This is either a bizarre novelty - or the find
of the decade!
Knutsen historian Ben Elder wasn't sure if he had remembered it or
only dreamt it - a Knutsen-esque guitar in the Wheeler &
Woolsey comedy Cockeyed Cavaliers, from 1934.
So I found a rare video copy, and went over it with a fine tooth comb.
Sure enough - in the pictures above, Robert Woolsey serenades Thelma
Todd on what looks like an oversized Knutsen.
But what IS it?
Was Knutsen himself asked to make a prop guitar for Hollywood in his
last years?
Did some Studio prop master happen to have a Knutsen lying around, and
copy the headstock and bridge?
Or was it, in fact, a Knutsen six-string bass guitar?
It sure looks like a real instrument. It has tuners, six
strings, a horizontal back brace, and dot fret markers in the proper
locations.
Though the body shape is somewhat different, it has a headstock and
bridge typical of many of Knutsen Hawaiian guitars, especially HW6,
shown above.
The bridge appears scalloped at the ends, with the standard mounting
screws right where they should be (not discernible in the photos).
The neck was hard to see, but appeared Spanish style. No label was
visible.
But the size!
After some calculations, it would seem to be about five feet long,
perhaps a bit less. That would put the scale length around 42-43",
like my Gibson mandobass above. The lower bout would be around 25"
wide, and the body appeared to be about 5-6" deep. The main problem
is the neck, which is abnormally wide. Even the huge six-string
Prairie State bass guitar above does not have a neck anywhere near as
wide.
So - cast your votes. Do I add it to the Inventory, or laugh it off?
Click on an image to
enlarge
(images copyright Gregg Miner, except giant Praire State guitar, copyright and
courtesy Robert Hartman) |