1960s Barclay (Harmony H1203 Sovereign) 000-Size Guitar
While it reads Barclay on the headstock, this is in fact a Harmony H1203 Sovereign model with a different finish (it's in the "Silvertone iced-tea-burst" that Harmony sprayed on Silvertone-branded guitars of theirs from the time) and brand. It's a 000-sized instrument with ladder bracing and solid mahogany back/sides with a solid spruce top. The bridge and fretboard are Brazilian rosewood, as per the usual for the time. It's probably a mid-'60s model but the date stamp is illegible.
I like these best as fingerpickers but this one also makes a good flatpicker, too, as it's got a warmer sound than average for the model type.
Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, new bone nut, minor replacement binding at the side of the neck, a new heel cap, new bone saddle, replacement pickguard, and setup-side work. It's playing spot-on, now, and has a good, woody, fingerpicker-centric tone to it.
Weight: 3 lbs 15 oz
Scale length: 25 1/8"
Nut width: 1 3/4"
Neck shape: medium D/C
Board radius: 10"
Body width: 15 1/8"
Body depth: 3 7/8"
Top wood: solid spruce
Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
Bracing type: ladder
Bridge: rosewood
Fretboard: rosewood
Neck wood: mahogany
Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 52w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 16, 12
Truss rod: adjustable
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium/lower
Condition notes: it's crack-free as far as I can tell but it does have lots of finish wear by way of scuffs, scratches, small nicks, small dings, a bit of blush (on the sides mostly) and weather-check to the finish, and stuff like that. Overall it looks nice but the wear is there. There's also a bit of replacement binding on the side of the neck, the pickguard is a replacement (cut to the same shape as the original), and both the nut and saddle are bone replacements.
It comes with: no case, sorry.
Comments