Vintage Harmony Hollowbody

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Jeff

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http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/319722267.html

I played a Harmony a couple weeks ago & it was a little bit of allright. Surprised me. I think the one I played was us made. ??

Anyone have any opinions, If it's anything like the one I saw $250 seems a song of a price.

[img:300:225]http://d.im.craigslist.org/2o/IV/nCyb3dt2KHj5jkWd6PVVmmz0yXOe.jpg[/img]
 
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proffrog

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might be a bargain, but...

The pic looks a bit like a Harmony Meteor, probably a Rocket, because it doesn't look like it has dot rather than block fingerboard markers, and probably from the '60s, made in USA. I have a '64 Meteor and it's a great blues guitar - De Armond pickups, nicely chunky (but not too) neck. The necks are very good - bolt on, but sound and well finished. These guitars were obviously at the upper end of the mass market,. $250 would be a good price if it's in good nick, so it all depends on the condition..
I'd be tempted to go for it, but then that's why I have guitars crammed behind every door and under every bed in my flat.
If you don't know this site it's a good place to pick up the Harmony bug...
http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/HARMONY.htm
 
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capnjuan

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Hi Proffrog: Thanks very much for the link. I'm looking to buy a copy of the Harmony Jumbo Sovereign I had in my HS days. Back in the 60s, Harmony flattops had gotten tagged in the US as the 'poor man's' Martin; not the best action or fit/finish but very strong, woody tone.

Why should I be surprised that this particular guitar shows up in the Pacific NW? Gettin' sick of this Geoffrey...gonna send Graham and his Mounties out there to see what's going on...
 
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capnjuan

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Thanks again Proffrog; I've almost pulled the trigger on several Harmony Patricians....drop-dead gorgeous guitars but I don't have much of a songbook to go with them. I'm watching a Jumbo Sovereign on eBay now, a 1260 w/ a Dearmond p/u; still in the reasonable $ range. I also just bought a Guild S-100 Polara so...the fuel for the GAS is down low.

The good news is that the 1260s come and go with some frequency on eBay. There's also a site http://www.fatdawg.com/newstock.html in Berkeley CA; the guy is quite funny, ethical, and has possibly the world's largest herd of Harmony Sovereigns among thousands of other guitars. Even if I miss on eBay, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from this guy.
 
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Jeff

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Seller returned my e mail, says it's a Stratotone. The price isn't the steal of the century. These guitars are priced much more reasonably than I would have thought.

I'm curious which models are the most desirable, I'd think a nice would would be a good value.
 
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proffrog

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hi jeff -

Seller returned my e mail, says it's a Stratotone
Still looks more like a Rocket to me than a Stratotone, but there were some weird hybrids around.

As for the most desirable models, the one that's usually quoted is the Harmony H62 or Espanada - lovely deep body archtop with a set neck - rare for Harmony electrics - with 2 single coils allegedly old Gibson P13s sold to Harmony when the P90 was developed - lovely sounding. I have a Silvertone badged version, which sounds great, but the neck is like the fat end of a baseball bat...

The other desirable Harmony seems to be the H75 - three Dearmonds, double cutaway thin body - very lovely, and going up in price unfortunately, since I haven't got one...

It's worth searching Silvertones as well, because Harmony made their top-end guitars (Danelectro apparently made lower end models)

btw Sovereigns do seem to be well-priced high quality acoustics - I've played a couple which were very sweet sounding.
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