This is a 1965 Nobility Made in Japan slope-shouldered parlor guitar with an added soundhole pickup. I have the original purchase receipt for this guitar, dated Fall of 1965.
Measurements:
Upper bout: 9 1/2″
Waist: 8 1/4″
Lower bout: 13″
Scale: 23″
Action at the 12th fret: 7/64″ EA, 5/64″ DGBE
When I received this guitar, the upper half of the back was loose and the action was sky high. Otherwise, it was in decent shape for a 50+ year-old guitar. Just a few scratches on the treble side of the lower bout where the guitar spent some time on someone’s knee, and a 50+ year-old drop of lacquer or poly that has been with the guitar since it was new. I glued the back up and “slipped the neck block” while I was at it to get the neck angle back to normal. Not the idea way to reset a neck, but a perfectly acceptable way on an inexpensive guitar like this one.
The guitar was also missing the bridge and saddle when I got it, so I made a new compensated bridge from walnut. I found the old headstock label floating around inside the guitar. I glued it back on the headstock with PVA. It looks like it was printed at an office supply place. Nothing says class on guitar like a gold foil sticker!
I added a “mock” gold foil pickup to the soundhole (To match the headstock label?). This is actually just a single-pole magnetic pickup with gold foil added for looks! The pickup is wired directly to an output strap button/jack where the endpin would be. The guitar is strung up with D’Addario XL 52-10 electric guitar strings, except I swapped out the solid 18g G string for a wound 24. That gives it some usefulness if the guitar will be used acoustically.
I also leveled and dressed the frets, and buffed out the guitar. I worked the first two frets and frets 12 and up a little more to compensate for a slight bow in the neck. Now the guitar intonates up and down the fretboard. I qlso took the nut slots down a hair so it wasn’t so painful to play cowboy chords! Action is 7/64″ on EA at the 12th fret, and 5/64″ DGBE at the 12th.
The original purchase receipt came with the guitar, too: in 1965 with a case it cost $20. I’ll include it for the new owner!
Here’s a sound demo, both acoustic and electric: