~1900 Haynes Bay State Natural

Haynes Bay State Style ‘D’ Parlor Guitar c 1900 | $975 | (v2341) Bay State and student-grade HUB guitars were a subset of the John C. Haynes company, with a guitar factory in Boston, MA. The names derive from this locale; Bay State from the nickname of the state (MA), and HUB from the nickname of the city (Hub).

Haynes began to produce guitars just post-Civil War, but didn’t introduce the Boston-made Bay State and HUB guitars until about c 1887, according to the latest research. The serial number and foil decal on this example date it to c 1900. It's a finely made instrument that can be called, accurately, a 'parlor' guitar, since it was produced in the waning years of the parlor era. Parlor guitars were lightly built from quality materials with typically delicate dimensions. This enabled intimate playing in the parlors of the day.

This particular example is stamped 'D' on top of the headstock, indicating a Style D model. The back and sides are select, straight-grained Brazilian rosewood. The top is a high grade of bookmatched red spruce with 'ladder' bracing. The top and sound hole are adorned with colorful marquetry and white celluloid. The back features a marquetry center strip with matching b/w binding. The neck appears to be mahogany with the headstock capped in Brazilian. The back of the headstock features the Bay State foil decal. The fingerboard is ebony with three pearl position markers. The original tuners are brass featuring some fancy design elements. The bridge and bridge pins are replacements.

The guitar has had a number of prior repairs which include: replaced bridge; several top cracks, glued and cleated; neck reset; side crack radiating from the end pin hole on each side, glued and cleated; bridge plate and one top brace replaced; there is a repaired crack through 3/4 of the heel; the body appears to have been over sprayed, but not the neck; the bridge shows a slight tilt forward from string tension, which is fairly common on ladder-braced guitars. All this work appears quite professionally done. We recently dressed the frets and set the action to 5 & 6/64". The guitar is quite solid, attractive to the eye and plays really well!

The lower bout measures 12 9/16" and 4 1/4" deep at the end pin, making the body a bit deeper than usual and provides a bit of depth to the overall sound. Scale length measures a short scale 24 3/4". The neck is carved in a typical 'V' of the period and measures 1 7/8" across at the nut with string spacing set at a hair over 2 1/4" at the saddle.

With its generous dimensions and quality woods, this little parlor guitar puts out sound on par with a larger guitar. Played with a pick it can really bark! The Brazilian gives it a nice separation of tones. An ideal guitar for fingerpicking or old timey music, but it would be right at home in the parlor, too. A rare guitar made from quality materials .. and a chance to own a piece of American guitar history.

Comes with a soft case.

Check out the sound clip!