The First Hawaiian Conservatory of Music (FHCM) is an Oscar Schmidt label.
Read more the FHCM label here.
THE FHCM KOA HILO No.9-910:
The top of the range FHCM guitar is the Hilo model # 9-910.
I was fortunate to find this on ebay about 5 years ago. There was some damage to the rope binding on the back, and whilst the fingerboard still had the printed aids that all FHCM guitars had, it was snapped in two:
The other damage that was more serious was that some of the rope binding on the back was damaged and missing. But the positives were the original tuners, koa pyramid bridge and abalone dot bridgepins were all there and in great condition (how often do you see all the original bridgepins in an almost 100 year old guitar?). Then there is that rich dark red Koawood.
I managed to search out and find Gurian Instruments, who could make inlay banding to match the damaged rope binding. They were so professional and provided me with drawings until I was happy the binding would match. From memory they had to do a minimum run of about 36″ lengths, which ended up enough to cover about 6 new guitars, but the cost was very reasonable for less than $150. The repair worked out fine. Here are a few more photos:
Work undertaken: Neck reset, new ebony fingerboard and frets, a light coat of french polish to refresh finish. Some more photos after restoration:
This guitar has it’s own unique sound, I’m not much of a player so I won’t attempt to describe it, however here is a short youtube video by my young friend who now owns the guitar:
A couple of Hilo fans and former students of the Conservatory from the 1920’s or 30’s:
And their letter of appreciation to FHCM for their Hilo Guitar:
RELATED POSTS:
FIRST HAWAIIAN CONSERVATORY of MUSIC- an Oscar Schmidt label, 1919-1935
FIRST HAWAIIAN CONSERVATORY of MUSIC 1930’s Birch Guitar
OSCAR SCHMIDT COMPANY – History and Guitars
Many Thanks
Charles
Hello, I have purchased this same guitar also in its original condition with the “printed aids” still attached to the fret board. Is there any trick to remove the “printed aids” without damaging them or the fret board?
Hi Joe. My fret board was snapped in 2 so I replaced it with an ebony board. Here is a video on youtube trying acetone, white spirits, mentholated spirits, mineral turpentine and lighter fluid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eDXBar_ZuU
Of those I think I would try turpentine first. You would need to be extremely careful not to get any of these liquids on other finishes of your guitar, especially the mentholated spirits which will dissolve french polish.
Please if you have time send me some photos of your guitar to charles@koolaru.com. All the best, Charles