Carlo Greco Archtops?

[DLQ]

Hi all, has anyone played a Carlo Greco carved acoustic archtop, or have a link to some more information?

I am not the best googler but I didn’t come up with too much other than his history at Guild.

thanks!

[sgcim]

Hi all, has anyone played a Carlo Greco carved acoustic archtop, or have a link to some more information?

I am not the best googler but I didn’t come up with too much other than his history at Guild.

thanks!

I left my D'A with him for six months; gave him $500 and told him to do whatever was needed. He did a lot of stuff.
After the six months, he asked me if I wanted to trade him my D'A for one of his guitars. They didn't look like carved archtops. They looked like weird 335s with a lot of electronics in them, at least two pickups in each one. He wanted me to try one, but I didn't want that type of guitar, so I just told him I wasn't interested in trading for one or playing one.
They definitely weren't acoustic archtop guitars. He had a bunch of them hanging up at his place, they were all weird colors like blue or green.
After that he started to lose it, because he was old and ill. He botched up a fret job on a friends D`A so badly, the guy was in tears, and couldn't sleep for a month.He took it to Flip Scipio, and Flip saved it. I tried to get in touch with Flip on his website, but he never got back to me. I've never met him, and I don't know where he is.
I've looked for Carlo's guitars too since then, but never heard a thing about them after he passed. Good luck!

[Stringswinger]

It is my understanding that Carlo Greco made the Guild Artist Awards (by himself) from the late 60's until he left Guild in the mid 70's. I owned a 71 Artist Award that, IMO was a better guitar than the two Guild-Benedetto Artist Awards that I owned. But that guitar is the only experience I have with any guitars made by Carlo Greco.

[Hammertone]

Carlo Greco archtops? I wish I had this one - it popped up on ebay five years ago.

[DLQ]

Thanks all!

Hammertone, what a guitar!

good idea also to save pictures from cool listings.

Do you remember about how much they were asking / what it sold for?

[Hammertone]

Here you go. Sometimes, I save this stuff when it catches my eye - in this case, it's such a hilarious guitar I was compelled to grab the pix and listing info:

[sgcim]

Here you go. Sometimes, I save this stuff when it catches my eye - in this case, it's such a hilarious guitar I was compelled to grab the pix and listing info:

It looks like he was trying to copy the D'A Teardrop guitar. The ones in his shop were nothing like that. I've always wanted to know what happened to them. I think they were more like this. Weird guitars:
Just a moment...

[Hammertone]

More. When he wasn't bonkers he appears to have built some interesting guitars:

[ThatRhythmMan]

Guillaume Rancourt has made a gorgeous teardrop guitar as well.




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[Hammertone]

I like the way that Aschado snuck into the pix.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

What I want to see is the hardshell cases for teardrop guitars

[QsDuesBlues]

I seem to remember that Carlo Greco joined Guild in 1962 and slightly changed the outline of Guild archtops thereafter from that 50's Epiphone look ('bell-bottom lower bout) to a more Gibson-esque look (upper and lower bouts more regular) - e.g. compare a 1959 X-175 to a 1962 one, for instance. I've owned a 'newer outline' 1962 Guild A-150 since 2013 - it's a utterly lovely unspoilt carved-top cutaway acoustic, which Carlo Greco might well have had his hands on.

And of course no less a player than Rodney Jones played a Carlo Greco archtop early in his professional career - see the original pressing of the LP cover of 'Articulation' on Timeless Records (1978)...........

[Sam b]

Was he involved in making the Guild George Barnes model? I love those guitars.

[QsDuesBlues]

Was he involved in making the Guild George Barnes model? I love those guitars.

Apparently George Barnes' prototype acousti-lectric model was probably made as early as 1960, the handful of production instruments that followed dating from 1961, it seems. In a taped conversation, George didn't think more than 20 examples were ever made - and possibly only a dozen or so, as Guild felt that they were not very practical instruments to make, it seems.

[all of this info. taken from the 'Guitars n' Jazz' website, where a former acousti-lectric' owner who knew George Barnes shares his memories whilst putting his instrument up for sale......]

See also the classic 60's Guild photo-advertisement ("Guild.....Warm!") featuring guitarist Les Spann playing a Guild acousti-lectric - together with a Guild amplifier and the sheet music of Les's tune 'Afterthought' (from his 'Gemini' album on Jazzland Records).

Les himself more typically played a Guild A-500, an X-500 and an X-150 at various times.

Probably much more info. on Carlo Greco to be had on the 'Let's Talk Guild' website -

[Hammertone]

George Barnes' prototype acousti-lectric model, along with the Gibson ES-5, inspired this wonderful Les Paul-sized one-off hollow "Sprucemaster" from great Canadian luthier Brian Monty. Built for a friend, it's a wonderful guitar. The three P-90 pickups are mounted to an internal spar, and are not connected to the carved spruce top plate.

[savoy150]

Here's one for sale. Beautiful guitar. Carlo Greco Archtop – Empire Guitars

[coolharmony]

Carlo 335 style, maple, carved top and back guitar.