Junior Barnard's Axe

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Nov 2011 1:08 pm

http://www.fretboardjournal.com/blog/wh ... leo-fender

Rolling Stone's list wouldn't be the same if not for Junior.

AJ Azure · Post by **AJ Azure** » 30 Nov 2011 2:25 pm

archtop-y goodness

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 30 Nov 2011 3:39 pm

Man, I had an Emperor just like that for a few years. Lovely guitar. Well, it wasn't exactly like that, but I had a Dearmond 1100 on it and it was one of the best sounding electrified archtops I'd ever heard. If I played it through my Electar Zephyr amp I could get that Junior goodness. I miss it all now.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Nov 2011 4:19 pm

So cool that he had a string-thru steel guitar pickup as his secret weapon.

John Rosett · Post by **John Rosett** » 30 Nov 2011 6:36 pm

Thanks for posting that, Andy! I'm a huge fan of Mr. Barnard, and it's great to see that guitar. I wish there were more recordings of him available. I've heard about recordings he made with Luke Wills, but I've never been able to track them down.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 1 Dec 2011 12:24 am

Here's another shot:

I have a -49 Emperor with a DeArmond Rhythm Chief, incredible tone, both amplified and acoustically, very balanced and pianolike. Plugged into an Ampeg and there's the fat buttery Johnny Smith tone and through my Premier 76 more raunchy and bluesy, much like Junior's tone.

John Rosett · Post by **John Rosett** » 1 Dec 2011 7:15 am

Now I wish I hadn't sold that spare trap pickup...

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 1 Dec 2011 8:34 am

Moved to Music from Steel Without Pedals.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 1 Dec 2011 8:59 am

Thanks Brad. I had parked it there by mistake.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 1 Dec 2011 9:03 am

Deleted

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 1 Dec 2011 9:52 am

http://www.adioslounge.com/2011/03/get- ... unior.html

Dave Hopping · Post by **Dave Hopping** » 1 Dec 2011 10:00 am

Great stuff! Got a feeling Les Paul was a Junior Barnard fan-or maybe vice versa.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 1 Dec 2011 11:32 am

There is a lot of Junior's playing on the Bob Wills "Tiffany Recordings" which is a box set for $100 when I bought it a coule of years ago. If Junior had lived into the 50's and 60's IMHO he would have transgressed, and been one of the real giants in Rock & Roll.

Ian Finlay · Post by **Ian Finlay** » 2 Dec 2011 7:02 am

Jussi: OT, but how do you stop the DeArmond moving about? I have the same one on a Gretsch, and since the neck end of the mounting arm isn't secured anywhere it flaps about a bit!

John Rosett · Post by **John Rosett** » 2 Dec 2011 7:19 am

If it's flopping around, try bending the rod slightly so that it exerts some downward pressure on the pickup.

Michael Lee Allen · Post by **Michael Lee Allen** » 4 Dec 2011 8:58 am

Deleted

Scott Shewbridge · Post by **Scott Shewbridge** » 4 Dec 2011 11:43 am

Neat stuff, thanks for sharing.

What's the story on the saddle? Did he put a cover on it to act as a hand rest?

I just put my Loar accoustic archtop in the shop to have a Pick Up the World undersaddle pickup installed. I chose the pickup based on a recommendation from Joey McKenzie (Quebe Sisters), who was nice enought to chat with me after a performance at the Strawberry Music Festival. He has one on his accoustic Gibson L5. He says he prefers using a microphone, but has the pickup for loud, feedback-plagued situations. I don't think Joey goes for "low down and dirty" that often!

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 4 Dec 2011 11:50 pm

Ian Finlay wrote:Jussi: OT, but how do you stop the DeArmond moving about? I have the same one on a Gretsch, and since the neck end of the mounting arm isn't secured anywhere it flaps about a bit!

Hey Ian, sorry for the late reply! My DeArmond is actually attached to the pickguard too. There's a small piece of wood glued underside the guard and the pickguard side of the PU has that little "lip" with a tiny hole for a screw, makes it pretty stable. Also, the bass side of the PU is basically laying to the top with those felt pieces in between, so there really isn't any room for it to "flap".

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 5 Dec 2011 4:58 am

Jussi Huhtakangas wrote:
Ian Finlay wrote:Jussi: OT, but how do you stop the DeArmond moving about? I have the same one on a Gretsch, and since the neck end of the mounting arm isn't secured anywhere it flaps about a bit!
Hey Ian, sorry for the late reply! My DeArmond is actually attached to the pickguard too. There's a small piece of wood glued underside the guard and the pickguard side of the PU has that little "lip" with a tiny hole for a screw, makes it pretty stable. Also, the bass side of the PU is basically laying to the top with those felt pieces in between, so there really isn't any room for it to "flap".

My Rhythm Chief 1100 was mounted to my Emperor using a neck rod. The only drawback was that you had to screw 2 small screws into the side of the neck, but it was great. This is what they look like (pic borrowed from archtop.com):

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 5 Dec 2011 5:02 am

This Finnish guy makes exact repros of the DeArmonds, while not exactly cheap, still more affordable than the originals nowadays are:
http://www.ajl-guitars.com/news1.html

(Sorry OT!)

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 5 Dec 2011 5:11 am

My 1100 was the gold, adjustable pole piece model and it had been rewound by Fralin before I bought it. It was hands-down the best sounding floater I have ever heard. Wish I still had it, but then again, I wish i still had something to put it on. The only acoustic guitar I own now is a Dunn D-hole gypsy guitar.

I'll bet the repros sound amazing--they look great!