Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello!

I stumbled across this site while doing a Google search, and you folks seems like you might be able to help me out. I am looking at buying a 1955 Montclair guitar, but I can't seem to find any information about it. It doesn't look like the Harmony Montclair as it's more of a sunburst finish with two white or silver rings going around it. The headstock only says "Montclair", and it's got f-holes rather than a standard sound hole.

It's from a Craigslist ad, but while I didn't read anything in the rules about linking to ads, I figured I'd wait, just to be safe. Your help is muchly appreciated!

Welcome to the RRF Chi. You can post a link and/or pics.

Thanks!

Here is the guitar:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/bar/3465225512.html

My own take on this is that it's a Chicago-built Harmony, as it is very close to many of these budget archtops that I've either seen or owned.

Check the headstock against that of my Rick SP, which has a Harmony body:



This may be clearer; new scarf-jointed headstock fitted:



Also, the Montclair has features typical of other Harmonys of late '40s-'50s vintage such as the burst and striping in lieu of binding.

One more point: the "tiger stripe" appearance of the wood on the top, back, and sides, is a paint feature, done to make the wood appear to be of a figured grade; in fact it's very straight-grained birch or poplar plywood. His asking price is top-end for these...$100 is closer to reality.