Paloma Serenader B&J New York

[BlackAngusYoung]

I found an old smaller-size (like a bluesman!) acoustic guitar. The head says "La Paloma" and the orange sticker inside says "The Serenader.... B.&J. New York" It's black with a whitish grey painted fretboard (flaking off quite easily) and a yellow painted rosette design. The nut and bridge are wooden. The bridge falls off when strings are removed.
Do such guitars sound familiar to anyone?

It smells musty and has obviously been wet. (The case is pretty bad!) There is a slight dip at the sides of the soundhole, which I'm worried would get worse if it were strung and tuned. But if I keep it dry, would it likely get worse? What if strung with nylon strings? Is there a way to get rid of the moldy/musty smell? It smells like some of the old cupboards and cabinets we get in our secondhand shop. But it's a guitar, so it's sad.
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot.

[newey]

Black Angus-

"B & J, New York" is your clue here.

Buegeleisen and Jacobson

This is likely quite old and probably of some value. Some further research is probably in order before you do anything which might adversely affect its value.

It may well have been a nylon string guitar to begin with- or gut, back in the day. The "dip" by the soundhole is probably due to poor bracing in that area, or maybe once-good bracing which has cracked or warped over time.

The brand name "Paloma" probably doesn't mean much. Often a brand name would be attached to no-name guitars by the importer, invariably a Spanish-sounding name (these were "Spanish Guitars" back then) as a Spanish name was thought to spur sales. B & J also imported "Espana" guitars even though these were not made in Spain.

[newey]

Is it similar to this one?

moncton.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-musical-instruments-Parlour-Guitar-1920s-Serenader-W0QQAdIdZ145031151

[BlackAngusYoung]

Thanks for the replies! I think the one you posted looks probably better, but there are similarities I'd say but maybe just because of the time period. I wasn't sure how to add pictures, but I read the post about it and put a couple on photobucket. So here are the links. Hopefully I'm doing it right.







Any ideas how to get the horrible smell out of it? I was thinking maybe Lysol or sprinkling baking soda inside and vacuuming out?






(edited by sumgai to convert the external links to images.)

[BlackAngusYoung]

I just noticed that looking into the guitar, I can see it has LOT10246 stamped on the inside in a couple places. Maybe that means something.

[newey]

Baking soda might do the trick. Or Febreze!

[cynical1]

Aug 28, 2009 14:31:39 GMT -5 BlackAngusYoung said:

Any ideas how to get the horrible smell out of it?

Yes. And since you have a case, let's start there. You never want to spary or apply anything to the guitar for odor removal as it may effect the finish...or what's left of the finish...

Look for some Odo-ban or Ozium. These product are designed for odor removal, not just covering it up. And the baking soda thing is just a myth...and if it spills and you get it inside the guitar you're screwed.



Work on getting the smell out of the case first. Here you can be more liberal with applying these odor removal products. Feel free to spray the Hell out of the case. Odo-ban works best here. Keep it out so it can air dry. It may take some time to really kill the smell in the case.

Once the case is odor free...or real close to it, then shift to the Ozium. You'll want to spray the inside of the case, but not soak it. Put the guitar inside and let it sit for a day or two. Repeat this process as many times as necessary.

You can also take a double shot glass, overspray the Ozium onto a piece of wood or plastic and let it drip into the shot glass until it's almost full. Put some plastic wrap over the shot glass and poke some holes in the plastic with a tooth pick. Gently place the shot glass in the acoustic guitar and cover the hole with a book. Be careful not to knock the shot glass over. Let this sit for a week and refill the shot glass as needed.

You'll probably never get it 100% odor free, but this works pretty well on musty and tobacco smelling acoustics.

If you can scare up an ozone lamp that might help a bit too.



They aren't cheap, but they do help. I used to have one over the cat pans in a small apartment and it really did the job with two cats around all day.

Just remember, it took years to smell this bad...the smell ain't leaving overnight...

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[BlackAngusYoung]

Thanks for the info. I will try the Ozium. I've had it before and it was the best air freshener. I'm pretty sure we threw the case out when it came into our secondhand shop. It was very damp and smelled horrible. It was like a sheath the guitar slipped into head-first, open at the bottom with a little strap to snap across to hold the guitar in.

[cynical1]

Probably just as well the case is trashed.

A closet will suffice without a case. Anything to slow the evaporation of the Ozium or Odo-ban...and prevent anyone from picking it up and spilling said contents.

Good luck

Happy Trails

Cynical One