5 string guitar? is it even a guitar?

Kevo_DFX

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Sep 5, 2008
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Greensburg, PA
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Hi all,

Unfortunately, no pics, but I think I can do an accurate job of describing it. I stopped at a small thrift shop and saw an old guitar in the corner. It is about the size of a regular guitar, if slightly smaller. Typical blonde wood front with dark colored pick guard, typical darker wood neck, sides and back of body. After that it gets weird.

The guitar only has 5 strings. It is not missing one, it is only pegged for five. The tuning knobs are all on the left side of the head, the pegs stick up straight out of the head on a diagonal line. There is a metal plate, engraved with designs, on the front of the head.

The neck is maybe half the width of a normal neck. The frets have mother-of-pearl inlays. The soundhole is not round, there are two of them, one on each side of the strings on the body. They are not in the classic f# design, they look more like greater than/less than signs, like this: <|||||>

The strings attach on the bottom side of the body, not on the front face.

There are no markings anywhere, including on the inside of the body.

Has anyone ever seen anything like it?

Thanks,
Kevin
 

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I was wrong about being Mexican made, even though the shape is very similar to the Mexican state of Coahuila.
I now believe it is Bugarija, very similar to what is seen here bugarija

I still believe the shape of the design is geographic, but it is Bulgaria.

It would likely be a wallhanger, but you would get a lot of conversation out of it.
 

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I would do more than hang it on the wall! I would play slide guitar on it! With slide one doesn't have to worry if the necks not perfect (fret placement) because you are not depending on the fret position to get an accurate note.
80 bucks! That's a no brainer!
 

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When Christian Martin emigrated from Germany in the 1830's, he began making guitars at 212 Fulton St, NYC in 1833.
Many of Martin's earlier guitars had the European influence of the curved headstock as shown in your photos, and the headstock metal cover was influenced by Johann Stauffer, who Martin apprenticed under in Vienna.
Also, Martin's NYC guitars had a spruce top and rosewood sides and back.
Shine a light through the sound holes to see if there is a maker label.
If it reads C F Martin with the NYC address, or LUDECUS & WOLTER, Martin's sales agent at that time- you have got a real treasure.
 

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Eighty bucks....buy it for Petes sake. The wear on that thing is honest wear, someone has played the heck out of that thing.
 

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That is just amazing. Scoop it up! I love the flat-head wood screws on it. I wonder what the tuning is on that thing. I'd probably lay down $80 for the machine heads alone. The head-plate appears to be hand etched and the build quality is exceptional.
 

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not knowing the tuning of a bugarija, I would suggest tuning like a tenor guitar ( thick to thin, C,D,G,A,) with one lower base string of F ?
p.s., I capo my tenor banjo on the second fret, for the A string is so prone to breaking--
 

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