1942 Barbero

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1942 Barbero

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sig

Posts: 296
Joined: Nov. 7 2007
From: Wisconsin

1942 Barbero

Hi fellow Flamencos,
I had the rare opportunity to play a 1942 Marcelo Barbero Flamenco last night. My instructor has owned this instrument since the early 80's and all I can say is Wow! That guitar was so incredibly light but with a huge voice, dry rasp, and of course very percussive; there is no mistake this is a true Flamenco guitar. One thing that I found interesting was that the neck was a bit narrower than most other instruments I have played. I found it so easy to play and it responded to a very light touch; if I ever have an instrument made I would love to have one of these copied. On the other hand I'm not too crazy for tuning pegs but I suppose you can't have a copy and not have pegs!!
Sig--

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 14 2007 8:12:15

Posts: 524
Joined: Jun. 15 2006

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to sig)

Sig, if you like guitars like the one you described, the closest you can get to it is the Domingo Esteso Reedition. GSI has one for sale $14K (

) but I can tell you that at one point I owned a Domingo Esteso Reedition and it was as you described i.e. light weight, percussive, easy to play, short sustain, narrow neck...

TK

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 14 2007 8:35:46

Arash

Posts: 4495
Joined: Aug. 9 2006
From: Iran (living in Germany)

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to sig)

I think Andalusian Guitars make copies acc. to Marcelo Barbero plans. I am not sure.

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 14 2007 8:55:54

Doog

Posts: 59
Joined: Sep. 17 2007
From: Tennessee

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to tk)

quote:

ORIGINAL: tk

Sig, if you like guitars like the one you described, the closest you can get to it is the Domingo Esteso Reedition. GSI has one for sale $14K ( ) but I can tell you that at one point I owned a Domingo Esteso Reedition and it was as you described i.e. light weight, percussive, easy to play, short sustain, narrow neck...

TK

I also owned an 'Esteso-Re-edicion" and quite honestly was totally unimpressed by it. It was light and had easy playability, but I could not stand the sounds that came out of it. I realize that the reaction to a guitars "voice" is very subjective and what I do not care for may delight someone else.

I have owned and played other Condes and I know that they are very popular with a large guitar playing segment, but I simply do not care for the way they sound.

I have a '69 Ramirez cedar top that plays circles around any Conde. I also traded an A-26 [Conde] for a John Ray blanca which has proven to be a delightful little guitar. It is a "feather" [2.1Kg], very comfortable to hold and excellent has playability. It is not a 'canon' - most suitable to intimate surroundings.

sig,
Good luck in your search for a guitar that totally delights you. Personally, I would not worry much about pegs vs machines and 'authenticity'. My '69 Ramirez was very authentic and came with pegs which proved to be a royal pain ... quite literally! I found myself playing it less and less because it hurt my left wrist to do so [arthritis]. Also, fine-tuning it was for me a combination of luck and patience. Happily, G.V. Rubio came to my rescue and did a flawless conversion to machines that another luthier assumed was its original condition.
Doog

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 14 2007 10:33:15

sig

Posts: 296
Joined: Nov. 7 2007
From: Wisconsin

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to Doog)

Thanks to all for your replies!! Doog, I appreicate your thoughts on the pegs vs the tuners because I felt the same way the other night when I had to constantly adjust and fine tune; drove me crazy. I did love that dry loud rasp and especially the light weight and balance of the guitar. Actually I like an instrument with a big voice (sounds better than loud!) especially If I accompany dancers which I don't do too often, however I just did this past Sat in a class. I would love to try a vintage Ramirez, maybe next time i'm in Chicago I'll stop by and visit Jim Sherry and see if he would part with one of his old "new" Ramirez' flamenco's; yeah right!! Another guitar that really impressed me was a blanca made by Anders Elliason. I saw his demo on Youtube and that instrument really sounded great however I think it had pegs; perhaps it could be constructed with machines. In any event thanks again to all for your responses and I was very interested to hear what your thoughts were in general about this instrument...
Sig--

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 15 2007 2:33:43

Posts: 524
Joined: Jun. 15 2006

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to Doog)

Doog,

I couldn't agree more with your statement. Currently, I do not own any conde or from the conde family. I use to own 2. Eventually, I realized that my taste was more Devoe and Reyes type guitars which I describe them as "Lyrical and Musical with strong trebles.

Sig, If you like Pegs, you should consider Devoe. He excels in Pegs. I own one machine and one peg Devoes, the pegs has a dryer sound and is as easy as the machine head to tune.

About the Domingo Esteso Reedition, I was trying to describe the feeling rather than the sound. Based on Sig's describtion, I thought that the "Esteso" had the same characteristics. But for the sound, I agree, it is not a Barbero sound.

TK

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 15 2007 2:59:50

Doog

Posts: 59
Joined: Sep. 17 2007
From: Tennessee

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to tk)

Hey 'tk',
I really, really agree with you about DeVoe's guitars. I have one of his negras and it is the sweetest instrument. Extremely comfortable just to hold and with excellent playability and a perfect delight to play ... as you say, "Lyrical and Musical"!

tk wrote:
"About the Domingo Esteso Reedition, I was trying to describe the feeling rather than the sound. Based on Sig's describtion, I thought that the "Esteso" had the same characteristics. But for the sound, I agree, it is not a Barbero sound."

Yes, I see what you mean.

sif,
Pegs or no pegs you may want to give DeVoe's guitars a serious look;however, they will not sound like a '42 Barbero.
Incidentally, converting my '69 Ramirez from pegs to machines had absolutely no ill effects on the guitar, its playability, or the quality of the sound which was unchanged - as magnificent as ever. I mention this because some people seem to endorse the myth that such conversions can have a bad effect on a guitar.

Doog

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 15 2007 13:32:03

itoprover

Posts: 343
Joined: Jan. 3 2006

RE: 1942 Barbero (in reply to Arash)

quote:

I think Andalusian Guitars make copies acc. to Marcelo Barbero plans. I am not sure.

hey Arash,
I've already tried 4 of these Andalusian Guitars - 3 blancas and 1 negra and I have to say all of them were amazing - response, playability!!!. Maybe I will get one of those for myself...

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Dec. 15 2007 14:19:31