~1956 Magnatone / Leilani Lap Steel Guitar Black Pearloid

Offered for sale;

Used Magnatone / Leilani Lap Steel guitar. This lap steel is in very good condition, with the expected patina and fully functional. There are no name plates or emblems remaining, they went missing at some point in its life.

Hawaiian music became well known in the late 20’s and 30’s, lap steel guitars were quite popular due to the ease of playing with various tunings and using a bar instead of finger fretting. Many companies jumped on the bandwagon of steel guitars.

The Leilani Lap Steel Guitar (originally sold with matching amp), was built by Magnatone but marketed under the Leilani brand name. The bodies were wood and utilized a Pearloid Finish, commonly referred to as Mother of Toilet Seat. (Mots). Manufactured from 1938 - 1960, the Leilani / Magnatone Lap Steel was generally marketed to the younger or beginner players. But like many of the lower priced steels of the day, they are just as suitable to the professional player.

The Leilani brand was distributed by Gourley of Santa Monica from the early 1940s well into in the 1950s.
This particular guitar is an interesting color, we’re calling it Black Pearloid. The fingerboard is adorned with interesting inlays, diamond and dot combinations. The one single coil pickup is covered and a single control knob for volume is present. The width at the nut is 2 ¼” and the overall weight is 3.4 lbs.

This is a cool piece of lap steel history and it sounds just great!

Collect and play this little gem.

“We carefully inspect every instrument when we buy it and bring it up to our standards before we offer it for sale. We also do a full set up before we ship. If you decide to purchase this guitar, please let us know what gauge strings you prefer.”

*Please note: we do our best giving descriptions of used pieces. We have found it impossible to describe every mark on an instrument or amp that is not in the "mint" category. Also, what's important to you may not be important to someone else. For example, you may say, "I don't care what it looks like as long as it plays or sounds well." Another person may say, "Body cosmetics are very important to me so tell me about every scratch, nick and blemish." So, please ask the questions that are most important to you. If you ask they will be answered. They are free and there's no limit. Additional photos can also be made available.

This is a specific item that is also being offered for sale in our brick & mortar location. It is possible that it has just been sold. Please ask if it is still available before purchasing.

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