This looks like a rickenbacher 6 string lap steel to me , it has the 1.1/4 in horseshoe pickup , The paint has been refinished but not to a very high standard.
The badge on the headstock is missing but under the paint there is a outline of the name La Scala.
I have been told ( dont know if its correct ) that Rickenbacher made these for the Australian market .
The flowery badge is just a water transfer , someone has put it on to make it look colourful.
Hi Alan,
I spoke to you last night on the phone about this and did a bit of research. I found this on Brad's page of steel:
Harmony
Harmony was at one time the largest American musical instrument manufacturer. The company was started in 1892 and purchased in 1916 by Sears, Roebuck of Chicago. By 1923 their annual overall instrument production was 250,000.
Harmony introduced the Roy Smeck Hawaiian guitar in 1930. By 1938 they were making electric lap steel guitars, using pickups manufactured for them by Rickenbacker. Harmony guitars may be found under the brand names La Scala, Stella, Sovereign, Silvertone, and others.
The Harmony company went out of business in 1974, partly due to competition from Japanese manufacturers.
