I often flash on vintage guitars on sale on eBay but I'm rarely tempted to actually buy one - my main purpose with guitars is still to play them on stage, so they have to be in a good state, and of good quality to start with - and with these oldies you never know (I do play on a couple of old Musimas, but I consider myself lucky that they are playable)... But when I see this Bartolini thinline guitar, I really think that this baby should be playing some good music, and by me preferably (if it's possible...)
Very little is known about he Bartolini brand - they usually sport the BAR brand you can see here, that stands for Bartolini (or Bartoli, I found the two versions, but Bartolini is more likely) Alvaro (some say it's the first name of Bartolini, some that it's an associate) Recanati (being the Italian town where the company was created - same town that saw the birth of most famous Italian guitar brand Eko). But as often in the 1960s, you could find the Bartolini guitars under several brands, such as Baronet, Soprani, Dega or Diamond, depending on the country or even just the Italian city where they were distributed.
Though this thinline guitar's design isn't as inspired as Bartolini's solid bodies, it shares one of their specificity: the big pickguard that covers almost half the body and follows the outline of the guitar - I love that on a hollow-body. I enjoy also a lot the armour-plated tremolo - almost German in its intensity - and though it lacks the big plastic switches adorning its solid body siblings, it has the typically Italian complex electronics.
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Our early band years in Hungary we also played Musima, Jolana and I can tell you they were really hit-and-miss...
ReplyDeleteBut the worst guitar ever I seen it was a Russian or Ukrainen made Ural bass. Our bass player got tendosynovitis within 2 weeks using it.
Those pickups look *exactly* like '62, '63 era Crucianelli pickups.
ReplyDeleteHere:
http://www.fetishguitars.com/html/crucianelli/earlysolid/index.html
That is a corker. If only I had space for anoter guitar...
ReplyDeleteThe action looks a bit high for me, I'd question how playable it is like that, but interesting guitar.
ReplyDeleteI'd probably change the bridge for a roller one if I'd come to play this guitar...
ReplyDeleteThe pickups really looks similar to Crucianelli ones.
ReplyDeleteI owned a 64 Crucianelli for some time.. http://www.tonepedia.com/electric-guitar/crucianelli-elite-v-40-1964
If this baby here sounds like my old 64 then I wanna hear it so bad! Thinline body will do them good! (Though I must agree - with this oldies you never know if it's actually playable)
anout pickups, vintage Bartolini guitars have no connections to nowadays Bartolini bass pickups.
ReplyDeleteI"m italian and personally Know Alvaro's son, Alfredo. I Will link to him to Know more about the guitar model itzelf. Thanks
ReplyDelete