NGD Harmony H-62

[Minnesota Flats]

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.

 

[shihan]

Very cool guitar, probably the nicest electric hollowbody Harmony made - very playable and great sounding indeed. The P13 pickups do "that" Jump Blues thing perfectly.

They're pretty unique construction-wise in that the top has no bracing whatsoever. A good number of them have sunken or sagging tops as a result, but when you get a good one, they really are very nice.

yeah, totally agree. I’ve been looking for a good one for years; looked at a couple that were unplayable (and way expensive). I was never going to buy one without first playing and inspecting it carefully.
I’m pretty amazed that this one is a ‘no issues’ guitar. The PO has it re-fretted, and everything else is great. The top is not sagging at all; pretty much a miracle in a guitar with no top bracing.

 

[shihan]

Flats, thanks for posting the videos. The Tim Lerch one is a particular favorite; but he makes anything sound great.
The H-62 and Espanada are sought after by West Coast blues players, Kid Ramos is a great example.
Junior Watson is generally credited with popularizing them; he started playing them back in he ‘70’s when everyone else was playing Gibson/Fenders. He has played mine, the PO is a friend of his, and deemed it a good one.
he’s had literally dozens of these over the years, and said good ones are hard to come by.
I feel very fortunate indeed.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Flats, thanks for posting the videos. The Tim Lerch one is a particular favorite; but he makes anything sound great.
The H-62 and Espanada are sought after by West Coast blues players, Kid Ramos is a great example.
Junior Watson is generally credited with popularizing them; he started playing them back in he ‘70’s when everyone else was playing Gibson/Fenders. He has played mine, the PO is a friend of his, and deemed it a good one.
he’s had literally dozens of these over the years, and said good ones are hard to come by.
I feel very fortunate indeed.

I have a couple of Junior's CDs and really love the raw, raunchy playing he did with Kim Wilson on Wilson's album "Tiger Man". I think he used a P-90-loaded Gold Top (actually a Tokai, not a Gibson, if memory serves) on that one. Saw Wilson live a few years back, when Nick Curran and Kirk Fletcher were in his band. One of the best shows I've ever witnessed. When the rest of the band took a break, Wilson stayed on stage and played harp non-stop, unaccompanied for about 20 minutes. He showcased the style of just about every major harp player imaginable: Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Shakey Horton, James Cotton, Sonny Terry...you name it, one after the other. That guy has really done his homework, that's for sure.

 

[shihan]

Yeah, Kim is great. He’s a local guy, from right up the road, and plays around here fairly often. Always a top notch band. Those early Fabulous Thunderbird records were a real inspiration and textbook.
Junior plays all kinds of stuff, and always sounds like Jr. The last time I saw him, late last year, he was playing a Strat with ‘Jr. Watson‘ wind pickups, and a custom made Stratotone. Fantastic show, always such a creative player.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Sound quality leaves something to be desired, but the clip does demonstrate other possible uses. Looks/sounds like neck pup all the way:

 

[LeFinPepere]

Back in the 90es ,there was a neglected big black "jazz" guitar at a friend's house..;The neck was really twisted , and we played it just for fun, (all we wanted were Stratocasters!!) .The headstock said "ampeg", I don't know why. Years later , I found it was probably a cheap Sears/Silvertone Espanada-like. (no metallic contour) The pups were definitely p13s, with a dreamy, airy, jangly sound that was really nice. Now it must be in an attic somewhere....

 

[shihan]

Back in the 90es ,there was a neglected big black "jazz" guitar at a friend's house..;The neck was really twisted , and we played it just for fun, (all we wanted were Stratocasters!!) .The headstock said "ampeg", I don't know why. Years later , I found it was probably a cheap Sears/Silvertone Espanada-like. (no metallic contour) The pups were definitely p13s, with a dreamy, airy, jangly sound that was really nice. Now it must be in an attic somewhere....

Yeah, playa is a problem with these guitars. They weren’t appreciated back then. Everyone, like you say wanted Strats (or LP’s) now, even junky ones command top dollar.
The PU’s are magic, but the rest can be a bit of a challenge.
this was a multi year quest for me; I played some pretty hard to fret ones that sounded so good I almost pulled the trigger; but now I’m glad I didn’t.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

P-13 & Tweed = a sweet sound:

 

[Norrissey]

there are 2 different P-13 pickups Harmony used; the adjustable pole piece ones, like on the H-62, and the non-adjustable kind Used on other guitars. Those sound very different, from what I’ve read.

Are the non-adjustable P-13s very different in a good way or are the adjustable ones for sure the better option?
The one in the video above appears to be the non-adjustable kind and sounds terrific.

 

[shihan]

My understanding is the non-adjustable ones are substantially different. I’ve never had the opportunity to play one, though. In the reading I’ve done, the adjustable ones seem to be the preferred model.
I agree, the one in that video sounds great.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Those ones without the individual pole piece screws sometimes get confused with "speed bump" pickups, but those are a different animal, usually found on old Kay guitars, such as this 1950s "Speed Demon":

 

[Norrissey]

The one below is near me and I was thinking of going to try it out. Does this look like a P13 pickup? The seller says the guitar is an H-52 guitar.

1950s Harmony H-52 Sunburst FInish Archtop Hollow-Body Electric Guitar w/SSC

1950s Harmony H-52 Sunburst FInish Archtop Hollow-Body Electric Guitar w/SSC In Very Good Overall Condition (See All Photos) Original Sunburst Finish Shows Cosmetic Playwear Throughout Including Small Dings And Scratches Plays And Sounds Great Nut Width - 1.74" Neck Depth At 1st Fret - .85" Neck...

imperialvintageguitars.com

 

[Minnesota Flats]

That's a P13 and the knobs look like the original Bakelite ones. The 1.74" nut width/.85" depth @ first fret sounds like the neck on the Silvertone 1427L I had: wide and chunky as all get-out (which I like) which made the string spacing great for finger-style. Based solely on the PICs, the neck looks stable at the heel (no gap opening up) and the top doesn't seem to have sunk at the bridge: two things to always watch for when evaluating this "family" of guitars. Some times, you'll find that a vertical brace/post has been added to these inside to correct a sunken top: you can take a dentist's mirror and flashlight with you to look (via an f-hole) when you check it out.

My 1427L was surprisingly resonant acoustically, which was nice in some ways but (of course) made it more prone to feeding back at moderate-high volume, when plugged in.

I put 11-50, D'Addario Chromes on my 1427L and then switched to 10-48 Chromes because mine had an index-card-wide gap at the neck heel when I got it. With those light strings, the neck remained stable for years. I suspect that these guitars came from the factory strung with even heavier flats.

BTW: that bridge is a floater unless somebody has pinned it, so you would want to either mark its position with blue painters' tape or change the strings one at a time if action and intonation are good before you start.

The one you're looking at has an adjustable truss rod (which some of the old Harmonys do not) so that's a plus. Hopefully it's functional. (See the VIDs above of the H51 and further up of the H62 that Kid Ramos is playing: no truss rod covers).

My 1427L had the same kind of ink stamping of the model number visible through one of the F-holes: that seems to be pretty standard on old Harmonys, Silvertones and Kays.

Price seems a tad high, but I haven't shopped for one of these in several years, so maybe they've just gone up (like everything else). I might just be out of touch.

 

[Norrissey]

Price seems a tad high, but I haven't shopped for one of these in several years, so maybe they've just gone up (like everything else). I might just be out of touch.

Thanks so much for all that info, I don't know much about Harmony guitars so I really appreciate it! You are probably right, the price is a bit high, the prices at this store are generally on the high side. Still, if the guitar is in okay shape and plays well and has sound quality like the video you posted I will be tempted.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

One more thing I just noticed is that the bridge on that one looks stock. At least, it's just like the one that came on my 1427L. I kept mine and put it in the case compartment, but found another, slightly compensated, wood bridge that I liked better.

 

[Westerly Wood]

P-13 & Tweed = a sweet sound:

I really like this tone. I guess if I ever wanted an electric guitar...

 

[Norrissey]

I really like this tone. I guess if I ever wanted an electric guitar...

Me too. Sounds awesome.

 

[GGJaguar]

Kind of a swamp tone thing going on there at times.

 

[shihan]

Me too. Sounds awesome.

A lot of that is the amp...
You definitely should check out that guitar. If you like the way it plays, (the necks are big!) and don’t see any structural problems, make them an offer.
good luck!