Athens, Georgia-based luthier Evan Collins describes the Overhaul concept as "an engine swap on a cool old truck; we redo whats under the hood and make sure everything is put into its correct place with new hoses, wires and tires." Often, when the Overhaul process is complete, the old vintage clunker "husk" comes out far better than before. That's largely because Overhaul guts the internal structure and replaces it with scalloped, forward-shifted X-bracing. The new bracing helps the guitar realize its full tonal potential, producing the refined sound you only get from old wood.
From there, Overhaul reestablishes correct geometry of the guitar by resetting the neck and placing the saddle location in a new bridge. The saddle is carefully compensated for proper intonation. New frets, new tuners and a perfect setup finish out the process and ensure peak performance in both tone and playability. In a sense, an Overhaul is an old guitar that has been re-made into something that functions like a brand new guitar, and the nuanced tone it produces can only come from a seasoned, vintage box.
This circa-1930 Regal is an incredible relic of the parlor guitar era. Nowadays, the term "Parlor Guitar" is too often misused as a blanket term for any small guitar. True parlor guitars like this Regal were designed for and used to play parlor music. Guitars played a different role in music at that time, and these 12-fret neck, slotted headstock, axes supplied rich sound for fancy sitting rooms. This Regal was originally ladder-braced, but Overhaul's X-bracing brings out an amazing voice out of the old wood. It packs balance and depth you won't expect from such a small body.
This '30s Regal Parlor has an authentic-feeling chunky V neck profile, but because of Overhaul's work on the fingerboard, frets, nut, tuners, and bridge, it plays and performs like a brand new guitar. On your lap, this old parlor feels tiny—the lower bout is only 13" across, and the body is only 18-1/4" long. The ornate purfling and rosette are straight out of the parlor era, not like anything you'll find on today's guitars.
At its core, the Overhaul process is upcycling—taking something no longer in use and giving it a second life and new function. In the case of this Regal parlor, that new function is bold, balanced tone it never had before. Nevertheless, the parlor era vibe is authentic—this Overhaul '30s Regal Parlor has a ton of charm!