Eat Your Hearts Out!

[Zaphod B]

Lookee what I dragged out of the closet!

What you see here is an early 1960's Harmony Stratotone. It was my first electric guitar, bought new for my tone-deaf older brother and handed down to me. I've had it in my posession ever since.

Single pickup, which appears to be a single-coil. A three-position switch with RHYTHM, TREBLE, and BASS positions. A volume control and tone control that seems to just be a top-end attenuator. The bridge is a free-floating wooden affair. You adjust the intonation by just pushing the bridge around on the body until it sounds about right. The bridge is height-adjustable, something not to be taken for granted on a guitar of this quality.

It has a completely hollow body, but no f-holes. It's very lightweight.

I plugged it in for the first time in over 30 years last night. It has a surprisingly nice tone - a warm single-coil sound. It doesn't play worth a crap, as a few of the fretboard inlays, which must be made out of some kind of celluloid, have actually cupped and the edges are sticking up a bit. But they can be sanded smooth. In the meantime, it just might make a mean slide guitar!

 

[hixmix]

That's one of the nicest Harmony's I've seen.

Too bad about the inlays.

 

[Zaphod B]

Why, thanks.

It's actually in pretty good shape. No big nicks, just normal wear from having been handled for a few years. Maybe the old dog has some tricks left, who knows?

 

[Anfontan]

A friend had an old Silvertone years back with the same body shape and similar layout to your Harmony. I recall it had a club like neck and pretty high action, hmm, maybe all those were meant to be used for slide guitars after all .....

 

[Anfontan]

Is that pickup strangely similar to a Teisco, or is my imagination running amuck?

 

[Zaphod B]

I don't know...

I have a couple of close-ups of the pickup, but I won't have time to re-size & post them until tomorrow night.

 

[Track Rat]

VERY cool sir. A little elbow greese and I bet it would be very usable. I just refinished my Dad's 1949 Harmony Montery. I'm toying with the idea of putting a P-90 up by the neck. This guitar doesn't play half bad at all.

 

[stetto]

Inlays aside, how's that neck lookin' after more than 30 years with tension on the strings...? I'm assuming that 30 years ago it wasn't a consideration to loosen or remove them (who sticks a guitar in the closet with the intention of leaving it there forever?)...

My dad has a beautiful f-hole archtop built in the 19-tens, no name or logo, handed down from family member to family member, still has the original set of strings on it...Of course the neck is now the equivalent of rocking-chair rails...But it looks really neat hanging on the wall...

Eric

 

[Zaphod B]

Actually, the neck is looking very good. Very straight on the upper-string side, a very slight roller coaster on the lower string side. Nothing that would seriously inhibit a decent action. It's not bowed in either direction.

 

[Zaphod B]

Here's a close-up of the pickup. (Sorry about the grime. )

Anyone recognize it?

 

[Zaphod B]

Poking around on the net, I find that this is a DeArmond "Golden Tone" pickup. It was used on other Harmony models as well.

 

[Zaphod B]

Further research reveals that this is a Model H47 Statotone Mercury. These were manufactured (in the USA!) between 1958 and 1965.

More info is available at the following link, for those who are interested:

http://harmony.demont.net/modele.php?id=107

I noted that one of the images on the above site shows the same fingerboard inlay cupping phenomenon as my guitar, although mine is not as severe.

 

[Dogbreath]

That is an awesome axe sir! Looks in pretty good shape and if the neck is fine, you're in!
I'm jealous....

 

[Zaphod B]

Do y'all think I should try to file the pearloid inlays flush, or pop them out and re-glue them?

 

[Dogbreath]

jmho, but I would try reglueing them. If it doen't work, you can still file.

my 2c....


oh, and if gets to be too much of a hassle, I could take that bothersome thing off your hands...

 

[MadAudio]

So are the three positions on that switch chop, blend and purée?

Nice axe, man!

 

[rpe]

Very cool. Get it cleaned up!!!!

 

[hixmix]

Poking around on the net, I find that this is a DeArmond "Golden Tone" pickup. It was used on other Harmony models as well.

Cool looking pickup. DeArmond always had a great sense of pickup design.

 

[Zaphod B]

Thanks for the props, guys. It's cleaning up nicely.

The electronics need some TLC as well. That three-position switch (chop, blend, & puree ) is stiff and noisy, and the pots are also noisy. Guess I'll head to Radio Shack for some contact cleaner.

 

[Zaphod B]

jmho, but I would try reglueing them. If it doen't work, you can still file.
my 2c....
oh, and if gets to be too much of a hassle, I could take that bothersome thing off your hands...

OK I'll see if I can pop out the two worst ones.

DB, I'll let you know!