Featured ANYONE HEARD OF A PARAMOUNT 12 STRING GUITAR?

ahem… that's mine!

 

So what's up with that? is that your E B add or the folks you bought it from?

 

That is my listing I put up

 

It was probably made for Sears by Harmony. Paramount is the brand in this case, but not the maker.

 

Hate to quibble with your Ebay listing...buuuuut, this guitar is not mint - just not. Good condition - sure - assuming everything is in order (there are things you can't tell from pics). Also, did you have it looked at by a luthier/guitar person to make sure the neck is straight (to the eye of a trained musician/instrument person) and all the joints are tight and intonation is good?

 

"Paramount guitars were sold by the William L. Lange Company out of New York during the 1930s. The company also had an earlier stint producing banjos, banjitars and mandolins in the 1920s. While not as influential or sought after as Gibson archtops from the same period, they are still considered collectible and fairly high quality. Martin manufactured a run of 36 instruments - the Style L resonator - for Paramount that remains extremely desirable among collectors."

https://reverb.com/price-guide/guide/16088-paramount-b-archtop-1930s-sunburst

 

Jsnggitt - Is mine by Martin? (Because I saw Fender also had/has a Paramount)
Any way to tell age - or a close "thereabout"?
aaroncab - I did not take it to a luthier, but I did check that the is neck straight, and it IS in mint condition to me; no dings or scratches & all connections (where neck meets body, etc) are clean & tight. - but I will change it to NM/M & add "in my opinion"!

 

Which part is the resonator? (what the strings are attached to at bottom of guitar?)
Thanks

 

It's probably just a difference in what one considers "mint". To me, the definition of mint is that the item is in the exact condition it would have come from the factory. Here are things that don't look be "mint" to me about your guitar just based on what i can see in the pics:

1. As you mentioned, no label.
2. Headstock has wear on the corners (front and back).
3. The nut is off center/loose.
4. The top/front has 2 small scratches on the left side.
5. There appear to be various other light wear/scratches on the sides and back.

Again - maybe I'm quibbling - but for someone looking for a "mint" condition guitar - this isn't mint. It's very good for it's age, but rarely will you ever find a guitar this age in actual mint condition - unless it's NOS that's been sitting in a music store backroom for 50 years.

 

A Resonator is a totally different type of guitar

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resonator_guitar

 

Your guitar is not a resonator. Here's a pic of a resonator:

 

And I want one !!

 

You and me both! I keep dreaming about walking into a thrift store and seeing a National Style 0 sitting on the shelf.

 

I bought one of those at the thrift store I go to before - it sold within a week!

 

It doesn't look like it was made by Martin to me, I'm more inclined to agree that it was built by Harmony (but I'm no expert)

The L Resonators look like this:

 

Here's a Martin made Paramount Style L resonator on Reverb:

https://reverb.com/item/570623-paramount-style-l-martin-made-chinery-collection-1940s-s101

15 grand - too bad you didn't find one these

 

I know that feeling !, when I go to a boot sale I do a speedy sweep at first looking for battered guitar cases, and what treasures they might have inside !

 

This guitar is a nice old guitar, however No offence it is a low end guitar. Tuning pegs for example are low quality one piece. Higher end guitars will have separate machine heads, and other items as stated in above post. Certainly this guitar may be desirable for an avid collector of this vintage.

 

this was my latest guitar purchase, 1970s japanese lawsuit gibson copy es345 stereo guitar

 

Just to clarify on the Paramount; this is an instance where the same name was used over time for a number of instruments by a numbers of makers; which can complicate a Google search.
This is the 1970s or so Harmony-made Paramount label; not the 1930s Paramount, or the Martin-made Paramount resonator model.
(Nice "Gibson," CC)