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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;all_fakes, post: 104078, member: 55&quot;]I do know something about guitars, have been playing them for 50 years plus....</p><p>You&#039;d call this a steel-string acoustic guitar, with a trapeze tailpiece; and I&#039;d guess it was made around 1950, by any one of a number of small companies.&nbsp;&nbsp; Very similar to a Stella guitar from that period, though I&#039;d think it is not made by Stella. Probably American-made though.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; Top and sides have been &quot;decorated,&quot; stained or spray-painted by a previous owner (Bill?).&nbsp; The hole in the side was likely added by the same owner, in order to run a cord for an electric pick-up.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; DeArmond and others made an add-on electric pickup that could be clipped into the sound-hole of an acoustic guitar in order to get an electric sound. It was always awkward figuring out what to do with the cord, so putting a hole in the side of an inexpensive guitar might have seemed a reasonable solution; the hole would be on the bottom side when in playing position.&nbsp; If it was a DeArmond pickup you&#039;d likely see some scratches on the inside of the sound-hole if viewed with an inspection mirror; the DeArmond had a toothed support bracket on one side that tended to tear up the wood inside.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; By the 1980s the DeArmond pickup would have been worth more than the guitar, which is why it is no longer there, assuming it was once present.</p><p>You are not likely to find much information through online research.&nbsp; There were a lot of companies making guitars like this, and they are not particularly collectible.&nbsp; The pickguard does look like an add-on.</p><p>If the neck is straight, and the string-action low, it could be a playable instrument for a beginner.&nbsp; Might need the nut replaced, though if the nut was reglued it may work OK.&nbsp; Probably not going to sound very good; most guitars in that price-range had plywood tops.</p><p>&nbsp;&nbsp; One consideration in getting a guitar for a beginner is that you don&#039;t want the instrument to be so hard to play that it is discouraging, or to sound so bad that they lose interest.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you know anyone who can play you might get their opinion on that aspect, or to help you select a better beginner&#039;s instrument.</p><p>Children often do better with a small nylon-string instrument, because if the steel strings hurt their fingers they are not likely to stick with it.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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