oahu tonemaster date?

Tom Monaghan · Post by **Tom Monaghan** » 10 Dec 2010 2:30 pm

how can you date the age of an Oahu Tonemaster? I can find no serial # on the outside.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 10 Dec 2010 3:28 pm

There's no way to pinpoint the date on most of those wood body Tonemasters. I've bought and sold several of them, and I sold them as C. 1940s. The ones I've seen had no serial number on the guitar and the pots were not dated. I think they were made from the late '30s until about 1950.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 10 Dec 2010 4:14 pm

There's a serial number stamped into the wood at the end of the headstock on mine, but it doesn't help much since there's no register anywhere to compare it with.
From what I've learned the Tonemasters were made by Kay and not Valco like the Diana and other Oahus, so the informative online Valco chart don't apply to the Tonemasters.

Roger Smith · Post by **Roger Smith** » 11 Dec 2010 9:39 am

Hi Tom-
FWIW - I have one from the 30's. It's got the big horseshoe p/u. Serial number 971042089135 is stamped into the bridge.