1942 Barbero (Full Version)

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Message

sig -> 1942 Barbero (Dec. 14 2007 8:12:15)

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--



tk -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 14 2007 8:35:46)

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 ([:D]) 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



Arash -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 14 2007 8:55:54)

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



Doog -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 14 2007 10:33:15)

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 ([:D]) 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



sig -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 15 2007 2:33:43)

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--



tk -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 15 2007 2:59:50)

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



Doog -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 15 2007 13:32:03)

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



itoprover -> RE: 1942 Barbero (Dec. 15 2007 14:19:31)

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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