1963 Guild George Barnes Guitar in F Archtop Electric Guitar - Used

$4,500.00

Details

This Guild "George Barnes Guitar in F" was made in 1963 and it’s in excellent structural condition. A few years ago, this example was sent to Chris Mirabella, a fine luthier who is the go-to guy for repair and restoration work on D’Angelicos, D’Aquistos and other vintage archtops. Mirabella did a complete refinish in natural and it's safe to say that the finish is better now than when it was new. The original Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines have been replaced with nickel Waverlys and the original pickups have been swapped out for more recent Guilds LB-1s, which are the same style.

Chances are good that anyone interested in this Guild "George Barnes Guitar in F" model already knows all about it, but just in case here are a few facts. A quick summary would be that it's a deep-body version of an M-75 Aristocrat with a short scale, intended to be tuned A-D-G-C-E-A (low to high). First introduced in Guild's 1963 catalog, not many were made, with the first four being constructed for Barnes' "Guitars Galore" LP. On the back of that album, Barnes explained "The F guitar offers a range pitched four notes higher than the standard guitar, making it possible to play with the trumpets; even up to F above the high C.” So if you want to go out and play with trumpets without using a capo, you'll need this guitar. Includes a Hoffee carbon fiber case.