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For years I’ve been fixing and restoring old instruments, both as a hobby and as a way to afford vintage guitars, mandolins and banjos. As a a matter of fact, I used about 16 of these instruments on my CD The Last Day of Winter. Now I love bringing old instruments back to life, but I’ve reached the point where I have way too many to keep them all!
Orphan Instruments is my solution to that problem. My plan is to offer restored, vintage instruments for sale directly to folks at very reasonable prices. Like an old man once told me when I commented on the very affordable prices in his antique store, “There’s the sell it price and the keep it price. I want to sell ’em and move on to the next thing.” Well that’s my philosophy too.
My goal is to price things well below market price and in such a way that everyday people can afford them. I’ll get my investment back out, make a little money and be able to move on to another project. I have a significant backlog of vintage instruments, primarily turn of the Century parlor guitars and Mandolins (and a couple banjo's). I there is something special you are looking for, email me and I'll see what I have in storage and move it to the front of the line.
All instruments I offer will be fully repaired, restored and set up for playing. Most will receive much more time and attention than they might normally receive at a standard repair shop and each will be a unique piece of musical history. Best of all, they’ll be priced to sell within a working musician's budget!
Email me at vallillo@macomb.com if you are interested in any of them. I'm happy to take pay pal.
Instruments Currently For Sale:
I am currently selling my instruments on this website and on Reverb.com. I price them very reasonably so they tend to sell fast and I frequently don't get a chance to list them on this page. Click here to be taken to my Reverb.com page for the latest listings.
Washburn 1897 Style New Model 212, 1897-1906 SOLD! I'm very happy to say this wonderful guitar has a new home in Utah!
Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack Spruce top, ebony nut and fingerboard, herringbone trim, original tuners, original frets, CAD generated replacement bridge in ebony, french polish over original finish. A fabulous guitar with a cannon like projection, big sound but brilliant highs. A great finger style guitar and perfect for old time playing. Ladder braced. This model has a steel bar in the neck and I did NOT have to do a neck re-set. Prices are all over the place on these when you see them. I saw between 1500 and 2400 on the internet when I was restoring this. I have one more of these on the pile for future restoration!
1916 WEYMANN MANDOLUTE SOLD! But I have 2 more in line to restore. let me know if you are looking for one!
The Weymann Mandolute was sold buy the Philadelphia-based brand of Weymann and Sons, established 1864. The 'mandolutes' were actually mandolins with 8 strings and tuned exactly like as the same. The scale length is also within the standard mandolin scale; between 13 inches (330 mm) and 13-7/8 inches (352 mm). They advertised using scientific principles to create vibrations power and volume as well
as sustained sweet and mellow tones, all in the same instrument. The Mandolutes
sold from $25 to $75 in 1913.
This one dates to 1916. It's a style 20 and sustained terrible damage after taking
a fall on it butt end which shattered both the end and the top. You can see the
complete restoration at my On the Bench page by clicking here:
In September of 2014, I purchased this Mandolute. I’d been intrigued by these for
years. They looked to be very well made instruments, but were always beyond my
price range. Fortunately the parts were all there, so I decided to buy it as a flyer.
The top was broken in 2 places, with the center section completely loose. The back was broken in 2 places, and coming off, the entire end of mandolin was crushed w/ damaged and missing rope binding and damaged and missing purfling around the sound hole. It hung in the rafters of my workroom until the summer of 2020 when I started working on it while I waited glue to dry on other jobs. It was a major restoration, but came out extremely well.
WORK DONE:
Removed the back, glued split and break, cleated
Re-built the shattered maple end
Re-glued and re-built the shattered top sections, cleated
Removed, cleaned and re-glued the end block,
Re-installed the original pickguard.
Recreated original purfling and rope binding
Finish refurbished with light French polish finish.
Tuners (excellent quality by the way) removed, polished and fully re-lubricated.
Loose fingerboard was re-glued
Original bridge rebuilt
Re-used the original bone nut.
Serial Number is 19950, Model 20 which dates it to 1916. In the end, it turned out far better than I ever would have dreamed. It’s a beautiful, well made instrument with excellent action, a clear, full tone and glorious sustain.This would sound great for old time or early country more than bluegrass and plays very well. The tuners are excellent and have aluminum buttons.
The only one I found for sale at the moment in playing condition is going for $650.00. SOLD! There are two more in line for restoration.
Washburn 1896 Style 111 SOLD! There are multiple 100 level Washburns in line for restoration.
This is a Washburn 1896 Style new Model 111 guitar which has been fully restored and modified to X bracing and steel strings. It has Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Adirondack spruce top, ebony fingerboard, original tuners, ebony nut, frets, CAD exact replacement ebony bridge, endpin, and the coolest set of decals I’ve ever seen. There was never a doubt in my mind that I’d keep those!
The 1896 era 111 has a simple three bar ladder brace on the top and was designed for gut strings, but once major body work was completed, I decided to X brace the guitar and set it up for steel stings. I own a Washburn 1897 New Style 145 guitar which I had re-built which is the exact same size but fancier. I kept a plan of the original Washburn scalloped X brace pattern the 145 had and I duplicated it on this guitar.
When I first got the guitar, the back was off, the top was loose from kerfing, the sides were loosing shape, all the braces were loose, the back was split, the fingerboard split, the neck heel had been broken and screwed back together, the bridge cracked and falling off, the end block split and loose, there was a major side split, poorly repaired and about a 1/4 " chunk broken out of the fingerboard and neck. It was a high quality wreck and a hot mess. Just my kind of guitar!
Work done:
Removed bridge, took back off.
Glued and cleated back breaks and various selected sections back together.
Glued cracked end block and re-glued it into place, re-gluing top one section at a time to reform the guitar.
Removed old side repair and re-glued the side split and cleated the entire length.
Re assembled and glued on the back
Cleaned up the neck damage, and inlaid new mahogany into the neck and new ebony onto the fingerboard.
Neck re-set,
New CAD bridge
Frets leveled crowned and polished
Finish touch up with french polish
Full set up
The guitar turned out beautifully and it has a big sound for it’s small size. The nicely shaped V neck makes for easy action and smooth playing. It has a rather deep body which gives it a much fuller tone than you’d expect for a guitar of that size. Beautiful for light flatpicking and Carter Style flatpicking, but it really shines as a fingerstyle guitar. I composed a new instrumental, The Cliche Rag on this guitar as I set it up, and that’s the tune I’ll be playing in the video.
Kay Super Concert Acoustic Guitar 1961-65
This vintage Kay Super Auditorium guitar is battle worn and solid as the day is long. It has a stamp of L 1085 inside the sound hole and should date between 1961 and 1965 based on the metal head plate logo. It has a solid spruce top, and laminated Maple back and sides with a tobacco sunburst finish, a bound Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard, checkerboard binding and a poplar neck. It is roughly comparable size wise and tone wise to a 000 or OM guitar.
When I got this guitar, it was a terrible shape cosmetically, but structurally solid as the proverbial brick **** house. The lacquer was severely checked, the fret’s had loosened, the bridge was coming off, the fingerboard had multiple small chips at the frets and the neck was pulling out. At first I thought that the nickel frets had been replaced, but careful examination showed that they were original and that the damage to the frets, fretboard and lacquer appeared to be from being exposed to severe changes is temperature and humidity this guitar has been through. That being said the guitar was solid… not a loose brace to be found, quite rare in guitars of this era.
Work done: neck re-set, frets re-seated and superglued in, leveled, crowned and polished, new bridge, bone saddle and bone nut, finish hand rubbed out with micro mesh, but left with all the vintage wear intact. The original tuners had been replaced with mini Schaller style knock off’s that work very well. The original wrap around bridge was split and I have replaced it with a new old stock Kay bridge of the same style and era and added a new bone saddle and nut. I replaced a plastic strap button with a bone one. This guitar has a truss rod.
The guitar has been set up to Martin factory specs; Low E string .024” @ first fret and 3/32 @ 12th fret, High E string .016” at 1st fret, 3/32 @ 12th fret. Neck width 1 3/4 “ at nut, neck has a C profile. It plays well and in tune all the way up the neck. Sound wise, full range tone with the sparkle and clarity on the high end you'd expect from a concert size guitar.
The neck is comparable to a Gibson neck from the 50’s. I played it back to back with my $5,000.00 Collings OM and the tone and playability isn’t as refined, but it’s close. No case, $SOLD
Supertone Venetian "Tulip Head" Mandolin Both of these have sold, but I am always on the lookout for this model!
Several years ago, I restored, then sold, this lovely Supertone Venetian mandolin. Supertone was the house brand for Sear's and Roebuck before Silvertone and while they were made by multiple builders, was built by Regal, probably in the 30's.
I just completed restoring another Venetian, this one, with birch back and sides and mahogany top, finished in black with it's original decal decoration. And like the original, it has a striking tone and excellent action and playability.
The fingerboard appears to be ebonized maple, the tuners, frets and tailpiece are all original and in excellent shape. The kidney shaped tailpiece cover is missing. It has a well made replacement bone nut that was already on the mandolin when I got it. White/black/white binding on the top, mother of toilet seat pickguard.
Work done:
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Removed the back, removed, cleaned and re-glued 2 loose braces, glued 2 other loose braces.
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Neck re-set
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Repaired loose top brace beneath the fingerboard extension, Flattened warped top
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Re-enforced top beneath fingerboard
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Added popsicle braces at sound the sound hole
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Minor finish touch up
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Original finish hand rubbed with micro mesh
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Frets leveled, crowned and polished
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Fit and adjusted a new ebony and bone bridge
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Set up the mandolin for low action
The mandolin plays beautifully with easy action and no buzzes anywhere up and down the neck. A full rich tone that combines the warmth of the mahogany top, with all the punch and clarity of the birch back and sides.
Comes with a new, oversized cardboard case (originally for a tenor Uke).
Sold!
Washburn 2422 Model Double Point Mandolin
Serial #23843, Brazilian Rosewood back and sides, Spruce top, ebony fingerboard dating from between 1909-1915. Bridge, tuners, frets and binding (which I removed and re-used on the back) are original. I just love the shape of these mandolins and I have another in the cue to repair. This is an excellent player with a bright, but full tone resonating from the Brazilian Rosewood. Non original case. SOLD But I actually have a second one in line to restore if your looking for one.
NEW Late 60's Kay Model 391 Archtop Guitar made for Sear's and Roebuck $SOLD
Kay was still making decent guitars in the 60’s and this one was made for the Sears and Roebuck Company. The “Atomic” logo on the headstock is actually the S R logo Sear’s used in the 60s. They were starting to cut corners, though, and this one lacked the usual support around the F holes. The top was seriously warped as a result. It has a solid maple top, maple laminate body, poplar neck, original tuners in good shape, rosewood fingerboard, brass frets, original nut, steel re-enforced neck, non original bridge and pick guard.
The poplar neck came off easily but had damage to the edge of the dove tail joint. Poplar is a semi-hard wood and damage to this part of the heel is a very common issue. There was enough damage that I chiseled back about 1/4 “ of the edge, then epoxied on a maple replacement "wing" which I trimmed and shaped to match the original profile. This worked so well that I’ll be adding this to the list of repairs I do.
Work done: Three top cracks glued and cleated, F holes re-enforced, body warp straightened out, dove tail repaired, neck re-set. Frets leveled, crowned and polished, tuners buffed and lubricated, tailpiece buffed. New rosewood bridge, pick guard and pick guard brace. Finish hand rubbed out with micro mesh, finish touch up to chips and end damage. Instrument adjusted and set up.
While lacking some of the details of fancier Kay guitars, this one is a solid player in excellent condition priced to sell. It has a beautiful amber sunburst finish, a full, very well balanced tone, with a bit of midrange punch. It has a very comfortable C profile neck and rosewood fingerboard and plays clean all the way up the neck. No case, but it will be packed carefully and insured.
A very reasonably priced way to get into arch top guitars. $SOLD
American Conservatory Model 91 Mandolinetto
American Conservatory was a Washburn brand. The 1919 Catalog shows images of this very model, a model 91. Here's the original description: “Genuine rosewood (Brazilian) back and sides, hand polished, fancy strip inlaid in back, back edge bound with white celluloid, front edge bound with celluloid and fancy colored wood, spruce top, celluloid guard plate, inlaid sound-hole, mahogany neck, ebony fingerboard, pearl position marks, our own make machine head, nickel-covered shell-pattern tailpiece.”
Work Done:This got a complete re-build.The fingerboard, neck and top were removed to repair damaged braces. They ALL were loose so they were removed, cleaned and re-glued. Top splits repaired and cleated, top re-installed and bound, neck angle corrected and fingerboard re-glued. The entire instrument was cleaned and lightly french polished to restore the finish.
All original except the top binding which was brittle and disintegrated when I removed it to repair the face cracks. Beautiful Brazilian Rosewood body and head plate, ebony fingerboard original nut, original tuners. This is the real deal, an excellent sounding, Brazilian rosewood madoletto that looks great and plays extremely well! The high end versions of these for well over 1,000.00.
Beautiful player with great tone, $500.00
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1920's Mahogany Ukelele
This is a very nice, unbranded, solid mahogany Ukelele that I would say is probably from the 20's based on the arched back, the fact that the frets end at the body and that it has the original rosewood violin style friction tuning pegs. Those are all features of early Hawaiian instruments. Most factory ukes went to mechanical tuners fairly quickly and the ones that didn't had cheap boxwood tuning pegs.
This appears to be a fairly well made, middle quality instrument, possibly a Regal, Kay or similar level builder. Cleary a factory made instruments but still copying the early Hawaiian ukuleles. Solid Mahogany construction, "rope" inlay around sound hole, original brass frets, rosewood tuning pegs and nut, correct replacement bridge.
Work done: Two loose braces re-glued, top split closed and glued, loose side and back seams re-glued, correct replacement bridge installed, frets cleaned and polished. Comes with the original canvas bottom loading case that's missing the end flap.
This Uke is light as a feathered plays like butter with excellent action. The thin, nearly 100 yr. old mahogany gives it a clear rich, classic tone. A very nice, very affordable, vintage uke!
Price: $225.00
1930’s Gretsch “American” Tenor Banjo SOLD
This is a medium quality tenor banjo with a cast aluminum frame and a wing nut connected wooden resonator. Mother of pearl inlay on the headstock and position markers. Possible pear wood or similar fine grained wood fingerboard (not ebonized), original tuners, tailpiece, frets and adjustment screws and nuts. The original skin head had tear and I replaced it with a Remo "Elite" fiber over nylon head.
Work done: I cleaned the fretboard, cleaned the cast tone ring, tightened the tuners and replaced the damaged head.
Tenor banjo's don't generally bring high dollars unless they're fancy. This is a solid entry level tenor banjo. A good player with a vintage vibe for a someone interested in exploring tenor banjo without breaking the bank.
$SOLD.
SOLD Kay N-5 Sunburst Acoustic Guitar, 1961-65
This is a Kay N-5 Acoustic guitar in excellent condition, fully restored. The guitar was in beautiful shape cosmetically but had issues with the neck, bridge and braces. The tin Kay logo on the headstock indicates it was produced between 1961 and 1965. Laminate Mahogany sides with a solid spruce top.
Work done: Loose top brace re-glued, missing top brace replaced, minor tear out from original pickguard installation repaired. The neck was re-moved, re-angled and re-set, the bridge was pulling up and was removed, cleaned, adjusted and re-glued in place. The original bone saddle was adjusted for compensation and intonation, the truss rod was adjusted, the frets were leveled, crowned and polished and the final set up was tweaked.
The final set up is spot on to Martin Factory specs with the high E string measuring 2/32 at the 12th fret and the low E sting measuring 3/32 at the 12th fret. No buzzes anywhere up and down the neck, this is significantly better action that this guitar would have had right from the factory. The finish is original and beautiful with just a couple tiny wear marks, quite remarkable for a 60 year old guitar! Plays easily and in tune with a bright but well balanced sound and clear notes. Ships with a beat up cardboard case.
This is a beautiful, cool vintage guitar that is priced to sell on a working musician’s budget and set up for a player. $SOLD
Old Kraftsman Acoustic Guitar SOLD!
Old Kraftsman was the house brand made by Kay for the Spiegel catalog company. Details on this one suggest it's from around the 1940s, though there is no serial number. Body size is somewhere between a 00 and a 000. This one has a solid spruce top, laminate mahogany sides and back, original rosewood fingerboard and bridge, original nut and Kluson Deluxe tuners and extremely cool checkerboard binding.
Work done: Face cracks repaired and cleated, bridge removed, cleaned and re-glued, neck re-set, frets leveled, crowned and polished, small veneer patch on upper treble bout, finished cleaned and lightly french polished to restore finish. Fairly thick neck front to back, but narrow width. Excellent action with a bright punchy tone, this guitar a was a big hit at the Folk Alliance Midwest Conference. Comes with a beat up cardboard case. Price $400.00
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