These solid birch archtops were only made for one production year in 1967. Made in the U.S.A. by Harmony. Model number H1218 and branded Barclay for the United Buying Service mail order company. Plays like a dream. A vintage solid wood, made in the U.S.A. guitar that you can pick up for next to nothing. No one wants these but they are a fantastic way to get into learning about construction techniques of the past.
These cheap archtops from the 60’s don’t sound as good as flat top acoustics. Their tops are much thicker and less resonant. However they produce a tone that is something we don’t hear much these days and the aesthetics are more “hip” than modern flat tops. I’d rather play these old cheap archtops on a stage than a modern, mid-level, off-the-shelf acoustic.
Recording was a bit difficult. Traditional flat top acoustic mic techniques weren’t really working. I ended up using the ORTF mic placement strategy through some very quiet preamps to get a super punchy wide tone. Definitely recommend this technique.
Merch
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All Music Composed by Mark Gutierrez