Regal Ultra Grand

[Jim Garber]

Very Nice indeed, I love those obscure 20's-30's oddities! GREAT SCORE, Love it. Did ya score her on Evilbay?

Yes, indeedy! I actually was emailing with one place years ago about a B&D Sultana and was ready to buy it but when the salesguy looked for it he cound that someone bought it minutes before. I wasn't going to spend a bunch on this because I figure that I needed to leave a few hundred dollars for repair costs and if I wanted to restore or repro that pickguard. Also, there might be other issues that I don't yet know about. I got it for a good price, I think. The case itself is quite nice. A friend wondered if it was the same as an F-4 style case. I doubt it but it looks like this mandolin is wider and probably a different proportion. His theory was that Regal would just buy an existing case but I would imagine that in those days a handful of custom cases could be bought wholesale by a big company to sell a higher end product.

Here is a good shot of a B&D case which looks similar to the one that mine will come in.

[William Smith]

That case pictured is made for your mando! That is so KOOL, That is no standard Gieb for an F-4/5 etc...

[Jim Garber]

Yes, I sent my friend this side by side comparison photo.



There was no close full photo of the case on the eBay auction for the Ultra Grand, but there was this photo of the case open and one of the lock area. Except for the area that got abraded by the pickguard, the interior looks like that crinkled velour stuff.

[Jim Garber]

This got here very quickly through USPS from Chicago shipped out on Friday. Pretty amazing.

So here are some photos. I will see what my luthier finds. The neck joint is separated. I am not sure what kind of neck joint there is but it does seem that this is the weak point for these mandolins.

In any case, I imagine that the mandolin would probably sound better with a quality modern ebony adjustable bridge like a Cumberland Acoustic or equivalent. I will keep the original bridge but it ooks kind of funky and possibly less compensated.

[Jim Garber]

The case is in amazing condition except for the inside wear from the pickguard area of the inside top. It still has the original key with the original envelope. This is a Geib case made specifically for these Regal and B&D mandolins.

[MikeEdgerton]

That looks great. Get er done.

[pops1]

Nice Jim, will be interesting to hear what you think of it when it is playable.

[Jim Garber]

Aye, aye, Captain!

Aside from the crystallized pickguard it looks like it is missing one hex tuner bushing. Looks like I can get them from stewmac.

Some interesting specs:

• Scale length: 13-3/4"
• Body Depth: 2-3/16"
• Nut width: 1-3/16"

[allenhopkins]

Not yet. That sounds really familiar. When and where was that? I think I used to eat there or pass by it.

We were there back in the '70's, and I honestly don't remember where At Our Place was located. Cookie lived on 22nd Street, and it wasn't too far from her loft.

Years have flowed by, and eroded my memory...

[Jim Garber]

We were there back in the '70's, and I honestly don't remember where At Our Place was located. Cookie lived on 22nd Street, and it wasn't too far from her loft.

Years have flowed by, and eroded my memory...

Wow, we should have run into each other. I moved to NYC in 1974 from Cambridge, MA lived for a short time there then moved to 15th and 7th then to Brooklyn.

According to this forum Cleopatra was on Broadway between 91st & 92nd.

[allenhopkins]

Thanx, Jim -- if, as "Pan" says in that forum, Cleopatra/At Our Place is now Cleopatra's Needle, the address would be 2485 Broadway -- a long way from Cookie's place on 22nd. Checking the restaurant's website, the facade's very much as I remember it. However, it was more than 45 years ago that I went there, so no certainty involved, for certain...

We also might have run into each other in Cambridge, where I was at Harvard 1961-65, and spent much time at Club 47, the Unicorn, etc. listening to the then-burgeoning folk music scene. Never did get to Hillbilly Ranch to hear the Lilly Brothers & Don Stover, though I did hear the Charles River Valley Boys, Keith & Rooney, and the Osborne Brothers at Club 47.

[JeffD]

Jim, it's hard to tell from the pictures, but are the two points symmetrically in line, or is treble side lower?

[NickR]

Montgomery Ward sold a stripped down version for a mere $12-95. I bought one recently on eBay and I will post a photo below. I was determined to win it and I made a pickguard to encourage me to this end- and it went for $66. It has arrived- the body is in fabulous condition but the neck is bowed, so I have set it up with a stripped down bridge. As Jim Garber mentions with his Ultra Grand- the neck has been reglued and Jake Wildwood mentions with his, he did a reset, so this appears to be par for the course. Jake mentions how great his sounds and I can only concur. Mine has Waverly "fleur de lis" plate tuners and the board and frets are also very good but the headstock is a bit battered.
https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/20...p-reverse.html

This is an auction photo:

[Jim Garber]

Hmmm…. Thanks for resurrecting this five-year-old thread. It reminds me to attend to my take this to the luthier list. I actually did but the guy who I took it to wanted to charge me a big sum to deal with this. I have to take it to another person sometime.

[NickR]

Jim, I was hoping that yours was now playing and getting much praise for its tone! I hope you can get it fixed, okay. Do you know how the neck is fixed- is it a dovetail? I know Regal and I think Harmony used a dowel in their lower spec instruments. Looking at the photo in Bob Carlin's book, the building on the pickguard is a mosque with a tall minaret. It's a shame it has deteriorated on yours as I imagine it will be well nigh impossible to get another- mine was a very simple job to replicate it as it is exactly the same on another Wards mandolin I have made by Regal.