This first jewel has grown on me quickly. I'm told its a 1965, the serial numbers place it correctly although the actual year that it was manufactured has faded unreadable. It is a surviving US made Harmony Monterey arch-top #950. Picked it up on craigslist, it didn't take much to set it up. installed new strings and a new rosewood pick-guard (the original was missing, they were made of one-ply plastic that sported a art deco style M for the monterey line.) This guitar has a very subtle tone that I have come to really enjoy. I am in the process of building a couple transducer pickups to install under the bridge had them taped to the body last night and every thing sounded sweet as Chicago.
My second association comes from Brazil, a very worn student classical that was manufactured by a company called Giannini. I did some online research and found some pdf. catalogs from the 60's and 70's , with what info I gathered I would place this from the 80's. The varnish is cracking all over giving it a patina that shows years of neglect. I found this in the toy section at the Goodwill, it was missing 3 strings and one of the strings was off a steel string. There amongst slobbering children I picked it up and strummed this out of tune forgotten instrument. I was blown away by its sound. I paid $17.00 and brought it home where I put it in the closet for well over a year. This winter I pulled it out and replaced the tuners, did what I could to clean up the varnished surface, gave her some new strings, and have come to enjoy its sound. I leave this one in the stairwell in our house and I enjoy sitting on the steps playing with the nice natural stairwell re-verb.
