1960s Harmony-made Barclay 12-String Guitar

This is basically the same guitar as the H912 Stella model 12-string, but the truss rod in the neck puts it a little later (I couldn't find a date-stamp, but am figuring '66-'68) and it has actual binding rather than painted-on faux-binding. This is also one of the cleanest old down-market Harmony 12-strings I've seen. It's lived in its original chip case its entire life and the finish is almost as bright and glossy as it was when it was made.

Why is it so clean? It's still in the original owner's care. When he got it as a young fella, the tuning instructions confused him so he never played it -- and considering the "factory setup" on Harmony 12s, I can't blame him for not playing it even if he wasn't confused.

I didn't have time to do a video clip, but its sound is basically the same as the rest of these 000-size, 12-fret 12-strings made by Harmony -- chunky, aggressive, and very Leadbelly in style. I strung this one light so it could play at normal E-to-E tension (this had the original sales manual with it which suggested tuning down between C and C#), so it also has some pretty good chime, too. Still, what these like best are ham-handed bass-runs and thumping.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, modification of the bridge to include a drop-in saddle slot, new fully-compensated bone saddle, cleaning, and a setup.

Setup notes: it plays perfectly with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret.

Scale length: 25 3/16"

Nut width: 2"

String spacing at nut: 1 13/16"

String spacing at bridge: 2 5/16"

Body length: 19 1/4"

Lower bout width: 15 1/8"

Waist width: 9 1/2"

Upper bout width: 11 1/2"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid birch

Back/sides wood: solid birch

Neck wood: poplar

Bracing type: ladder

Fretboard: ebonized maple, synthetic nut

Bridge: ebonized maple, new bone saddle

Neck feel: medium D-shape, flat board