Regal Model 2060 Model 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1940s), made in Chicago, natural top, mahogany stained back and sides finish, birch back and sides, spruce top, poplar neck with ebonized fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
This smaller concert-size Regal 12-string is quite weathered, a well-worn but rare instrument; then again so are most pre-1960s 12's. In vintage 12-string lore, the Stella brand is considered the gold standard due mostly to the sheer number of noted country blues players who used them when recording from the 1920s up into the 1940s. The Regal company of Chicago built small numbers as well, but it appears they did not begin offering 12-strings until the late 1920s, at least under their own brand. Known Regal 12-strings are mostly grand-concert or larger bodies, this model 2060 is the only known cataloged concert-sized 12-string.
Based on its features this appears to be an especially unusual variation, with several indicating production during WWII. Structurally the same as the concert-size Regal Model 2060 in a late 1930s catalogs, the lack of colored wood trim suggests a later example although it shares the same dimensions and materials. The spruce top is made from four pieces instead of two, often an indicator of war-time shortages. It is 4-ply bound on the top and soundhole edge, with a single-bound back. The top is ladder-braced, with the single slanted top brace under the sound hole typical of many Chicago-made guitars. The bridge is floating, strung with a simple tailpiece and set over a wide, flat bridgeplate typical of this type of instrument.
The back and sides are stained birch. The center strip down the back is not inlaid but simply a decal. The neck is poplar or a similar wood and carved in a very chunky deep "C" with just the hint of a spine. The "ebonized" maple fingerboard is quite thick with four small inlaid pearl position dots. The body and headstock are finished in a red-mahogany hue. The back of the neck is worn down to the undercoat over much of its length. The headstock retains its original Regal decal, but has withered with age. The original Kluson tuner gears are riveted, a typical war-time feature. This guitar rather looks like it has been through a war itself, but is amazingly still a fine playing and good sounding vintage "blues machine" with mojo and vibe to spare!
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 13 3/4 in. (34.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 15/16 in. (49 mm.).
This is a very well-worn, heavily played 80 year old guitar, but then that's the desired vibe with many old 12's. It shows finish wear everywhere but is in structurally excellent condition, with the typical maintenance repair to keep it going in this century. The finish is worn everywhere, with heavy checking and some flaking in spots. It looks like some old non-professional overfinish was mostly removed, leaving some minor residue behind. The "ebonized' maple fingerboard has notable wear to the lighter wood in the lower positions.
The neck has been neatly reset to the original bridge but with a bone saddle added in place the original fret wire one. The bridge plate is the correct original style but clean enough we suspect it may have been replaced some time ago. Several back braces have been re-glued. The guitar is amazingly crack free with perhaps a subtle re-glue of the top seam under the tailpiece.
The guitar retains its original tailpiece, Kluson strip tuners, bridge and nut (both ebonized maple) and the metal parts show some typical oxidation. The frets are the original thin wire of the period and were recently leveled and dressed, so playability is excellent for this style of instrument. The guitar has some stories to tell, it has obviously been well played over its history, and still oozes mojo. It's a great fingerpicking 12, and if it lacks some of the whomp of a larger 12, it has a celestial midrangey chime all its own. Overall Very Good + Condition.
