Kay Aloha National Studios

Aloha National Studios was similar is scope to the music schools that sprung up in the first quarter of the twentieth century, such as First Hawaiian Conservatory and OAHU. They didn't manufacture guitars, they simply had guitars rebranded, mostly by Kay in Chicago, and then sold them to students who enrolled for guitar lessons. OAHU is very well known, and many examples exist today. The Aloha National Studios guitars are actually quite rare, so it's interesting to see an example.

The guitar is typical of many student-grade catalog guitars. The body is solid birch, the top bound in white celluloid. The bridge is a painted white wood with a fret wire saddle. The neck is likely poplar carved to a soft 'V'. The fingerboard is 'ebonized'. Aloha National Studios is silk screened in gold on the head stock, and ink-stamped inside the sound hole.

The body measures a hair over 13" at the lower bout. Scale length is 24 3/16". The neck measures 1 3/4" across at the nut.

The guitar is mostly original, but for a bridge pin, and it appears the tuners were replaced, since another 'footprint' is visible. The guitar will need a neck reset and bridge reglue. (Neck and bridge will both come off very easily btw, so good 'learning' project) There appears to be a slight crack along the treble side of the fingerboard extension, but it's very tight and won't need any repair. The frets are in excellent condition. The guitar plays ok in the lower positions.

No case.