Up for your consideration is an early 1900’s Washburnparlor guitar, constructed of ladder-braced spruce over Brazilian rosewood.

Its appointments are very simple, but very pretty; Herringbonepurfling on the top, 3-ring rosette (the outer and inner rings are b-w-b, theinner ring is b-w-r-w-b), ebony headstock overlay, Brazilian heel cap and ebonybridge and fretboard. The tuners, ebony nut, and bridge pins are original; thebridge and saddle are customized replacements.

The neck is 12-fret to the body, with a slotted headstockand round inlays of MOP at 5, 7, and 9. The neck profile is a nice chunky ‘V’, andappears to be mahogany. All one piece,of course.

The model # is still a mystery; there’s not a lot ofonline reference material, but markings on the heel and the body dimensionslead me to believe this is a 312, or model #4 Grand Auditorium. Any dissenting opinions or clarifying remarksare welcome.

• There are no markings imprinted on the top orback of the headstock.
• On the very butt end of the dovetail part ofthe neck, (visible when the neck was removed for reset) are the numbers 3 12,the the 3 is \'over\' the 12, perhaps for space.
• On the label itself, and very faint, is theword \'Style\' with a 3 digit numberbelow. The 1st digit is a 3, the remaining 2 numbers are too faintto be legible.
• Measurements of the body are\" 19 5/8\" long, 14 1/2\" wide lower bout, 10 3/8\"upper bout.
• The serial # (A-4757), and label style leads me to theearly 1900’s date, with the helpful forum members over at forums.washburn.com furthernarrowing it down to 1907/08. The serial# is clearly marked on the oval label is, and matched by an accompanying inkstamp on the neck block.

This has had a lot of love and repairs, and is now playable and ready for the next owner.The action is just a little over 6/64ths at the 12th fret, with plenty of saddle remaining to lower further if desired. There is very slight relief in the neck.I performed all of the repairs myself, and while I’m not a professionalluthier by trade, I have repaired/refurbished many guitars. I pride myself on well done repairs, and use Titebond Original glue. All repairs are reversible by any future luthiers.

• Removal of some really nasty, thickly appliedshellac all over the body, neck and fretboard.I mean it was just slathered on. It was carefully removed with denaturedalcohol and 0000 steel wool. Denaturedalcohol will not and did not dissolve the original nitrocellulose lacquer. There is still a small area at the base ofthe heel with some shellac still present (visible in the picture of the heel-joint);I did not want to attack this area too aggressively.
• Repair of four soundboard cracks, two belowthe bridge and two above. The cracks areall well mated, and glued and cleated.
• Repair of 4 small cracks around the perimeterof the soundhole; also glued and cleated.
• Repair of a long split in the treble side, whichextended from just a few inches to the treble side of the heel, along the grainall the way to the tail-block. I was very well pleased with the mating andalignment of this crack during the repair process, as it is difficult toaccomplish on curved surfaces. The sidesare well mated and aligned all along the length of the crack. Since the startand end points can travel no further, and the sides mated so well, I opted notto reinforce this repair, either with cleats, nor with the common glue-soakedcloth reinforcement.
• The original bridge had lifted, split alongthe pinholes, and the ebony was really degrading. I removed and fitted acustom fit replacement. The bridge has been placed slightly back fromthe original footprint to improve intonation.The small exposed area in front of the bridge can be seen in thepictures.
• The bridge plate holes had been thoroughly ‘chewed’by a century of string replacements. Sincethe bridge plate runs the entire width of the guitar, and is part of the top’ssupport, instead of replacing, I’ve fit a bridgeplate overlay of 1/32” maple over thepinhole area only. The original bridge-pinholes have been plugged and leveled before the bridge replacement. The pinholes havebeen drilled and reamed to fit the original pins, and have been ramped andslotted.
• A neck reset/conversion to a bolt-on neck. By this I mean that the neck has beenremoved, and I’ve inserted a machine threaded insert into the dovetail portionof the heel. A hole has been drilled throughthe heelblock for a threaded bolt to be inserted. The neck angle was then re-aligned/adjusted,and the fingerboard extension reglued to the top. The bolt can be seen in thepicture of the heelblock through the soundhole.It is a tight and secure fit; insteadof relying on shims in the dovetail joint to maintain a secure heel to bodyconnection, the threaded bolt now draws the heel tightly to the body. Additionally, any future neck angleadjustments can be performed more simply. Because the original dovetail isintact, this method is reversible, and the traditional shim method can beemployed of the new owner desires.
• Complete refret with StewMac nickle-silverlow/narrow fretwire. The frets have beenleveled, fret ends dressed and polished.There is some minor fret buzz on the low E string in the 9thand 10th fret area, but you have to be playing pretty aggressivelyto cause it. A normal/moderate strummingattack and /or finger-picking will not cause it.

Cosmetically, it is in amazing shape for a 110 year oldguitar. There are no gouges or cracks inthe back or sides (aside from the repaired crack mentioned above). The top has aged to a very nice amber, butthe cracks had gathered dirt/grime over the years, and the repairs are visiblebecause of it. There are some wear marksaround the bridge, and a scratch against the grain on the upper bout, trebleside. There is a small patch on the backwhere the finish has work through to the wood underneath, but no buckle-rashmarks to note. The fretboard has nofingernail divots.

A note on \'action and playability\':every guitar\'s action (the string height at the 12th fret), relief (theamount of forward curve of the fretboard), and playability (the easewith which notes and chords are fretted) will be different depending on theguitar\'s setup. What is ideal for one person might not suit another, and anyadjustment is understood to be the responsibility of the owner. Themeasurements and description I have provided are accurate and setup referencesare to my tastes, and may not be yours.

See my response and offer withconfidence. I have repaired and sold many guitars, and pride myself on mythorough description and customer service. The guitar will bepackedsecurely, and shipped with insurance in a sturdy guitar shipping carton.Because of the repairs and investment I\'ve put into this guitar (and that youwon\'t have to), I am pricing this as what I believe to be fair, based the few comparable sales I have been able to find of similar era/style Washburn guitars. I am opening the sale as a Buy-it-Now but will entertain reasonable Best Offer. I will offer FREE shipping with Buy it Now;otherwise shipping and handling will be a flat $45 to the CONUS.

Please view all pics and ask anyand all questions before offerding.I have described the conditionaccurately and completely; while I am certain you will be satisfied with theguitar,this is an as-is sale with no returns unless I have mis-representedsomething.