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GUITARS
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My passion for the magic six strings goes back to 1983 when my father purchased my first Silvertone. Here there are some pictures of my own guitars, and other nice picture that I found on various sites! Enjoy Harmony Guitars, the People?s Guitar What is known about one of the most prolific manufactures of guitars in this country? There has been a lot written about the Harmony Guitar Company, but there isn't a lot of information on these guitars. These guitars continue to show up everywhere. Many a guitar student started on one of their student instruments. How many beginning players had a sunburst Stella by Harmony to learn on? My experience with these guitars goes back to the early 60's. My first guitar was a Harmony acoustic and learning to play guitar was inspired by one of these student instruments. The guitars in my store at that time were mostly Harmony made, and I would spend hours looking through Jobber catalogues at these guitars. Targ and Diner, Buegelson and Jacobson, and C. Bruno had pages of assorted Harmonys to look at. I always loved the look of the Black Sovereign with white pickguard that hung in the store. This most expensive guitar Grandpa Dave stocked, a whole $ 80, always caught my eye. The last new (old stock) American made acoustic finally was sold around 1980. This was after I borrowed it to travel across country. I remember playing that little "O'" style guitar, jamming on a California beach. I was always impressed by how it was able to project and carry a tune, given the circumstances. What is known about these Harmonys? The Harmony name was a registered Trademark # 627412. Established in 1892, one of the largest manufacturers of student guitars rivaled only by the likes of Kay, they produced countless numbers of instruments. Surviving up until the time the import manufacturers took over the market, Harmonys were everywhere. The general quality of Harmony instruments was lacking the attention to detail that the more expensive guitar makers were able to achieve. They would ultimately slop glue all over the inside and do other things to reflect the fact that they were mass-produced. At the height of the guitar boom in the 60's, they were making close to 1000 guitars a day and finding their way into many American homes. Harmony was one of the largest manufactures of musical instruments. They supplied many of the big mail order catalogues through the years. Sears marketed many of the Harmony instruments under the Silvertone label. After all, Sears owned this Chicago guitar company. These instruments were the same Harmony made instruments except for the label and accounted for almost half of the instruments made. Little was done to differentiate between them. There were also a large number of "House Brands" made by Harmony. At one point, before WWII, there were 57 assorted names on the same Harmony instrument. Wholesalers and private labels would use these guitars as a part of their line. Along with manufactures like Kay and Regal, Harmony supplied a lot of instruments over the years. . There was a point when the Harmony Company made even some Fender Acoustics and Vega Archtops. As the competition from the imports forced Harmony to fold a real void was created. It was generally felt that they let it happen. If they could have increased production with more plants they could have kept up with the demand for budget guitars. They had the know how, but they just couldn't make the commitment to expand. At this time they just didn't have the courage to make the investment. It not only opened the way for a real flood of overseas imports, but it marked the beginning of the end for American made consumer goods. Even when the Harmony name was used on these imports into the 70's, the overall quality and mystique was lost. It was a hard thing, to achieve the same quality, when these guitars were becoming even more of a mass produced instrument. But like all the other student grade guitars that were imported at this time, the imported Harmony's were very similar. Maybe it was a sign of the times. Maybe it was a prelude to what was to come. But it sure was a reflection of the state of our country being able to compete, price wise, with the ability to mass-produce goods. You look at these mass produced guitars and see all that was lost with the demise of this company. Harmony still was and is a better product than many of the imports available today. And after all they still are one of the more affordable American Made Vintage Guitars. Harmony Guitars......PART II I keep getting calls about those wonderful Harmony Guitars. It seems people have taken to my interest in these prolific American made guitars. Most of my basic knowledge about them comes from what I've read in American Guitars by Tom Wheeler and from the ones I've seen or owned over the years. From the acoustics I used to sell to the yard sale electrics I used to find, I've seen quite a few different guitars. The general quality of Harmony instruments was lacking the attention to detail that the more expensive guitar makers were able to achieve. They would ultimately slop glue all over the inside and do other things to reflect the fact that they were mass-produced. Harmony was after all, one of the most prolific manufactures of musical instruments. They supplied many of the big mail order catalogues through the years. Sears marketed many of the Harmony instruments under the Silvertone label. After all Sears owned this Chicago guitar company. These instruments were the same Harmony instruments except for the label and accounted for almost half the instruments made. Little was done to differentiate between them. There were also a large number of "House Brands" made by Harmony. At one point, before WWII, there were 57 assorted names on the same Harmony instrument. Wholesalers and private labels would use these guitars as a part of their line.Along with the likes of Kay and Regal, Harmony supplied a lot of instruments over the years. I have had many other type of instruments made by Harmony. By 1915 they were the largest manufacturer of ukuleles in America. They not only made ukuleles and banjos but they had a whole line of these folk instruments. Their baritone ukes and tenor guitars still show up as unplayed cast offs from the main stream of instruments. The long neck "Pete Seeger" banjos I've seen have had both the "Holiday" label and Harmony label. They made an interesting bluegrass banjo with a Bakelite/plastic rim and resonator. Harmony also made violins during the early part of the century. At this time they were America's only large-scale violin manufacture. After giving up violin making for 19 years they began again in 1938 to fill the need of the student violinists. Over the years the Harmony style of making guitars evolved just like the rest of the manufactures. The prewar guitars, through the 40's, had clubbier necks. Earlier ones were v-ed. Some of the Archtops had a bigger paddle like headstock similar to the evolution of Gretch guitars. Into the 50's the graphics changed as with the size of the headstock. Smaller and simpler seemed to be the direction. Even the color of the logo seemed to change as time went on. When the guitar boom of the 60's happened, the guitars got simpler and more mass-produced. After all, they were making an average of 1000 instruments per day, during this period. That's a lot of guitars! The detailing on the headstock on the Patrician went from an ornate red, white and blue to a simpler plain graphic. The earlier guitars had some inlay on the headstock, while later it appears most decoration was stenciled. Even the sound hole rosette on some of the flat tops was stenciled on. Cheaper models almost always had painted binding along with painted fret markers. Most of the guitars I see appear to be from the sixties. Mainly because of the guitar boom during the Beatles generation, there were a large number of guitars sold at this time. Possibly even one half of all the guitars made in this county, more than all the other manufactures together. Most of these were the flat top acoustics. Many a beginner started with a sunburst Stella by Harmony. They bought this name in1939 and continued to make them as a low-end student guitar. These small body plywood guitars still show up from time to time. Most have a floating wood bridge with the pressed metal tail piece. Some of the older ones have a piece of metal fret like material for a saddle. These models have been seen with both 3X 3 tuners and 6 on a side headstocks. Some of the other budget small guitars have a screwed down rectangular bridge, with many of the older ones being made with solid wood. (You can usually tell by the cracks when they dry out.) As you go up the quality scale of these guitars you find Harmony made some nice solid top grand concert size guitars. Some of these guitars from the sixties had tortoise binding and pickgaurds. Still a far cry from their Gibson or Martin Counterparts they were nice little guitars. The ones which I have encountered are nice sounding and ones that don't need a neck set are nice playing. The graphics on the headstock varied from plain "Harmony," in script, with "Steel reinforced neck, " to the addition of a musical staff. I still use one today for my camping guitar. The sound projection in the open air, at the beach, is a far cry above many other guitars. Imagine having the original camp guitars by Harmony with the stencil scenes on them. These, along with the cowboy stenciled guitars, have become quite collectable today. The better instruments made by Harmony were their Sovereign line of guitars. They acquired this name in the late 30's to represent their more popular instruments. By getting Players like Roy Smeck to endorse their instruments some of these instruments were made to cater to the more serious musician. They had the characteristics of the Gibsons that they were competing with. Large pickgaurds with painted details seemed to copy others. They still had their own unique details. These larger sized guitars had solid tops and real binding. In 1970 Harmony even made an 8-ft version for a NAMM show. This guitar showed the same details of its smaller counterpart. Currently owned by Collector Scott Chinery who said, "These Harmony Sovereigns are one or the best valued Collectable.? The electrics made by Harmony ranged in price and quality. They made many a student instrument. Some of the solid body electrics were fundamental instruments. Their pickups and sound set them aside from the later imports that flooded the market. Models like the Stratotone were designed for the beginner player. Some of the more basic Fender style Harmony electrics were no competition to the real thing, but they did have their place. Some of the more sophisticated electrics took on the characteristics of the Gibson ES guitars. The Harmony Rocket made to emulate the ES 330 style guitar, was close. Many had 3 pickups along with 6 volume and tone controls. Using DeArmond pickups, along with others,they were able to achieve the sound quality that is still desired today. "Three Pickups', DeArmond designed for today's sound" boasted advertisements for the H-75 and H-77. Maybe they were also trying to copy the Imported Teisco guitars with all the bells and whistles that were coming into the country. There also was an H-62 model that was a knock off of a Gibson L-5. Not bad for the budget minded Jazz guitarist. Even Harmony basses had a certain appeal to the beginner players. They made basses that emulated the Fender style. They also made hollow bodied bass guitars, along with an acoustic bass. They generally were not up to the same quality of the ones they copied, but this was why the less sophisticated player, could afford to get an instrument they could utilize. As the competition from the imports forced Harmony to fold a real void was created. It was generally felt that they let it happen. If they could have increased production with more plants they could have kept up with the demand for budget guitars. They had the know how, but they just couldn't keep up. Or they just didn't have the guts to make the investment. It not only opened the way for a real flood of overseas imports, but it marked the beginning of the end for American made consumer goods. Even when the Harmony name was used on these imports into the 70's the overall quality and mystic was lost. It was hard thing to do when you were making a mass produced instrument in the first place. But like all the other student grade guitars that were imported, the imported Harmony's were comparable. Maybe it was a sign of the times. Maybe it was a prelude to what was to come. But it sure was a reflection of the state of our country being able tocompete, price wise, with the ability to mass-produce goods. You look at these mass produced guitars and see what was lost with the demise of this company. They still were and are a better product than many of the imports available today. And after all they still are one of the more affordable American Made Vintage Guitars. Harmony STELLA's We all have had them and we all love them. The number of baby boomers who started guitar lessons on a Harmony student guitar was great. They were affordable and quite playable. The student guitars made by the Harmony Guitar Co. of Chicago were readily available to the masses. Most music stores carried them along with a whole assortment of mail order catalogues. Sears, who owned the Harmony Company, made these guitars available to their customers under the Silvertone Label. Most of the guitars I see appear to be from the sixties. Mainly because of the guitar boom during the Beatles generation, there were a large number of guitars sold at this time. Harmony made more than one half of all the guitars made in this county, more than all the other manufactures together. Most of these were the flat top acoustics. Many a beginner started with a sunburst Stella by Harmony. Harmony bought the Stella name in 1939 and continued to make them as a low-end student guitar. Using the Stella registered trademark, they marketed these student guitars for the masses. These small body guitars still show up from time to time. Most have a floating wood bridge with the pressed metal tailpiece. Some of the older ones have a piece of metal fret like material for a saddle. I have seen some student guitars with a wood tailpiece from the 40's when metal was a scarce commodity. Many Harmonys I've seen incorporate an Hxxx in the serial number. Dating them seems to be a little more complicated. Some seem to have an F-66, FW-59 or similar number stamped inside the guitar, along with "Made in the USA." This number appears to indicate the year of manufacture, but doesn't appear all the time. It confirmed the dating of some guitars I have, with what I surmised to be their date of production. Most of the model numbers in the later 60's have this Hxxx. These H929 Stella models have been seen with both 3 x 3 tuners along with a H933 that had 6 on side headstocks. These guitars were most commonly sunburst. There was natural model, an H927 during the 60's, along with a tenor HTCG929 and a smaller size H9293/4. I have seen some "banana burst" or Ivory grained finish on some Stellas from the 40's and 50's, which seem to be a No.928 model of the early 60's. Other models from the early 60's were a No. 1141 and No, 930. These earlier models don't seem to have the "H" in the model number. The model number didn't matter because they marketed an assortment of 6 guitars for $ 144 in 1962. At $ 24 a guitar it gave the young student an affordable option. In the late 60's there was a better quality Stella offered by Harmony. This H942 natural (H943 Sunburst) grand concert size guitar offered "time-tested Stella features of construction and finish," and sold for $ 37.50. With its " Steel Reinforced neck" and "Simulated marquetry ring at soundhole, it was an attractive upgrade to the H929 Stella, with the added feature of a screwed down bridge. Some of the other budget small guitars have a screwed down rectangular bridge, with many of the older ones being made with solid wood.(You can usually tell by the cracks when they dry out.) Some of the H150's and the classical H937s were called the Harmony Studio Specials. These were noted as being "Best for the beginners or 'loaner' Guitar. " They had a short 3/4 scale with less space between the frets that made finger placement and chord formation easier for little fingers. "Perfection," was Harmonys goal, through out its history. Its claim to have sold "more stringed instruments than all other makers in America Combined- and thus created thousands of friends for Harmony all over the world," held true. They found their way into more American Homes than any other guitar company. They made themselves available to the masses so the student had an affordable option. They are still available today as one of the more affordable American Vintage Guitars. Start collecting today!! Harmony Archtops When you start to look though the old catalogues from the 60's you see a great number of archtops that were in production at this time. It would appear that Harmony must have had a large customer base for these "F" hole guitars. The same price point and features held true to these guitars as discussed earlier. Cheaper models almost always had painted binding along with painted fret markers. . Over the years the Harmony style of making guitars evolved just like the rest of the manufactures. The prewar guitars, through the 40's, had clubbier necks. Earlier ones were v-ed. Some of the archtops had a bigger paddle like headstock similar to the evolution of Gretch guitars, although even into the early 70's the higher end archtops did sport a larger headstock. Into the 50's the graphics changed as well. Even the color of the logo seemed to change as time went on. When the guitar boom of the 60's happened, the guitars got simpler and more mass-produced. After all, they were making an average of 1000 instruments per day during this period. That's a lot of guitars! The detailing on the headstock on the Patrician went from an ornate red, white and blue to a simpler plain graphic. This H1407 polished mahogany model, with solid spruce top had edges bound in shell celluloid. "Fine tone quality for ensemble or solo playing" boasted a 1962 catalog. The number of "f" hole guitars made by Harmony would lend you to believe that there was a great calling for these jazz guitars. The different models, by the late 60's, were as diverse as the kinds of people there were to play them. Their top of the line H1310 cutaway with arched spruce top and "pearlette" block inlays was as good as it got, for the better player. At the cost of $125 in 1970, this guitar was the still a bargain price compared to the Gibsons they tried to rival. If this was out of your budget, for as little as $42.50 you could get an H1215/13 Harmony "Archtone." Still listed as all hardwood construction, these shaded brown mahogany or reddish mahogany were grained to resemble spruce. Even as early as 1962, these budget priced guitars had multi layers of painted binding and fingerboards that were grained to resemble rosewood. There were several in between models that Harmony produced. Whether it was the Harmony Master H945 or the Broadway H954, Harmony had the selection. These guitars were 15 3/4 " X 40 3/4 " in size, and boasted "offers tone quality, easy playing, at a moderate price." The Monterey H1325 (16 1/2 " X 41") also had celluloid bound edges with an elevated ovalled fingerboard. The Monterey also had a "Slim line" neck with their "TORQUE-LOK" adjustable reinforcing rod. All these guitars had bone nuts, adjustable bridge and shell or celluloid pickguards. Budget priced and fun to play, these archtops made their way into the attics and under the beds of the American household. Pushed thereby the demand for flat tops during the guitar boom of the late 60's, these Archops faded into the woodwork. The more serious Jazz player was looking for better quality and the everyday player just wasn't playing this style of guitar. Most makers of guitars just didn't see the demand for these guitars. Today, with the rebirth of the jazz guitar and number of guitar makers making top quality archtops, maybe these Harmony Archtops will come out of the woodwork. They may never come close to rivaling the quality of the guitars being made by today's 2nd generation contemporary luthiers like Kim Walker, Tom Ribbicke, Steve Grimes, and John Monteleone, to name a few. Just as they didn't try to rival the craftsmanship of the first generation D'Angelico and D'Aquisto, Harmony served their customers with a more affordable option. Still available at a fraction of the cost, they are just something fun to play and affordable to collect.
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