Guild George Barnes Model

Rich Cohen

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2015
Messages
3,147
Reaction score
2,278
Location
Charlottesville, VA
Here's a video of the George Barnes model. Also two links to Barnes' recordings, one of them a video of him playing in Berlin on his signature model. He was fantastic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We5RuKNU9mc&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otvMYsUljvc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BG5yvKggQs&feature=youtu.be

Chet Atkins learning from George Barnes:
http://onemanz.com/guitar/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/05/39310_521059134599847_1660786801_n.jpg




Enjoy!

Also, I just received my A-500 yesterday, and will be posting pics today.
 
Last edited:

Rich Cohen

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2015
Messages
3,147
Reaction score
2,278
Location
Charlottesville, VA
Cool links!

Is he holding the pick between his thumb and and third finger? It's "different" how his forefinger sticks out while he's picking.

I was searching to find out what he's doing with his right hand (to no avail), but found this informative Barnes link:

http://onemanz.com/guitar/articles-2/interviews-and-profiles/george-barnes/

walrus

Walrus,
My thought is that he uses his index finger to pick individual notes when needed. Or, there is some structural problem with his index finger which doesn't allow him to use it with his thumb to hold the pick.
 

ClaytonS15

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
497
Reaction score
400
Location
MA
Guild Total
3
It does look like he holds his pick between his thumb and middle finger- interesting.
 

gilded

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
3,479
Reaction score
197
Location
texas
That's the way George held a pic, but I can't remember the particulars too well, like whether he alternate-picked or down-picked.

I saw him playing Bach 'finger-style' one time before a gig, just to warm up his hands. I don't think that happened very often, by the way. And it was 'just George', too at least as far as the warm-up went.

I'm friends with an old student of George's, I'll ask him if he remembers the back story!
 
Last edited:

gilded

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
3,479
Reaction score
197
Location
texas
I talked with one of George's old students, the guy that taught me how to play guitar & bass. Here's what he said about George's picking style:

"George almost always down-picked but he could definitely alternate-pick and I saw him do it from time to time. He used it more as an "effect" than anything else."

On playing Bach:

"Yes, George did play some picked, not finger style, Bach lines but he could also finger pick. As a multi faceted studio musician he had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He played on a lot of records and stuff you wouldn't even think of - like Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde. Really."

So that's it, folks. Now you know, too.

gilded aka Harry
 
Last edited:

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
You certainly don't see a Guild George Barnes model like in the first video very often! Thanks for posting!

Ralf
 

kakerlak

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
2,354
Reaction score
128
Location
Oklahoma
Might just be a different grip. I played for a while in my 20s with a stainless steel pick and used to hold it b/w thumb and a curled middle finger and then kind of rest my index finger up on the top shoulder of the pick. This kind of shifted the pick to into parallel with my index finger and I thought it was a little faster/more precise w/ a pick that absolutely did not bend at all. Anyway, if you had big old fat fingers, it might end up looking like the index finger was just kind of hanging out there, like his does.
 

hansmoust

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2005
Messages
9,202
Reaction score
3,507
Location
Netherlands
Is he holding the pick between his thumb and and third finger? It's "different" how his forefinger sticks out while he's picking.

I do have a lot of customers that hold the pick between thumb and middle finger; they keep their index finger free to produce artificial harmonics.
I'm not saying that's what George Barnes did, but it's a technique that a lot of accomplished players use and I would not be surprised to hear that George Barnes could do it as well.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

gilded

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
3,479
Reaction score
197
Location
texas
If you like the lip-stick on your collar solo, there's a tutorial vid on the same song from Dave Price in the UK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_AnAE7Seh0

Some people on youtube are wondering what guitar George did the solo on. One guy thought it might be his acousti-lectric, but that guitar didn't get made until '62 and the song was recorded in late '59.

George used to play an ES-355 in the studio before he got the signature acousti-lectric. I would think that a 355 would be the most obvious choice for him to use (I admit it sounds like a Tele).

Mr. Barnes liked the 24.75" scale on his Gibson. He had very powerful hands, but fairly short fingers, so I would bet a Coca Cola that he was using his 355 Gibson with the 24.75" scale, on the treble hum bucker. The engineers would have taken care of the rest of the 'tele sound.'

He played an ES-150 with a P90 for awhile, too, earlier in the '50s.
 

parker_knoll

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
1,453
Reaction score
410
Location
London
Thanks for those videos, Rich. Really nice to hear some string bending in a jazz context.
 

Guildedagain

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2016
Messages
8,999
Reaction score
7,165
Location
The Evergreen State
Not sure if this before of after Chuck Berry, but either way, this is what you listen to if you really want to learn how to play guitar in the Rock and Blues context...

Wish I'd know about him back then, although, as "everything" is connected" even though all of my Blues licks came from the Beano album and then Zeppelin albums, undoubtedly Barnes had an effect on both Clapton and Page, and Beck, and later Brian Setzer, no doubt, and countless others.

But even now, thx to the tutorial, I can pickup some great riffs. They never go out of style...
 
Last edited:

Quantum Strummer

Senior Member
Joined
May 26, 2015
Messages
2,382
Reaction score
118
Location
Michigan
Some people on youtube are wondering what guitar George did the solo on. One guy thought it might be his acousti-lectric, but that guitar didn't get made until '62 and the song was recorded in late '59.

George used to play an ES-355 in the studio before he got the signature acousti-lectric. I would think that a 355 would be the most obvious choice for him to use (I admit it sounds like a Tele).

Mr. Barnes liked the 24.75" scale on his Gibson. He had very powerful hands, but fairly short fingers, so I would bet a Coca Cola that he was using his 355 Gibson with the 24.75" scale, on the treble hum bucker. The engineers would have taken care of the rest of the 'tele sound.'

I can believe that. A bridge PAF does a very credible Tele emulation if you dial back the mids a little. It doesn't need any help with the high end.

-Dave-
 

parker_knoll

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
1,453
Reaction score
410
Location
London
Thanks to this thread I'm now two George Barnes albums richer than I was yesterday.

What's with the strange pickup mounting. No surrounds - are they rear mounted somehow?
 
Top