Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar

Subject: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Aug 04 - 07:10 AM

I have searched here for "Lignatone" - nothing found.

On the internet they seem on a quick google to have made lots of musical instruments, but there is very little on the guitars - just a couple of engines come up with variants of my thread title as ready-made searches. Since I only searched for "Lignatone" that indicates that at some stage a few people have tried to find such guitars. Maybe.

Now I have a friend who thinks I may know something about guitars, and he bought at a boot fair a Lignatone guitar. It looks like a classical, with a solid top, ladder or fan strutted, 15" across the lower bout, slotted head, usual fixed classical bridge, no sign of a truss rod.

But, he says, ordinary classical strings are too short to go on it properly, and those he can get on "do not sound right".

Sure beats me.

What do we think we have here? Is there a place I might find out more?

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Amos
Date: 06 Aug 04 - 09:58 AM

Q:
>
> So, let me make sure I understand this correctly...
> there were only 2 guitar companies in Czechoslovakia
> during communist rule, Drevokov in Blatna from 1955 to
> 1963 and then the big national CSHN in Krnov, Hradec
> Karlove, Horovice and other places from 1964 to 1989?
> Every other name (Resonet, Arco, Arioso, Grazioso,
> Neoton, Jolana, Lignatone, Tatra, Delicia, etc.)
> were just labels used by either Drevokov or CSHN,
> right?


A: yes. bingo.

Q:
>
> Also, Cremona Luby - they were around before 1955,
> making acoustic guitars. So were they a separate
> company or did they later become part of CSHN too?
>

From one hit searching for Lignatone guitars. Not a lot out there.

A

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: The Borchester Echo
Date: 06 Aug 04 - 10:19 AM

I've got a Vittoro, the label says "Made in Czechoslovakia, distributed by Boosey & Hawkes". I found it in a skip and it plays just fine.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 06 Aug 04 - 10:55 AM

Well done Amos, I didn't find that.

So they are usable but that's it and in no circumstances collectable or valuable then? I suspected as much but it was finding the ready made search that just made me wonder...

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 06 Aug 04 - 07:51 PM

if it says Czechoslovakian on the label, the oldest it could be is 1918 because prior to that it was the Austro Hungarian empire.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From:
Date: 06 Mar 06 - 02:12 PM

Still interested about Lignatone? I believe I've got one and I just love it!

JP

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 06 Mar 06 - 02:35 PM

i've got a 'found' cheap 'n' playable Tatra Deluxe nylon strung classical
from Czechoslovakia.

i just like the idea of a guitar that shares the Tatra name
with those cool 1930's/1940's Czech sports cars
which because of their poor fast handling on corners
were said to be responsible for the deaths of more
occupying nazi officers
than killed by the Czech resistance..

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,sean uk
Date: 27 Feb 07 - 02:34 PM

i think i have a steel strung lignatone guitar it has a gap under the neck (on the body of the guitar), sunburst type pattern, two triangles of what looks like ivory (but could be plastic) inserts on the butt, along with mother of pearl insert and a gold disc inserted into the mother of pearl.It has no name on it,just 'made in czechoslovakia' and New England on the body in white plastic (may have been added). I know nothing about it but it plays beautifully. I was told its 1957, has any body got any information...?

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,angelica
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 01:30 PM

i just found a lignatone guitar, it's smaller than a classical guitar and narrow and the brige that used to be fixed to the body is mobile, i want to now if classical guitar string coud be used and if the mobile brige has an special position or not.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Donald
Date: 16 Jun 07 - 10:40 PM

I just bought what looks like a very old hand carved archtop f-hole guitar, maybe from '30s or '40s There is no name on the head but the label inside says Cremona, Luba. Carved spruce top, carved walnut back, 16" wide. Anyone out there ever heard of such a guitar?

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Sep 08 - 07:42 AM

Hi
I am doing some research about czeck guitars and Lignatone especially, so I would be very happy if you will send photo and description of your guitars to [e-mail]

greetings to you all
from LC

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 27 Sep 08 - 05:20 AM

got the firstpix today, from a guy who had bought one in aserbadjan in 2003,- nice guitar,-
please dont hesitate and send me pix of your lignatone to:

[e-mail]

greetings from LC

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Oct 08 - 02:37 PM

It is going very well here and now I allready have 10 photos, andit is allready possible to see a timeline as ell as a model line.
Please dont hesitate and send me photo of Yours too.

[e-mail]

LC

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Oct 08 - 02:41 PM

and btw angela the bridge shall be placed, so the distance from the nut to the 12th fret is the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. Said in another way, the 12th fret is under the middle of the swinging part of the string.

LC

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Oct 08 - 02:42 PM

I meant Angelica ofcourse,. sorry

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 06 Oct 08 - 04:42 PM

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Oct 08 - 02:41 PM

and btw angela the bridge shall be placed, so the distance from the nut to the 12th fret is the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. Said in another way, the 12th fret is under the middle of the swinging part of the string.

LC

It seems positively churlish to correct such a disingenuously charming post, but I do feel obliged to point out that the "saddle" (rather than "bridge") should be located a tad further from the twelfth fret than the distance from the nut to the twelfth fret.

It's all about "compensation" ...

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Oct 08 - 05:48 PM

yes but you are right , and a little more on the bass side than the treble side as well ( normally) , and how much depends on the height of the action and the thickness of the strings, but the 12th fret is appr. the middle of the string , and if you messure it when it is pressed down , then it is the exact distance.... but now let us not go too much into details....

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Jan 09 - 03:36 AM

I still get pics from all over the world I am very happy about that.
(got one from Iceland today)
keep sending them to [e-mail]

thanks

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,someone near london
Date: 26 Jan 09 - 12:34 PM

hey got one of these guitars to. no idea about it rang up boosey & hawkes in london and they don't have any record of the instruments they used to make or sell they just make music now :-( dry lead!!! erm guy at [e-mail], i will send you a pic of mine once i have finished cleaning it up and have restrung it. my label says:

570

~~~Vittoro~~~

guitar
Made in Czechoslovakia

Distributed by
BOOSEY & HAWKES
(Musical Instruments) Ltd.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Dilly
Date: 06 Apr 09 - 03:19 PM

I have also just aquired A Vittoro Guitar 570 and it also has
Distributed by BOOSEY & HAWKES
Made in Czechoslovakia
Any idea on the value of these. I have searched the web and stumbled onto this site

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,rich-CALIFORNIA
Date: 30 Apr 09 - 12:04 AM

i just acquired my uncles lignatone guitar.gap under the neck, w/ adjustment nut but no key.
he's a pretty alert guy , for 83 and claims he bought it used in 1947, when he was twenty. can that be? the action is way too high!

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Guest, portland, oregon
Date: 09 Jun 09 - 02:08 AM

6/08/09

Hi, i recently purchased two lignatone guitars. One, a full size classic and the other a 3/4 size spruce top. both are old but the wood is beautiful. i may have made an error in that the key/plugs for tuning were missing or bent, so i had them replaced at a local shop called Centaur guitar. These were $25.00 and $50.00 each which is pretty reasonable for a guitar. Can you tell me more about them? They are both Ligntone and Made in Czechoslovakia.

Thanks

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Guest: Clay
Date: 13 Jun 09 - 07:37 PM

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Frask Arnote
Date: 14 Jun 09 - 02:18 AM

Hey! I got a Lignatone guitar with a carving of a two-headed eagle on the base - the action is regretable but it stays in song for a minute or another minute. It's losing a string though - it is possible to get fantastic strings for guitars?

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Serg
Date: 12 Jul 09 - 04:54 AM

Hey! I search information on this guitar, in what years produced, name of model

http://www.musicforums.ru/guitar/getfile.php/mfor_guitar/216942/dsc_3793.jpg?full=1]%3C/a%3E

Sample

http://rutube.ru/tracks/2109975.html?v=5df615a9926b77e06597620cb5b922d9]%3C/a%3E

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 12 Jul 09 - 08:31 AM

..." the action is regretable but it stays in song for a minute or another minute" ...

how cute is that ?

if you are still around on Mudcat, Guest Frask Arnote, you can email me your address and I will send you some fantastic strings for your Lignatone, along with some tips to make your action less regretable .

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Filos
Date: 18 Jul 09 - 04:53 PM

I bought a Lignatone one year ago in a fleet market in Strasbourg: 20 €.

So impressive. I was looking for a cheap guitar, but i saw that and i realized it wasn't a conventional one.

Easy to play, and beutiful.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Aug 09 - 05:39 PM

You may be interested in checking this Lignatone guitar:

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ve/MLV-12940565-guitarra-acustica-espanola-clasica-hecha-en-checoslovaquia-_JM

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: Don Firth
Date: 08 Aug 09 - 06:06 PM

For setting a moveable bridge, set it so the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge is the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the nut. That will be approximately right. THEN--play the harmonic on the 6th string, 12th fret and compare it to the fretted note on the same string, 12th fret. If the fretted note is flat, move the bridge a hair closer to the 12th fret, if sharp, away. You can check it by ear, but an electronic tuner may be more precise.

Once the harmonic and the fretted note are identical, do the same thing on the 1st string (trying not to change the point where the 6th string contacts the bridge--or saddle). Once you've got it, recheck the 6th string. It will take some trial and error and a fair amount of fussing, but once both the 1st and 6th strings are accurate, all the other strings should be okay.

I've done this a fair number of times on the various guitars that new students have arrived with.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Stewart
Date: 26 Sep 10 - 08:42 AM

Hi I have a 570 vittoro can any one give me sum feed back about this quitar

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Eric
Date: 28 Sep 10 - 11:46 AM

Has anyone found a good resource for these type of guitars yet?

-Eric
Antique appraisers

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,ojon
Date: 06 Oct 10 - 02:09 AM

yes i have one

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,doseymouse
Date: 29 May 11 - 05:10 AM

Paid 40 quid for a vittoro 570, sold to me by a rather elderly woman at work, I feel robbed

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,gary hall
Date: 19 Jun 11 - 06:37 AM

I bought a Vittoro 531 in a charity shop in bury st edmunds suffolk for 20 quid ,it was a bit beat up but I`ve cleaned it up and put Martin M1400 Marquis Acoustic Folk Guitar Strings on it and it sounds great , can anybody tell me how you can get the age of the instument , is the "531" reference something to do with the age?? any info would be much appreciated

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,GUEST: Matthew
Date: 27 Aug 11 - 07:51 AM

Gary, I wouldn't put "acoustic" strings on it. They're made of steel rather than nylon and the strain they'll put on the neck is much greater than it's designed to take- you can end up seriously damaging the guitar by doing this.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 03:16 PM

Hi, I also have a Vittorio, however mine is a 575

The action is not so regretable, and sound is OK (I normally play acoustic and electric) although it is obviously very cheaply manufactured... stick rosette, plain binding, and has a #8 phillips head woodscrew through the fretbaord between 11 and 12th frets, a little odd, however I suspect this is where the fretbaord is fastened to the body, or could it actaully be a custom shop job, to mark the twelfth fret, as it is quite descrete being of similar colour to the rosewood? (if indeed it IS rosewood?)

Again, distributed by the famed London distributor of sheet music.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Jul 15 - 03:17 PM

And, any further info would be fab, as I enjoy noodling with it occasionally...

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 28 Jul 15 - 07:22 AM

I also have a (rather battered) Vittoro 575. Did anyone find a source on the potential value of the guitar, or the year they were produced?

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 23 Nov 15 - 05:20 PM

I have just bought a Czech Vittoro 531, with 2 strings missing, from a local charity shop in Edinburgh for £5 sterling. Boosey & Hawkes distributed them and this is noted on the inside label. It's probably worth no more than I paid for it but I enjoy a challenge and this one needs a lot of work - nut, bridge, saddle and fretboard are all worn or damaged in some way and the string holes on the bridge look as though it's been steel strung at some point. The D'Addarios I've bought to string it cost more than the guitar, but I like the the thinline 3/4 body with a full scale neck [Approx Gibson-style 23.75", maybe a bit less]. One indication that it's not a high quality guitar is that the machine heads are a single assembly and the tuners can't be taken apart because, instead of a bolt through the gear wheel, there's a fixed rivet. If I can't loosen each tuner enough to strip and clean, the major expense will be new machine heads. Otherwise a bargain project guitar.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,DrWord
Date: 23 Nov 15 - 10:28 PM

rock&roll dude .dk ~ have U posted the pix of Lignatones where we can see them?



keep on pickin'
dennis

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,Billythebass
Date: 03 Dec 16 - 06:53 AM

I have a Vitoro 575, made in Germany, had it 30 years, it's fantastic, a treat to play.

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Sep 18 - 06:21 PM

I have one it was my first guitar. I was 10 when I received it in 1964. I am currently returning it. Installing a carbon fiber truss rod and a premade Martin finger board along with new tuners, bridge and nut. Leaving the checked finish as is though.
Ed

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: punkfolkrocker
Date: 13 Sep 18 - 06:55 PM

My tatra from 12 years ago was left late one night on the doorstep of a hospice charity shop
afer it went a bit mouldy...

Subject: RE: Lignatone Czechoslovakian antique guitar
From: GUEST,gary
Date: 27 Mar 24 - 02:38 PM

I have one without a truss rod. neck is still good but at some point fixed because i can see a screw which looks newer than the guitar.sounds good and intonation is good . I'm wondering if it was produced prior to 1955. there is another label on the inside that says cs. hudebni nastroje
harmonica, horovice. there is more writing on the label but hard to read. Any ideas on production date. It does not have a slotted headstock.