tuned GDAE which really brought it alive soundwise!

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## acousticphd

Here is my Harmony archtop, presumably from the '60s, converted to an octave mandolin. #I also have a small 1941 Harmony tenor flattop.

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## acousticphd

My image must have been too large (?) - here again is the Harmony tenor.

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## Mark Seale

Here's my '27 Martin. I don't know the exact model. But it is a boomer.

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## Mark Seale

one of the back

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## Mark Seale

one of the rosette

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## Mark Seale

the original case.

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## Michael Wolf

Here's one more Chanticleer:

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## Michael Wolf

The back:

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## Michael Wolf

The scale lenth is 59cm.

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## Charles E.

Sweet!

Charley

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## mandolooter

My 30's Bacon tenor guitar...

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## Bill Snyder

Looks like that photo ws saved at 256 colors. Do you have a better shot?

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## Ken Sager

Stella tenor peghead

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## Ken Sager

Body

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## Ken Sager

Back

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## Ken Sager

D18 by comparison

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## Ken Sager

Oh, and it's from 1939 with a new top, back, peghead and fingerboard done in 2006.

Enjoy,
KS

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## mandolooter

ok this one is better...kinda

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## mandolooter

sweet looking Stella Ken!

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## Ken Sager

Yeah, those old 30's tenors are really something. I love your Bacon, too.

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## Bill Snyder

> Oh, and it's from 1939 with a new top, back, peghead and fingerboard done in 2006.
> 
> Enjoy,
> KS


So it is not _quite_ all original.

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## Ken Sager

> Originally Posted by  (Ken Sager @ April 16 2008, 14:49)
> 
> Oh, and it's from 1939 with a new top, back, peghead and fingerboard done in 2006.
> 
> Enjoy,
> KS
> 
> 
> So it is not _quite_ all original. #


Not even close and I'd never pretend it was. Not even on a dare.

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## mrkrgr

Here's a picture of my 73 Martin O18-T. The top cracked under the pickguard. It has Grover open gear tuners and it sounds and plays great.

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## mrkrgr

And here's the back.

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## mrkrgr

I meant to post this picture of the back.

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## Bren

My galvanised Donmo tenor guitar. Or Baritone uke ... ?

So far, it's a one-off

Galvo tenor aka "chookshed guitar" - already posted in the "Celtic" section
Lovely mellow tone - still gets a bit lost in a really big session - not as much "cut" as a banjo but much nicer tone. Doesn't get as tonally lost in a session as a CBOM tends to

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## mandolooter

Currently tuned CGDA, this is my Regal tenor from around the 20's - 30's I think from what I've gathered online. One of my "keepers" that I won't be letting go. Fiddleback mahogany back and sides, bearclaw in the spruce top back before bearclaw was a desirable feature. Bound top and back with black dyed wood, Im guessing holly or maple and the banjo tail piece. Little guitar, BIG sound!

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## JeffD

> Here's my '27 Martin. #I don't know the exact model. #But it is a boomer.


That is a gem. 

Aesthetically I like a tenor like that, narrow in the waste and the pegs coming off the back like that.

Lovely.

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## JeffD

> Currently tuned CGDA, this is my Regal tenor from around the 20's - 30's I think from what I've gathered online. One of my "keepers" that I won't be letting go. Fiddleback mahogany back and sides, bearclaw in the spruce top back before bearclaw was a desirable feature. Bound top and back with black dyed wood, Im guessing holly or maple and the banjo tail piece. Little guitar, BIG sound!


There we go, thats what I'm talking about.

Wow.

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## Eddie Sheehy

Soares' y Goodwill special...

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## mandolooter

sa'mo sa'mo Bacon

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## kww

My new one from Lark in the Morning. They say its a replica of a 1930s Lyons&Healey.

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## Martin Jonas

Not my tenor guitars, but maybe worth having a look at:

I threw a bid at this small-bodied Regal at Ebay UK. Didn't get it -- pity, would have been a fun player, I think.

Rather more exotic, here is a truly rare beast, a celebrity-endorsed signature tenor: a 1959 Framus Peter Kraus model, red sunburst, archtop, f-holes, looks to be in great condition. In 1959, Peter Kraus was a huge star in Germany, being groomed as the "German Elvis" (the "German Cliff Richard" would probably be the better description), complete with chart topping singles and a never-ending string of starring roles in forgettable movies. Only two problems: he couldn't sing and he couldn't play guitar -- just as with the real Elvis, his guitar was just a prop. One would think that makes him a strange choice for a signature model by Framus...

Remarkably enough, there is even a (very brief) 1950s clip of him playing (or miming) that exact model of tenor guitar on Youtube here, starting at 0:14. The rest of that clip is a 2006 TV appearance lip-synching to "Johnny B Goode" and demonstrating that he still can't sing and can't play guitar.

Martin

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## Martin Jonas

> Rather more exotic, here is a truly rare beast, a celebrity-endorsed signature tenor: a 1959 Framus Peter Kraus model, red sunburst, archtop, f-holes, looks to be in great condition.


Oops, I forgot the link to the Framus signature model. Here it is:

Link

Martin

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## delsbrother

Fellow Selmer-EFS fan Ted Gottsegen sent me this link to a site filled with great tenor guitar photos. Enjoy!

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## Martin Jonas

Thanks to delsbrother for pointing out the Framus Museum website over in the info on mandolins forum. This has an English page about Kraus and his signature tenor here. If there was a tutorial published to tie in with the Kraus tenor guitar, then this would suggest that a fairly substantial number of these instruments were sold. Kraus sold 12 million records in Germany, so his endorsement could well have shifted large quantities.

Martin

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## beenpickin

Such nice guitars! Here is a Mar-Tone from my fathers estate. Solid mahogany with painted binding and purfling. I've never played it as it needs a serious neck reset. 

http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pickin/ten2.JPG
http://imgs.inkfrog.com/pix/pickin/ten3.JPG

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## Larry S Sherman

Here's my recently acquired Gibson TG-50. It's from somewhere between 1949-1955.

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Lord of the Badgers

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## mandolooter

very nice larry! I used to have one of those a few years back but sold it to get a old Gibson A.

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## danb

Hmm, I searched to see if I'd posted this already but couldn't find it. Aologies if it's a repeat

2008 Chanticleer 5-string 21" scale (gdaea) reso-zook-tenor-whatever

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Lord of the Badgers

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## danb

The Back

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## danb

Grille

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## danb

Tailpiece

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## danb

Menacing view

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## mandolooter

wow Dan, I love it...darn, not another TGAS flare up...

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## Martin Jonas

Not mine, sadly, but I'm rather intrigued by the existence of Selmer tenors. There are some really nice pictures of a 1933 Eddie Freeman Special here. That's a dealer's web site, but the Selmer is already sold. I see that Joel Eckhaus builds copies of these Selmers -- they look good enough to eat (as they should, at nearly $3k).

Martin

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## Martin Jonas

I've posted about my new Ozark tenor here and I now have got around to taking some photos.  I'm putting them here, to keep the picture thread going.

The flash may make it look lighter than it is, but this is a solid top (there's some confusion in the online specs whether it's cedar or spruce) with a matt antiqued finish and maple binding to the top, back and fretboard.  Really quite dark.  All-wooden bridge pins.  The back and sides are veneered, not solid, but there's some nice rosewood figure in the veneer.  Solid, close-fitting case included in the price.

It's a pretty small-bodied guitar, as one may see from the photo with my other two guitar-shaped thingies: that's a 19.5" baritone uke converted to nylon-strung tenor guitar and a 15" archtop mandola, made in Germany circa 1950.  By a nice coincidence, the mandola and the Ozark have the same unusual headstock shape!

I've now settled on a set of strings for GDAE tuning, and I'm pretty happy.  The Ozark has a strong tone with lots of character and does manage to convey a lot of vintage quirk for a brand-new instrument.  Great buy at that price.  Also a great contrast to the uke conversion.  Same tuning but completely different feel and sound.

Martin

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## Charles E.

Here are my tenors.
From the left, the first instrument I built, 1931 National Triolian, Maccafarri tenor conversion, one of mine from1996, 1963 Gibson TGO ( just got it yesterday at a local guitar shop!)

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## Mike Herlihy

> Here's my '27 Martin. I don't know the exact model. But it is a boomer.


Looks like a 5-21T

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## the_terrible_greek

> I've now settled on a set of strings for GDAE tuning, and I'm pretty happy.  The Ozark has a strong tone with lots of character and does manage to convey a lot of vintage quirk for a brand-new instrument.  Great buy at that price.  Also a great contrast to the uke conversion.  Same tuning but completely different feel and sound.
> 
> Martin


Hello Martin,
I've also got a little Ozark and have been wondering about GDAE tuning. 
What weight strings did you go with in the end? 
Thanks, Nick

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## Martin Jonas

Nick: I'm currently using 15-24-34-47, in phosphor bronze d'Addario singles ordered from highlystrung.com.  The D and A are absolutely spot on.  I'm thinking of dropping the E down to .013 -- the 15 seems a touch overstrung.  The G I think is as good as it can be with the 47; it'll always be slightly weak given the small body.  Overall, though, I think it works fine with GDAE.  Very different character than in CGDA, but you get powerful chords when strummed and strong well-defined notes when playing melody, plus it's _just_ short enough for me to use mandolin fingering and reach the 7th fret with my pinky (I have big hands).

Martin

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## jsmandolin

Hi there, Muscians. I am looking for a short scale tenor guitar, say 19-20" scale length. Do you know of any out there or of a luthier who might create one? The reason I want the short scale is that my left index finger isshortened to just above the top joint, and it is difficult to stop both strings (same course) when playing chords on my octave mandolin. The shorter scale length also makes playing chords easier than tenors that have scale lengths 23+ inches.

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## Martin Jonas

Two ready choices, and I have tried both: the shortest-scale production model I'm aware of is the Ozark which you can see five posts above yours in this thread.  It has a 21.25" scale and a small body.  Ozark are the house brand of the major UK wholesaler Stentor Music, and the only sellers I'm aware of are in the UK.  No idea if there's a US importer -- it's quite a different instrument from the Lark In The Morning tenors and any others I've seen on US web sites.  It's very reasonably priced in the UK, but you'd have additional international shipping and possibly customs charges (on the other hand, the Pound has fallen against the dollar a lot lately).

If that's still too long for you, you can get a baritone ukulele and restring it for GDAE using classical guitar strings.  Typical scale length for baritone ukes is 19.5".  They are so cheap that it's fairly risk-free to try it.

Martin

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## Asha

jsmandolin: I'm currently having a 21" tenor guitar built for me by Fletcher Instruments of Ithaca New York.  Web site: http://www.fletcherinstruments.com/

Should be here in a couple weeks I hope.  Meant to be tuned GDAE.  I saw and played one locally  before I decided to go for it and put in the order.  The fit and finish looked great.  Note that there is also one for sale at Elderly.com with mahogany top and sides.  The one I ordered is having a spruce top.  

I'll post more after I get it in hand...

*-- Asha

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## Huck

> Hi All,
> 
> I'm a huge fan of tenor guitars. Scattered around the forum are some nice pictures of tenors, so I was thinking, wouldn't it be nice to collect some in the same thread?...who follows?


Apologies, but I'd like to revive this thread.

Aria AF-10 


Epiphone FT-28 Caballero


Fender Tenor Teles


Ibanez, Kala, Harmony Archtone, Kmise & Harmony Baritone Uke


The Epiphone Caballeros are my favorites (always looking for that 1968), followed by the Aria. I like the larger body sizes - 00 & 000 respectively.

Love the Martins (especially the LXM - so durable and I love the way mine sounds. It has a great low-end response); the 5-15T gets played the most of all my guitars - it's a really great size for playing in the house. Then, the Fender Teles get played second most.

The all solid wood birch and spruce/mahogany Harmonies also have a special place in my heart. I think it might be nostalgia - but, to me, they are fun & great guitars if set-up properly.

I could sell the laminates and not miss them tomorrow - but then I worry "will I miss them later." That's why I seem to have so many tenors. The only one I've ever sold (a Stella H929TG) - I regretted a few years later.

Best wishes to all,
Huck

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## Lord of the Badgers

nice idea  :Smile:  

McIlroy ASP10-T

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## Lord of the Badgers

1980s Hugh Manson Kestrel

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## Lord of the Badgers

57 Gibson ETG150


I would post them all in one but the forum software is really playing up lately

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## Lord of the Badgers

59 Martin 0-18t - yes it is that beat up but the sound... 

Attachment 190631



also

my first electric that - the Eastwood Classic. Have a Warren Ellis but no decent pics and they are fairly common for a tenor anyway!

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## SunnylandBob

1951 Epiphone Triumph Regent (cutaway) in original case!

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Charles E., 

John Soper, 

Ryk Loske

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## SunnylandBob

1954 Gretsch Electromatic "Spanish" Tenor

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## SunnylandBob

1983 Carlo Greco LP-type solid body


Odd, the pic rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise...

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## Ben Vierra

Douglas-fir, Oregon myrtle, and black walnut.  Just about the favorite thing I've made.

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Bob Clark, 

bruce.b, 

Dave Sheets, 

LarryH, 

SunnylandBob, 

Verne Andru

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## kurth83

All the way from New Zealand:

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## Ryk Loske

Bob ... It was your youtube playing that great guitar that got me to purchase a '37 Epi-Triumph.  Wonderful guitar.  Thank you.
Ryk

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SunnylandBob

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## pheffernan

My tenor was built by David Newton on a Size 2 frame:



It has a Carpathian Spruce top:



East Indian Rosewood back and sides:



Curly Maple binding:



With a banjo headstock and planetary tuners:



All finished in a thin coat of varnish.

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Alfons, 

Bob Clark, 

bruce.b, 

Charles E., 

Jill McAuley, 

Monte Barnett, 

SunnylandBob

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## bruce.b

Mine are Herb Taylor archtop tenors. I love his archtops, they have a unique, beautiful, powerful  tone, and play great. His neck attachment is smart. I took the neck off just to see how to do it, and its simple and quick to do. I could reset the neck myself in thirty or so minutes if it ever needs it. It has a flat back and the top is pressed. I own two, #174 and #205. 174 is western red cedar and juniper. Its very lightweight, plays loudly with  a light touch and growls on the low notes. A video of it is on Herbs site. #205 is sitka spruce and shedua. Its much heavier, and requires one to dig in harder to get a loud sound, compared to 174. Its a rounder tone than 174, perhaps a more trad guitar tone. I switch back and forth as far as which one I prefer. They sound a lot different. Herb is always making something different, construction wise and tone wise. Id love to get one of his stick through tenors.   
http://www.herbtaylor.com/instruments/tenorguitar/i174/

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fox, 

Lord of the Badgers

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## Harley Marty

Here's a peek at my three jumbos. Jumbo Mandolin 17" scale, jumbo Tenor Guitar 23" to 24" scale GDAE & jumbo (Tenor) Fiddle 400mm stop length.

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bruce.b, 

Jill McAuley, 

Lord of the Badgers

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## Lord of the Badgers

> Here's a peek at my three jumbos. Jumbo Mandolin 17" scale, jumbo Tenor Guitar 23" to 24" scale GDAE & jumbo (Tenor) Fiddle 400mm stop length.


sweet tenor... what's the make again... i've seen their stuff online right? Carbon fibre?

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## Charles E.

> 1951 Epiphone Triumph Regent (cutaway) in original case!


That is one sweet tenor guitar! Are the back and sides figured maple?

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SunnylandBob

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## Harley Marty

> sweet tenor... what's the make again... i've seen their stuff online right? Carbon fibre?


Yes myLord it’s an Emerald carbon fiber x30 tenor & it is delish!!! It comes up on their August 7th 2020 Shipping video. A very well balanced and rich sounding guitar. The brief to Emerald was to make me a guitar to compete in the Fleadh & it doesn’t disappoint. I eager to hit the local sessions with it, all in good time. Interestingly it came in €2000 under what I had budgeted for.

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## SunnylandBob

Yes they are...and the back is nicely carved arched-style.  The 80-something gentleman who sold it to me runs a multi-generation plating business in Brooklyn. They were downstairs in the same building at that time and did the plating work for Epiphone. This beauty was his (late) brother's and he himself has a tenor which they each received as gifts from Orphie.

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Charles E., 

Harley Marty

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## Lord of the Badgers

> Yes myLord it’s an Emerald carbon fiber x30 tenor & it is delish!!! It comes up on their August 7th 2020 Shipping video. A very well balanced and rich sounding guitar. The brief to Emerald was to make me a guitar to compete in the Fleadh & it doesn’t disappoint. I eager to hit the local sessions with it, all in good time. Interestingly it came in €2000 under what I had budgeted for.


let's hear it dude - send me a PM if you're not feeling posting here
yes that's the bunny - Emerald...

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