This is another guitar I’ve been wanting to do a post on for quite sometime.
If you are an up and coming luthier and looking for a small guitar to test your restoration skills, you’d be hard pressed to find a better guitar to start with.
This guitar is the holder of a couple of ‘firsts’. From the beginning of 1930 to the early 1940’s, Western themed decorated guitars, along with Hawaiian themed guitars, were hugely popular, dominating much of the budget guitar market. This is recognized as the first ‘Cowboy Guitar’. This guitar is also recognized as one of, if not the first, ‘endorsement’ guitars.
In the 1920’s-40’s Bradley Kincaid (1895-1989) was a big folk recording and radio star and an avid song collector. Many of his recordings became hits. The story goes that Bradley’s father traded a dog for a guitar for Bradley, thus the guitars nickname. Kincaid recorded over 200 songs and published 13 songbooks and was elected to The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971.
Sears, the mail-order company, owned Harmony and WLS, the radio station where Kincaid became popular. They also sold records, radios and record players. They saw an opportunity to combine all this to their commercial advantage by releasing this endorsed Bradley Kincaid Houn’ Dog guitar through their catalogue. Apparently other versions of this Houn’ Dog were sold through distributors but without the Supertone label.
Having said all that, this guitar is nothing like the other ‘Cowboy’ guitars of the era. In general they were quite cheaply made all birch guitars. The Bradley Kincaid Houn’ Dog was a well crafted ladder braced solid mahogany back and sides guitar with a spruce top and a mahogany neck with a slight ‘V’ profile.
The top and soundhole are bound with interesting marquetry purfling and white celluloid. The decal is a well designed graphic (proper name decalcomania, see post about this decoration and how it was applied). Later models of this guitar were bound slightly differently with black & white celluloid and colored inlay.
MEASUREMENTS:
This is one of the last of Harmony’s smaller 12″ standard guitars that I love so well. In around 1930, Harmony switched to emphasizing archtops and larger flat-tops that became popular and that we usually associate with the brand.
Total Length: 37″
Bottom Bout: 12 3/4″
Top Bout: 9 1/8″
Body: 18″
Scale: 24 1/4″
Width at End Pin: 3 3/4″
You used to be able to pick these up quite cheaply, maybe a few hundred dollars, as I did with this one many years ago. Today people are seeing the value of these guitars and values have increased.
I had this example restored and, as I wanted to gift this to my grandson, I had it X-braced to give it more strength. It’s probably in the top 2 or 3 best sounding small guitars that I have owned.
My friends from Vintage Blues Guitars has one of these guitars in their sold archive and describe how it plays and sounds; “It plays easily. Because of its light weight, the guitar is very resonant, responding well to even a light touch. The tone is warm and woody. A nice finger picking guitar”.
Here is a youtube video of my Houn’ Dog guitar being played:
Thanks again folks!
Charles aka Caitanya das
Thanks for the post Charles.
I hope your doing well.
I just bought my first guitar (a cheap Hohner) about a week ago and enjoy it more than I expected.
It lets me know I broke my left hand and wrist every time I pick it up, but hopefully it will be a form of therapy eventually.
COVID-19 bad here in Los Angeles so hopefully this will keep me busy besides slowly fixing up my house.
Keep us updated how your doing and take care!
Kent (the music box guy from a few years ago.)
Hi Kent, I was just looking at photos of the Weymann Music box a few days ago and thought I could do a post with a few of the more unusual items Weymann’s sold. I’ll let you know if I do. We have it pretty easy here in Australia with Covid-19, but that can change quickly. All the best with your guitar playing, Charles
I forgot I sent photos to you (a lot has been happening with trump trying to destroy the planet and covid.) I’m really glad you received good news about the prostate cancer for the next couple of years (my PSA numbers are good so thats a blessing.) Take care my friend. Kent and my pup Rooney.
THAT is a good sounding guitar man. Good player / singer as well.
I think you got one of the good examples of that model!
Sounds great miked up.
Thanks for the post.
I got mine at a bicycle/guitar shop in Silvis, IL (USA) several years ago. It was in excellent condition, save for a rotted bridge. A local repairman built a new bridge. It’s so light that he remarked, “It’s all sound.” It’s not my favorite guitar, but it is one of my most cherished. Thanks for the post, and the video! Sounds great.
Thanks Paul. I’ve yet to meet someone who owns one of these that doesn’t like it. All the best, Charles
I enjoyed our recent email contact, Charles. I recently acquired a similar guitar, a Supertone c,1927, with “aero” bridge and Koa back/sides. I only hope it ends up sounding as good as this “hound dog.”
Hi Patrick, That sounds like a nice guitar, could you send me some photos please? At one time I owned a Supertone all Koa guitar of the same period (1927) and I hope to do a post on that guitar in the new future. Mine didn’t have an aeroplane bridge but I’d like to compare it to yours. Charlie
l have one but its birch with ebony finger board and bridge and it was the most expensive one they sold the ones that were with the fancy woods were cheaper according to my research its larger than most and the body is not flat but is curved on the back. I am a retired luthier so its part of my collection and it sounds great.
Hi Lee, I know birch models were produced into the 1930’s, I’m wondering if yours is one of those. Would you mind sending me some photos to charles@koolaru.com with some measurements as I’d like to compare with this one I’ve posted about? Maybe I could add the photos to this post if that’s OK with you.