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Rathbone Guitars

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Rathbone Guitars

Germany -Italy - Portugal - Spain only

 

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Early in the company’s history, Messrs Barnes & Mullins moved their burgeoning musical instrument business from Wimborne, Dorset to Rathbone Place in London, W1. The move, in the year 1900, coincided with the beginning of a new era for music in the United Kingdom. Having established themselves as a musical duo within the fabric of Victorian London, the partners set about expanding their business: creating, sourcing and supplying the finest instruments from around the world.

With banjos and mandolins being the most common fretted instruments of their day, these instruments were naturally a focus for the pair, but not long after their move to Rathbone Place, the entrepreneurs turned their attention to sourcing what we would now recognise as acoustic, folk guitars.
As guitars became more popular - and most importantly were able to project their tones more effectively - they found their way into dance bands and contemporary orchestras, often instead of, or as a complement to, the banjo.

A handful of these innovative early Barnes & Mullins guitars - borne from the heart of Rathbone Place - are still in circulation today, over 100 years later. These original instruments stood the test of time and have been providing pleasure for generations.

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The spirit of Rathbone Place lives on.

  • Rathbone No.2 Orchestra Model R2CRE

    Rathbone Rathbone No.2 Orchestra Model R2CRE

    Pre-order

    Equipped with a dynamic core, the Solid Cedar top of the R2CRE initiates a warm, mellow tone which is further enhanced by the Rosewood back and sides. Although the 'OM' body shape is usually tonally strongest in the mid-range, the use of Rosewood ensures a somewhat increased low-end response and high-mid sparkle. Due to the environment in which it was initially designed to be used, the 'OM' was not a large-bodied guitar. In fact, few of the early 'modern' guitars would be considered large today. So, the 'OM-sized' Rathbone No.2 is not a large bodied guitar either, but the neck joins the body at the 14th fret, so the scale length is one that we would recognise from most modern guitars. When first used, this 'long' scale length was found to help deliver a remarkably, and some may say disproportionately, powerful and dynamic tone. The tuned strings are under greater tension than on shorter scale guitars, so they give a far greater tonal response and 'punch'.    Quick Spec Body Size Orchestra Model Type Electro-Acoustic Top Solid Cedar Back & Sides Rosewood Orientation Right-handed Neck Mahogany Pickup Belcat - 3 Band EQ with Tuner Gigbag Not Included

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