BARTOLEX 10-String Classical Harp Guitar

Great Sound, All-Solid, & B-Stock Discount!!!

AUTHORIZED BARTOLEX DEALER

Bartolex

10-String Guitar

Up for consideration is a used / B-stock Bartolex 10-String classical guitar and case. This guitar is the older Bartolex 10-string model, the MRS10, which has Ramirez fan bracing, solid spruce top, and solid Indian rosewood back and sides. This guitar is from the same Bartolex line that I personally play, and even though this is the older model, the sound is still quite good. Click HERE for 1270 Hi-resolution photos of this guitar. This model features all-solid select tonewoods, which increases the overall depth of tone. This guitar originally sold for $1875, and here is your chance to get one of the last 2 examples at a tremendous discount!!!

Bartolex is a guitar company founded by Argentinian luthier and guitarist Neris Gonzales, with production based in a high-quality Artisian Workshop in China. The result is a great guitar design with high-quality woods and workmanship, at a very affordable price (Click here for my Cathedral Guitar Interview with Neris). Click here for additional Bartolex reviews 1 | 2 | 3 | 4. The sound, both acoustically and recorded, is very professional. I personally am endorsing Bartolex 10-string guitars and am selling them on eBay and through Bartolex USA, because I have already played hundreds of gigs on my own Bartolex guitar, and I'm continually astounded at how good these guitars are. The Bartolex 10-string guitar is the answer to my personal dream of having a quality 10-string guitar in standard production, at an affordable price -- and maybe it will be for you as well.

I have played and owned dozens of multi-string classical guitars, and this instrument rivals, equals or surpasses many luthier built guitars in the 3k - 6k range. This guitar has a AAA-grade solid spruce top, solid East Indian Rosewood back & Sides, ebony fretboard, and creates a beautifully-balanced Spanish sound with nice trebles, deep basses, and excellent resonance and sympathetic sustain. The low bass response and resonance of this particular guitar are both very good. Many low A strings sound weak and tubby, but the Bartolex design ensures a wonderful balance across all registers, and creates a very even response all the way down to low A.

STRINGS
I have the guitar tuned in Romantic tuning, a standard 10-string tuning where 1-6 is normal, and 7-10 descend step-wise: 7=D, 8=C, 9=B, 10 =A. Strings By Mail has a great selection of 10-string sets and can put together custom sets for you at a discount over individual strings. Several excellent string manufacturers offer 10-string sets, including D'Addario, Hannabach, and Savarez. LaBella also makes a 10-string set but I do not recommend it, because the low basses are too weak. All Bartolex guitars come with Savarez strings.

GUITAR SPECS:
* Model: MRS10
* Serial # 1000196
* Top: Solid Spruce
* B&S: Solid Roswood
* Saddle/Nut: Bone
* Fretboard: Ebony
* Finish: Lacquer
* Scale: 650 mm
* Nut Width: 83 mm
* 12th Fret width: 98 mm
* STRING SPACING
@ Nut = 75.5 mm o.c.
@ fret 12 = 88 mm o.c.
@ bridge = 101 mm o.c.
* NECK DEPTH
@ fret 1: 21 mm
@ fret 7: 23 mm
* ACTION
@ String 1 = 4 mm
@ String 10 = 5.5 mm
* Ebony Reinforcement
* Hardshell case
* Made in China

SOUNDFILES
Here are 15 quick, 1-take MP3s of this guitar, tracked using an AMI tube mic into a TAB-Funkenwerk V78M preamp and in to a Sony PCM D1 flash recorder. This is straight, pure signal with no additional EQ or effects. This guitar is very easy to record, and would make an excellent classical 10-string guitar for a classical CD, or for recording nylon-string guitar tracks in any musical style:

1 | Resonance Test
(Showing Sympathetic Resonance)

2 | Intonation Test (Harmonic @
12th fret, followed by fretted note)

3 | Corn Yards (Scottish Renaissance,
Rowallen Lute Book, 1596-1657)

4 | Joy To the Person (Anon.,
English Renaissance)

5 | Basses

6 | Se A Mi Acorgo (Italian Renaissance)

7 | Packington's Pound (English
Renaissance, before 1596)

8 | The Third Tune (Thomas Tallis,
1505-1586, with improvisations)

9 | Pavan #1 (Luis Milan, 1500-1561
Spanish Renaissance)

10 | Wachsa Mesa (Neusidler, German Renaissance)

11 | From The Beginning (Emerson, Lake, and Palmer)

12 | Bianca Fiore (Italian Renaissance)

13 | Danza (Italian Renaissance)

14 | Brian Boru's March
(Traditional Celtic)

15 | Rohan Theme
(Lord of the Rings)

In short, this guitar is a great concert and/or recording guitar for any intermediate to advanced-level player, and it would make a great guitar for classical concerts, recitals, local gigs, as well as recording studio projects. It is also the ideal guitar for first getting into the world of Multi-String guitars, as it is a relatively affordable, easy-to-play, and a great-sounding instrument.

“"About a year ago I purchased the Bartolex MRC10. The guitar has exceeded my expectations - I expected a student grade instrument, not a guitar with great playability and projection. Overall, this is a very satisfying guitar to play for an advanced player. My duo partner liked my guitar so much that he rushed out and purchased a Bartolex MRS10.”
-- Donn Dubois
Houston, Texas

CONDITION
Technically, this is a new / old stock guitar that has never been sold, but we are selling it as used / B-stock with no warranty because of several cosmetic flaws, and it is been priced accordingly. The binding edges have been repaired in several places. You can see one on the hi-res photos on the upper bout. The curve is not perfect due to the repaired binding. Also, the back has some slight fractures in the rosewood. It is not a crack, and it does not extend through the wood, but if you look very closely you can see the faint fracture lines, although you may not be able to tell from the photos. These are stable, but should be watched over the years and repaired if they turn into cracks. Also, the hardshell case is used, and slightly oversized, and has some foam padding in it to snugly fit the guitar.

RESOURCES
My website Cathedral Guitar has a lot of info on multi-string guitars; I run an internet radio station on multi-string guitars and lutes, called 10-String Radio; I moderate a 300-member 10-String Yahoo Group on the subject, and am working on an instructional website, 10-string.com. Perf De Castro has a YouTube Multi-String Guitar channel on the instrument. James R. Smith has an excellent intoductory article to the world of multi-strings, here. Viktor van Niekerk also has a very informative website on the 10-string guitar, especially focused on Maestro Narciso Yepes, and the works composed for the 10-string in the Modern Tuning.

TEACHERS
If you need a teacher to help you adapt to the 10-string guitar, you can check this list here. Also, if you will be playing mostly lute music on the 10-string, I strongly recommend taking lessons from a lute player, if you can find one. If you want online lessons, I highly recommend the 10-String guitarist Perf De Castro, who is both an excellent musician and a wonderful teacher, and he offers private 10-string guitar lessons via the internet. Click Here for more details.

CLASSICAL HARP GUITAR
This guitar type is a relative of the Harp Guitar family also known as the Fretted Harp Guitar. It has one big advantage over the other harp guitar types in that the frets extend across the entire neck, and can be played with a capo -- and be quickly transposed into a variety of different keys, which is especially helpful when accompanying singers. This is, of course, impossible on a regular harp guitar with floating strings. Custom capos are made by Shubb (ask for the Pinnochio model), and also by Phill Elliott.

SHIPPING & TERMS
Insured USA and International FedEx Ground is FREE, and USA Fed-Ex 2nd Day Air is only $25. I do accept PayPal. Thanks for looking. Please ask questions before bidding. Satisfaction Guaranteed!!! This auction is for one Bartolex MRS10 10-string classical harp guitar and hardshell case. No other accessories are included.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
If you are not happy with the guitar for any reason, simply return it within 3 days for a full refund (buyer pays shipping). So far, after dozens of eBay and direct internet sales of 10-string guitars, not a single customer has returned a guitar.

PLEASE CHECK OUT my other 10-strings by Lucio Nunez, Ramirez, and Cathedral Guitars in my Current eBay Auctions, and also see and hear several of my 10-string guitars that have Recently Sold on eBay.

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