jimmyl51 said:
Harry,
So you owned a 17" Acousti-Lectric back a number of years ago? I was lucky enough to pick up the same guitar about 15 years ago when I lived in California. I have the guitar with me at the moment here in Maine. By chance do you still have the serial number of it? I would assume that it was a sunburst finish? Do you remember who you sold it to? Thanks! jim in Maine
Jim, I do remember who I sold it to, but don't like to post some one else's name on the internet (I'll give you the name in a PM, as long as it doesn't go public). I don't have any pics (too broke to own a camera back then, no TV either), nor do I have the serial number.
I bought it at Sam Ash music in the late '70's, after the musician George Barnes passed away in '77. They had it in the window of their 48th street store and it was staring at me. The guys in the store said it had been traded in by a player from Spain who played with a big-time Spanish singer, the Tom Jones of Spain (their words, not mine).
I literally bought it for my old music teacher, who had been a student of George's. We had lost touch several years before, but I knew if I could get a hold of him, he'd probably want it. So I bought it, put the word out, and caught up with him six or nine months later. He did want it and traded me two late '70's ES-175s for it (a fair trade at the time, although I hated those particular guitars).
In a word, it was a great guitar. I loved the Barnes, but wasn't enough of a jazz player to make it work for me. Back then, my repetoire was Rock and Fake Jazz. I needed the extra-cutting power of the Gibson humbuckers to get, not only 'my sound', but 'any sound' I could live with. Knowing what I know now about pickup height adjustment, I'm sure I could make a Barnes work these days
That guitar had the clearest voice of any archtop I've ever had. The overtones would come out so well, you could incorporate them into the song. It was wonderful guitar, but just not something I could use.
My teacher said the guitar was better over-all than George's personal guitar, had a more even voice, etc. As well, George's Geo. Barnes Acousti-lectric was hard to play, but that's because it suited George's style to have it set up that way, not because it was a bad guitar. George's guitar had more cutting power, too. George's guitar had a wonderful piece of aged spruce for the top, so I don't know if George's axe sounded the way it did because of the top or because he was smarter at getting his pickups adjusted than your Humble Servant. It might have been because he was a wonderful musician, come to think of it!
Jim, the only other thing I remember right now about the guitar is the three-color sunburst finish. It was very shiny, very clean. The red part of the burst, as it shaded into to the yellow, was a little grainy; you could see tiny, discrete little dots of red. Kind of different from the bursts I was used to looking at back then.
PM if you want to try and figure out more about who owned the guitar (after I did) and who he sold it to, etc. I know my teacher ended up in California, but I don't know if he sold the guitar before he moved to the Land of Milk and Honey or afterwards.
All the best, Harry
