I need some help identifying an Archtop

[Majsfel]

Hi, I got this guitar from a friend. I suspect this is a low end east european Archtop. But does anybody here have any clue from what manufacturer it might be. If it helps, I'm from Sweden.

Thank you.

[Llacrobat]

DRGM WARG on the tuners. Quick quote from the acoustic guitar forum:
D.R.G.M. means "Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster", which is a sort of patent. It was used between 1891 and 1945.

Hope it will help you a bit further.

[Majsfel]

DRGM WARG on the tuners. Quick quote from the acoustic guitar forum:
D.R.G.M. means "Deutsches Reich Gebrauchsmuster", which is a sort of patent. It was used between 1891 and 1945.

Hope it will help you a bit further.

Hi, thank you. Yeah that's pretty much all the information I've found before posting here. Any further help from anyone who might recognize the headstock or any other clues would be helpful.

[hotpepper01]

To me, the looks tell me it is East German or thereabout, vintage and low end. The f holes are in an old fashioned shape, no truss rod and the 3 in a row tuners without the rings, everyting tells me it is indeed a low end guitar. The tuner buttons are very nice, but unfortunately mostly cracked.
If it came down from your family, I would say put on just a new set of strings and see what it can do and then consider a proper restoration. In my early days I tried a couple of similar cheapo ones. You state it comes from a friend. So, I assume no heritage is involved. IMHO it is not really worth restoring. There is no money in it. Value is appr 50 USD or even less. If the neck is reasonably straight, it can be a fun thing. Or, a wall hanger. Otherwise, I would never go any further than put on a new set of acoustic strings. And that is allways worth while.

[jim232777]

Can't help ID it, but it's quite cool IMO. Front is very pretty. Nice that it still has the bridge, nut, all the frets, etc. (as best I can tell from a quick look at the pics). I think I see some fret wear so it must have been playable at some point in the past.

Like hotpepper said, if the neck is straight I'd put some strings on it. Maybe carefully tighten to make sure the old neck joint is solid. And at the very least, he's right that it would be cool hanging on the wall.

[Majsfel]

To me, the looks tell me it is East German or thereabout, vintage and low end. The f holes are in an old fashioned shape, no truss rod and the 3 in a row tuners without the rings, everyting tells me it is indeed a low end guitar. The tuner buttons are very nice, but unfortunately mostly cracked.
If it came down from your family, I would say put on just a new set of strings and see what it can do and then consider a proper restoration. In my early days I tried a couple of similar cheapo ones. You state it comes from a friend. So, I assume no heritage is involved. IMHO it is not really worth restoring. There is no money in it. Value is appr 50 USD or even less. If the neck is reasonably straight, it can be a fun thing. Or, a wall hanger. Otherwise, I would never go any further than put on a new set of acoustic strings. And that is allways worth while.

Thank you. Yeah it does look very low end. But I kinda like the look cheap of it, I got a cheap new bridge and saddle today and some new strings and filed down the new saddle since the old bridge was horrible. Now it plays okay.

[Majsfel]

Can't help ID it, but it's quite cool IMO. Front is very pretty. Nice that it still has the bridge, nut, all the frets, etc. (as best I can tell from a quick look at the pics). I think I see some fret wear so it must have been playable at some point in the past.

Like hotpepper said, if the neck is straight I'd put some strings on it. Maybe carefully tighten to make sure the old neck joint is solid. And at the very least, he's right that it would be cool hanging on the wall.

Thank you, yes it's actually in great condition concidering it's age. The only thing that was in real bad shape was the bridge so today I replaced it. It plays alright. I like the look and the sound of it is okay so I'll keep it around, maybe I'll do some more work on it in the future.