Heirloom Archtop Guitar

rief summary of my personal journey, and if it is a bore to you, please just toss it out the back door. Things you say in the lessons, have taken me right down memory lane.In 1966, an Uncle had a split-backed old acoustic with 5 strings left, in his attic. I showed interest, so he gave it to me. I was only 9 yrs old. Mom’s Sister saw me banging on it and said “I’ll pay if you’ll take lessons.” “Sure” I said. Two years of Alfred’s followed, at $2.50 per half hour. With a new $35.00 acoustic that is, which she bought.After the first year of sight reading, I asked the teacher to teach me Rock n’Roll. It was 50’s Rock for awhile, Boogie-woogie, Steel Guitar Rag, (I-IV-V) and since Country Music was always in the house, a bunch of that too. Elvis, blah blah. Older Cousins would come by, teach me stuff, until I passed them up and started teaching THEM stuff. We did some porch picking, and I figured out some Chet Atkins fingerstyle, on and on.I would sit out on my porch and play for the whole neighborhood (that means loud) with a little bitty Kalamazoo Amp and my new hollow body, sunburst Conrad Electric. Then along came the Beatles, which everyone liked at the time. When I hit the drug scene in the early 70s I was fascinated by Hendrix, Zeppelin, and all that. Hendrix though stood out, and his stuff was difficult. Then I was playing for the neighbors with a double Marshall stack and the stereo on full blast!Guitar had always been my escape from the family drama; locked in my room, for hours I would just play and figure stuff out. I used the turntable, and raised and lowered that needle over and over and over, sometimes just to catch ONE NOTE. Then ‘where on the neck is he doing that?’ ‘Is that a hammer on? Or a pull off?’ Consequently, I developed an ear from Mars!And Oh God, the 8-tracks.I would have licks running through my head and then “ah HAH!” I would run to the guitar and play what I had envisioned, and there it was! I finally had it figured out.So, I went into the military in 1976, still playing, but it was disco times, zzzzzzzz. So instead, I got into Jeff Beck, which is a kind of Jazz-infused classic rock; sorta. I plunged into deeper theory, melodic patterns, so forth.I had about a 10-yr. Respite from guitar, got married, traveling, etc. But meanwhile, I learned piano, organ, and more. Music is the same on any instrument, so why not? Then, I started building guitars too, since I couldn’t afford a good one, and that rekindled my love for guitar, and I said “how could I not be playing? Now I have a nice collection that I didn’t build, hahah.I went into ministry in 1979, and that’s been my calling, but before that I was on the musical path. Now, years later, I’ve taught choirs, singers, performed in quartets, solo stuff with my wife (who sings) and all that churchy stuff. None of the contemporary junk. Even writing and recording music, but I’m just a hobbyist.I’ve been teaching and trying to help people with their music in various ways for years, conveying what I can, with my limited understanding of things. As I began to dig into your lessons at last, I’m discovering wonderful stuff, stuff that makes ALL KINDS of sense to me. Especially the part about the technique, and realizing some problems, even after 50 years, with right hand picking. I am truly THRILLED with what’s happening.Some things you are saying are giving me ah-Hah moments, because I have stumbled upon them over the years, and they align with what I have discovered. I have ALWAYS played in chord shapes up and down the neck, and used fingers that were just standing around doing nothing, to add notes and form melodies, along with those chords. I have told people for years about using inversions, and hearing that melody note on the top, even on a piano. I never realized I was doing Chord Melody playing, I just ‘did it.’Also, I’ve taught them that modes are just the same 12 notes; that there are ONLY 12; a mode is going through them in a different pattern, like steps in stairs, climbing by twos, or threes, whatever. I totally agree with you on modes and scales. Just play.That Alfred’s teacher loaned me a book called “5, 200 guitar chords.” I eventually figured out that there are only a handful of chords (basic shapes); all the rest, are simple modifications of them.As a kid in the beginning, I thought “I’ll just be a rhythm player, I can’t play lead.” But I would noodle around while guys played rhythm, and I sorta figured out which notes I could touch, and which ones to leave alone! I HAD TO BE LEAD man after that. I had never heard of “modes,” but I was using them.I have also had t...
Show Less

. Thank you to you all from one happy boy.”
Show Less

setting, a small jazz combo, to a blistering rock band, all the way to full big band playing Freddie Green style, this guitar can cover it all.Not only is this guitar versatile, but it looks and sounds amazing, and plays itself! That’s because this Conti Heirloom is made with the finest woods and electronics available today, the craftsmanship in the build is second to none, and they have a professional luthier that sets it up perfectly before it goes out the door. Then as one last step of quality control, and this is the coolest part, Mr. Conti makes you, the customer, a personalized video of himself playing your guitar which adds such a great personal touch to this whole experience. Thank you Mr. Conti and Mike for not only making this one of the most pleasurable buying experiences, but for delivering me my new favorite guitar.”
Show Less

.I must admit, the guitar sounds and chimes are breathtaking, each note is tuned to perfection! Once I plugged it into my amp and played that first Gma7, I knew right away that this is a “surround sound” instrument. The light reflecting off the gorgeous Antique Sunburst color creates a warm, welcoming atmosphere to the listeners. This is meant to be played in front of a jazz audience, big or small! It feels like I am playing an epic, ancient artifact at times! What an absolute pleasure to explore chords and melodies with this luxurious instrument. You just can’t get a better sound than this. Many thanks to the Robert Conti team for the complimentary video and I will continue to tell it’s legendary tale through YouTube!Thank you once again, and I look forward to continuing my studies of jazz guitar and the Robert Conti method.
Show Less

.I must admit, the guitar sounds and chimes are breathtaking, each note is tuned to perfection! Once I plugged it into my amp and played that first Gma7, I knew right away that this is a “surround sound” instrument. The light reflecting off the gorgeous Antique Sunburst color creates a warm, welcoming atmosphere to the listeners. This is meant to be played in front of a jazz audience, big or small! It feels like I am playing an epic, ancient artifact at times! What an absolute pleasure to explore chords and melodies with this luxurious instrument. You just can’t get a better sound than this. Many thanks to the Robert Conti team for the complimentary video and I will continue to tell it’s legendary tale through YouTube!Thank you once again, and I look forward to continuing my studies of jazz guitar and the Robert Conti method.
Show Less

rom now on. She plays like butter and the pickups sound fantastic. I am not a real jazzer, so I needed the two-pickup model for my vocal backup and solo act. I play a variety of clean old jazz standards like Ain’t Misbehavin, Country, Country Rock, Rockabilly and Classic Rock and Roll.I needed a clean jazz guitar going direct into the amp along with the ability to get the other sounds when jamming or gigging with others. I’m mostly into chords and rhythm for backing up my vocals but I can play some lead when called upon. The Conti Heirloom fulfills all of my wishes. It is a joy to play and I have sidelined all my other guitars for now! On a side note, my friend Tom ordered an Entrada the day after I let him play my Heirloom! A sincere thank you to Mr. Conti and his main contact Mike and to Kent Armstrong, for all of the help they gave me standing behind the Conti name and product. I’ll sum it up by saying “I Love This Guitar!”
Show Less

o anyone who asks!
Show Less

shop, and I’ve seen one lefty there in fourteen years. This year on a trip back to the United Kingdom, I went around central London. I couldn’t find one single lefty archtop. Sure, they advertise them online, but they never have them in stock. They are as rare as Hens Teeth!I really didn’t want to spend a couple of thousand dollars on a guitar without trying it first. It would be crazy, wouldn’t it? But when you’ve been looking for over a year, you are left with no alternative and have to take a chance. So how do you decide?Discovering The HeirloomI surfed the internet for left-handers and eventually found the Conti Heirloom archtop guitar. I checked the specification, read the reviews, looked at discussion forums, etc. The clincher that really made me decide on a Conti Guitar was the fact that there are virtually none (and I mean NONE) available secondhand. So either Robert’s not selling many, or the people who buy them like them so much they don’t want to sell them!! (Now that I have one, I know that’s the case)As it happened, it was my 70th birthday in November and I had decided to “invest” in a Conti Heirloom. Then my daughter and her partner insisted on buying it for me as a present. (Yes, I’m a lucky guy, must have done something right as a dad!)I emailed Mike, he phoned me back said he had TWO leftys in stock (wow that’s unheard of) So cutting a long story short, it took four weeks to get to my door, due to nearly three additional weeks, delayed in Spanish customs. It arrived safely, and during the long wait there was much moral support from Mike who tried to alleviate my growing despair. (All the nice things they say about Mike are true as well)About My New GuitarThere is not much to say about the Heirloom that hasn’t already been said, (it’s all true by the way) so I won’t. Except to say I wish I had ordered one of Robert’s guitars years ago!I just can't put her down! You are very lucky to get this email, as I am so reluctant to put it down and do anything else other than play it! Wow, what a guitar! The quality, the craftsmanship, the sound – unplugged it’s great too. And it is so, so, so easy to play. Even with my arthritic fingers, I can’t believe the difference. When you feel that sort of difference, it gives you so much more enthusiasm.Couldn’t have wished for a better 70th birthday present. I am absolutely delighted. Many thanks to all you guys for the help you have given me. I will send some pictures when I can tear myself away and find a camera ! ! !Unlike most of the guys who appear on the website I don t have a long history or experience with guitars. I picked one up around fifteen years ago, bought one a while later and have been persevering since. Being retired I now have the time to do the things I want. Learning to play chord melody is one of them. My hands are arthritic so I’m never going to be like a lot of the guys in the videos, but that’s no excuse not not trying to be as good as you can. My level of ability can no way justify this quality of guitar, but it is so easy to play. I’ve had it four days and already I can play things I couldn’t play before.In Closing...So if anyone reading this is thinking of buying a Conti Heirloom, ask yourself if you want to leave the money in your bank as an inheritance for someone else, or invest it in a family Heirloom that you have the pleasure of enjoying.The guitar remains a delight to play. I’m working hard on the “Chord Melody Assembly Line” and so far, my wife has not threatened to leave me!
Show Less

rstood “Philippe” “Hello and thank you”: o))))))Guitar well received and very well packaged ~ Thank you ~ The box was in good condition First impression, the potentiometers I like a lot, they are very pleasant to use. Normally, I would do the adjustment of the harmonics but apparently the bridge did not move because the strings have maintained the whole.The guitar is very good I am satisfied. I am even surprised by the height of the string E at the fret 12 which does not buzz. It’s very pleasant to play!You can rest assured that I would be doing a very favorable promotion to Conti Guitars on French sites and forumsFor a long time I lived in Paris but now I am in the countryside in deep France so I only have internet left and I’m happy to have discovered the good Conti guitars because I’m going to talk about it to my friends In addition your communication and your after-sales service is excellent ”
Show Less

he guitar is exactly how it is described on your web site. Believe me folks, you will not find any guitar with the craftsmanship, precision and quality as the Heirloom for this affordable price. I am so pleased that I made the purchase! Could have spent 3x the amount and would’ve gotten much less. I opted for the gold finger tail piece and the gold knobs. You know you like it…I can’t put her down! Bob, thank you and your team for taking care of an old friend/student. You’re the best guitarist on the planet! Love ya Brother.”
Show Less