Photos of beautiful and unusual guitars that I have owned or worked on.

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ISANA

JAZZ-GITARREN REFERENCE PAGE

Photos and Contributions welcome!

From 1951-1974, Josef Sandner hand-built ISANA guitars in his 'Specialist Workstation For JazzGuitars' in Nauheim, Near Frankfurt, Germany.

The company name was a contraction of his own name and place of work: JSANA = J(osef) San(dner) Na(uheim). Historically the letter I and J are closely bound, and it is understood that the brand name was pronouced ISANA but styled as JSANA

Elvis with Isana Jazzguitar

Several models were produced during these years, all seemingly of good quality, but the most desirable iteration is the stylish black-lacquered archtop owned by Elvis Presley whilst stationed a few miles away in Bad Nauheim, on the other side of Frankfurt, Germany 1958-1960.

Elvis with Isana Jazzgitarre

"Elvis' father Vernon bought an 'Isana' guitar at the music shop 'Hummel' in Frankfurt on 12-20-1958, a noble instrument finished with black piano lacquer at the price of DM 225,00, and gave it to Elvis as a Christmas present. Later Elvis added a floating neck pickup to the instrument and played it through a Dynacord amp."

(Quotation translated from http://www.elvisforever.de)

Elvis with Isana Guitar

For many years (pre-c.2004) this guitar's maker was notoriously unidentified in the Elvis fan and guitar collector worlds.

Elvis with Isana Jazzgitarre

In 2006, an Isana alleged to be Elvis' personal guitar came on the market, being at that time mistakenly termed a 'Jsana' through a mis-reading of the company's admittedly confusing logo. A fanciful press-release from the time claimed it to be 'possibly the only remaining example in the world'. This guitar with it's dubious provenance (and brutally added humbucker pickup!) repeatedly failed to sell when offered by Heritage Auctions. It was subsequently loaned for display at the Memphis Museum of Rock 'n' Soul.

Elvis Exhibition of Isana Guitar

The above guitar is not unversally agreed to be Elvis' own guitar. Scotty Moore wrote that Elvis gave his Isana along with another guitar to two young fans, and that he autographed them. It would appear more likely that his personal one has been on display at the newly-opened Elvis Presley Museum Dusseldorf since 2012 (below)

Elvis Presley Museum Dusseldorf Isana Guitar

General Isana Dating Information:

Month and Year of manufacture is ink-stamped (quite small!) inside the Archtop models, on the inside face of the backplate, directly beneath and visible through either (or often both) soundhole(s). It is usually very faded and faint, and hard to locate and read - try using a very bright torch!

Since the known production date of the 'Elvis' model spans 5 years (OKT 1956- MAI 1961), it seems a reasonable ballpark figure guesstimate that perhaps 100 examples were completed per year for an approx total of 5 years = 500 of this model may have been built, with perhaps fewer than one fifth of that (ie under 100 examples) in black. The most common finishes appear to have been the Red-black or Orange-Black Sunburst, with slightly fewer in Tobacco Brown Sunburst or Orange Sunburst. Only a very few examples (I know of seven including Elvis') have surfaced in Black finish. None are yet known to me in Blonde or Natural finish.

***DO PLEASE NOTE that these numbers are pure speculation based upon what I imagine a small (under 6-person) team could produce, and could easily be inaccurate by a factor of 10 in either direction!!!***

Earliest known black 'Elvis Model", dated OKT 56

The below example (my own) shows the production date, 'NOV 1957'

Isana Archtop Guitar

The next example I bought and sold before I knew about the internal date stamps.

This 'Black Rose' sunburst example bears a date-stamp 'OKT 1959'

Isana Guitar

Other ISANA Archtop Models, and Speculative Timeline

Josef Sandner is believed to have produced these guitars either alone, or in a small-workforce workshop, and despite the coincidence of a shared family name was not related by birth to either Franz Sandner of FASAN Guitars, or Alois Sandner who made ALOSA Guitars, although speculation abounds as to there having been collaborations, shared suppliers, and mutally assistive business relationships between them during this difficult time where 'everyone helped each other', all fuelled by their shared goals, relative geographical proximities and broad stylistic similarities. However in the details and subtleties in the output known from these brands are many distinct differences...

That said, there are also many other similar guitars that display Isana-like features, but which bear no branding, or a variety of other names, such as 'Oscha', 'S und S' - It was (and still is!) common practise for a distributor or even the original seller's shop to add their own perfectly professional-looking decal labels to guitars in these days, so the situation is by no means clear cut.

The following photos were archived largely from ebay listings during the 'early' days of the internet, ca 2002-6, with further images added as collectors have sent them to me. Below, I try to make sense of the chonology of these models... but PLEASE NOTE! Year(s) of production as claimed may refer to a model produced for several years either side of that date!

The method I used to develop the following chronology: Pictured guitars are sorted first according to known date stamps, then undated examples were added in by where the features correlate, with consideration of how this would retate to the stylistic changes with popular worldwide trends in guitar design, ie: full body jazz guitars> cutaways added> thinline bodies with floating electronics> move to electric beat guitars and budget plywood-topped models> double cutaway thinline electrics

Note: When I assembled the following 'chronology', I believed the date of manufacture could be inferred by the style of tailpiece, but it appears Plain, Lyre, & Harp forms were all readily available from the same supplier throughout the 1950s/1960s. Since the modest cost of a plain unit would be tripled for Lyre or Harp form, it is more likely to be an indication of the manufacturer's designation of Standard or Deluxe model. (Also, one should bear in mind that these tailpieces are very easily swapped!)

c.1951-54

Medium-bodied 'Deluxe' Non-Cutaway Models

Glitter Headstock Veneers with thin-stripes, Lyre-form Tailpiece

c.1953

Cutaway Models introduced

Large-bodied example below, glitter on headstock, but thin stripes simplified

pickguard shapes inconsistant:

Dated Dez 1954 - Body Stamp

c.1954-56

All-Pearloid Headstock Veneers

Non-Cutaway Model

Dot-Markers as used by Fasan, simplified headstock veneers as per mid '60s budget models, traditional f-holes...

Dated Sept 1954? or 1956?

Headstock veneers come to a sharper point on this and some other earlier examples?

c.1956-58

Black (above) and tobacco-burst (below) supplied with no date information

Photos supplied with unverified dates of "1956" above, and "1958" below

Similar cutaway model, but glitter on headstock, different tailpiece and pickguard shape. Also note 6 fingerboard inlays, including 3rd position:

1959

Big-bodied 'Deluxe' Single Cutaway Blonde Model

Glitter Headstock Veneers with thin-stripes, internal date stamp NOV 1959

Also note 6 fingerboard inlays, including 3rd position

A non-cutaway example below with Harp-Shaped Tailpiece, could be earlier

This example also features 6 fingerboard inlays, including one at the 3rd fret position

1958-60

Lots of Elvis Models produced, model seems to stabilise.

Noted variations are few, but headstock proportions vary, possibly as a result of handwork involved. Earlier ones seem wider and more paddle-like, and may feature rounded or square Tuner Buttons, and may have black-painted or bare metal tuner ferrules.