Minnesota Flats
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Former Fabulous T-Bird Nick Curran (RIP) was a big fan of these guitars. I've also seen Kid Ramos, among others, play one. They are utter jump blues machines:
(ignore the PIC that goes with this one---the same H62 was played during recording):
(again---ignore the PIC):
Here, Ramos appears to be using an old Fender reverb unit:
These guitars were also marketed under the Silvertone brand, designated as 1985L and 1427L. The finish of the Harmony version was either natural or sunburst, while the Silvertones were black. Silvertone also made a version badged "Espanada", which had aluminum body binding that looked like it had come off a 1950s, Formica dinette table. Harmony also made a one-pickup (neck only) version and there were similar versions sans cutaway, as well as similar guitars w/o adjustable pickup pole pieces.
The Harmony version was also re-popped briefly during the last 15-20 years or so (along with many other Harmony models like the Meteor and the "Howlin' Wolf" bass) in an attempt to revive the Harmony brand, but I don't remember exactly when that started and stopped. From what I've heard, those were pretty decent guitars (but I've never played one).
The main thing to beware of on the originals is that the top will sometimes sag under the bridge (from string tension) due to inadequate bracing. Also a good idea to check for a gap between the neck heel and body, as many of them will need a neck reset.
(ignore the PIC that goes with this one---the same H62 was played during recording):
(again---ignore the PIC):
Here, Ramos appears to be using an old Fender reverb unit:
These guitars were also marketed under the Silvertone brand, designated as 1985L and 1427L. The finish of the Harmony version was either natural or sunburst, while the Silvertones were black. Silvertone also made a version badged "Espanada", which had aluminum body binding that looked like it had come off a 1950s, Formica dinette table. Harmony also made a one-pickup (neck only) version and there were similar versions sans cutaway, as well as similar guitars w/o adjustable pickup pole pieces.
The Harmony version was also re-popped briefly during the last 15-20 years or so (along with many other Harmony models like the Meteor and the "Howlin' Wolf" bass) in an attempt to revive the Harmony brand, but I don't remember exactly when that started and stopped. From what I've heard, those were pretty decent guitars (but I've never played one).
The main thing to beware of on the originals is that the top will sometimes sag under the bridge (from string tension) due to inadequate bracing. Also a good idea to check for a gap between the neck heel and body, as many of them will need a neck reset.
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