Baxendale Conversions™
What is a Baxendale Conversion?
The Baxendale Conversion™ is our trademarked, proprietary green-tech process of remanufacturing old department store guitars—like Harmony, Kay, Silvertone, and more—into world-class, road-ready vintage instruments. These guitars were originally made with high-quality, often endangered tonewoods, but were mass-produced with underwhelming structural and tonal designs.
Our process changes that completely.
Instead of building a new guitar and artificially “relicing” it to look vintage, we rebuild the real thing from the inside out, turning forgotten guitars into extraordinary-sounding, true vintage instruments—with improved tone, structure, and playability.
How the Process Works
Every Baxendale Conversion begins with disassembly and full internal restoration. Here’s a glimpse into our process:
1. Disassembly
• We remove the bridge and neck
• Remove the binding and carefully separate the back from the body
2. Structural Repair & Prep
• Old bracing is removed
• Cracks, loose linings, and other internal issues are addressed
• The body is cleaned and prepped for bracing
3. Proprietary Bracing Installation
• Our trademarked scalloped X-bracing design is installed, tuned for optimal resonance and projection
• Back braces are replaced or reinforced as needed
• This design is based on decades of study of pre-war Martins, Gibsons, Larson Brothers, and Mossman guitars
4. Neck & Fingerboard Work
• The neck is planed, refretted, and reset for perfect action and intonation
• Fingerboards are level sanded for smooth playability
5. Final Assembly & Setup
• A new pin-style bridge with compensated bone saddle is installed
• A bone nut and vintage-style tuners are added
• Each guitar undergoes a detailed setup and quality control inspection
What Makes It a Baxendale Conversion?
Every remanufactured guitar is upgraded with:
✔ Hand-installed proprietary bracing
✔ Reset and refretted neck, leveled fingerboard
✔ New bridge with compensated bone saddle
✔ Bone nut and vintage-style tuners
✔ Structural repair and tonal reengineering
✔ Lifetime warranty to the original owner
Why It Matters
These aren’t just guitars—they’re rescued relics. Each one is a testament to the belief that real vintage tone and real sustainability can coexist. We are preserving historic wood, repurposing endangered materials, and eliminating waste—all while making some of the best-sounding acoustic guitars available today. If you want the sound of a pre-war Martin or Gibson—but without the five-figure price tag or environmental toll—a Baxendale Conversion is your answer.
Better Than New. Greener Than New.
Every Baxendale Conversion is a functional piece of American guitar history, reborn to outplay its original self—and many of its high-end contemporaries.
View our Extensive Playlist of Conversion Videos → [YouTube]
Explore Available Conversions and Current Inventory on Reverb → [Reverb]
See our Hundreds of Vintage Part on eBay → [eBay]
Want to Convert Your Guitar? → [Contact Form]
Learn More About Scott Baxendale → [Bio]