I had the pleasure of seeing this young and upcoming band on Friday night in Memphis. They played at Ubee's on Highland and HOSED their opening act out the door with a metaphorical fire extinguishing apparatus. An entire set yielded but one cover song - actually a cool blend of two into a medley, but this young group not only played together well, they had an awesome vibe, sounded fantastic in a small venue with a self-controlled PA, and presented material of quality one would expect from a well seasoned song writer. Songs generally hit me first as sound, and as both an electric and acoustic guitarist, my ears were perked by the overall tone of their delivery. Once they had my attention, I started to really listen to what I was hearing. Their lyrics and song structure command respect and with sensitive dynamics, they completely amazed me. If I was 20 years younger, I'd be banging on their door trying for auditions.
Watch out for Whose Army? They're going to kick your seatables.
http://www.myspace.com/whosearmyrocks
http://www.myspace.com/whosearmyrocks
Monday, November 17, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
The Tone Den is now online!
I'm selling a bunch of guitars and a few miscellaneous items.
Check it out here! toneden.thruhere.net
So far I've listed:
Fender Stratocaster American Standard and 1962 Vintage Reissue, Harmony Bobkat, Harmony Rocket Reissue, Alden 9908 Tuxedo, Silvertone S1320, Harmony Stratone H42, H44, H47 and H88, and a Supro Belmont!!
More to come!!
Check it out here! toneden.thruhere.net
So far I've listed:
Fender Stratocaster American Standard and 1962 Vintage Reissue, Harmony Bobkat, Harmony Rocket Reissue, Alden 9908 Tuxedo, Silvertone S1320, Harmony Stratone H42, H44, H47 and H88, and a Supro Belmont!!
More to come!!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
~1960 Harmony Stratotone H47
I've been working on this since I bought it in July, 2008. Here's the before shot:
Here's the work I did:
- pickup rewind by Brett Brubaker, to 12.4k. This one has a ceramic magnet with a FULL bobbin.
- added vintage knobs
- replaced tail piece
- wiring harness repair
- raised nut to kill some buzz from the fret board
- new strap pin (modern one that fitted)
- general stuff like, pot cleaning, fret dressing, fretboard oiling, spit and polish
- tuners lubricated
- new strings 10-46's
Quite a transformation, I'm sure you'll agree:
Here's the work I did:
- pickup rewind by Brett Brubaker, to 12.4k. This one has a ceramic magnet with a FULL bobbin.
- added vintage knobs
- replaced tail piece
- wiring harness repair
- raised nut to kill some buzz from the fret board
- new strap pin (modern one that fitted)
- general stuff like, pot cleaning, fret dressing, fretboard oiling, spit and polish
- tuners lubricated
- new strings 10-46's
Quite a transformation, I'm sure you'll agree:
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
2001 Harmony Rocket Reissue
After decades of operation, the Harmony company of Chicago USA disbanded in the mid 1970's. The new owners of the name produced their instruments from Asian soil, keeping up with modern trends of Asian and American design, and labeled their instruments with "Harmony Est. 1892". In 2001 when MBT International owned the name, some reissues of the USA made instruments surfaced. Extremely limited models were reproduced, and even then in extremely limited numbers.
The Rocket was originally made in 1959 as a one pickup model, and through the 1960's was produced with 2 and 3 pickups. 2001 saw the reissue of the Rocket from Korea in black with 3 pickups as the "HAR59BK" pictured below. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control, and a selector switch allows signal from each pickup, or all of them together.
I'm lucky enough to own one these. Only 100 were produced... ever. This one pictured is mine, and is #90.
The Rocket was originally made in 1959 as a one pickup model, and through the 1960's was produced with 2 and 3 pickups. 2001 saw the reissue of the Rocket from Korea in black with 3 pickups as the "HAR59BK" pictured below. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control, and a selector switch allows signal from each pickup, or all of them together.
I'm lucky enough to own one these. Only 100 were produced... ever. This one pictured is mine, and is #90.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Concert week! Tom Waits / Robert Plant & Allison Krauss
Wrapped around my birthday this year were two concerts, and beyond the cake, I could ask for nothing more.
We drove from Memphis to Birmingham, Alabama on 7/3 to see Tom Waits at the Alabama Theatre. For the Memphians familiar with the Orpheum Theatre, this was a similar venue in age and styling, but perhaps a little smaller. We had seats 6 rows back from the stage.
My wife is the bigger fan of Tom Waits himself. My story is, I went for the guitars, but stayed for the show. Tom may be a little hard to listen to for the first time, but in person and in concert, he is a fantastic performer and entertainer. If shock is a word that comes to mind when you hear his voice, the rest of the package squashes that. His band was really great. His drummer had quite an extensive kit to dismiss need for an additional percusionist, and even included what appeared to be a polished brass spent shell from a naval war ship as one of his 'clanging' devices.
I knew there would be a 1950's Harmony Stratotone H44 in the mix. Aside from the songs that called for an acoustic guitar, Tom's guitarist played an H44 exclusively for the entire show. I cannot tell you how great it was to hear and see this instrument being used in this capacity! What an awesome sound! I noticed that the scratch plate was not original, and it lacked holes for the volume and tone pot's (it actually lacked volume and tone control completely that I could tell!). There was a switch, which may have been the original tone cut switch and another very small knob near it which may have been an after-market volume control, but certainly the originals were gone.
Tom had a 1950's Kay solid body guitar with a single pickup close by, frequently incorrectly identified as a Stratotone, but he did not pick it up during the show.
The musician covering saxophone, blues harp and other wood wind also picked up a guitar for 2-3 songs, and as an unexpected surprise, it was a Holiday-branded Harmony-made H15 Bobkat! It had a black-red sunburst body as opposed to the H15's black-honey, but still had the Dearmond goldfoil pickups.
On 7/8/08 we went down town Memphis to the Mud Island amphitheater to see Robert Plant and Allison Krauss on their Raising Sand tour. WWWWOOOOWWWW!
I don't know if I can say more! This was an extremely pleasing blend of the country and bluegrass of Allison Krauss performed with a harder rock/blues edge, and the alternate rock of Led Zepplin styling performed with a bluegrass/country edge! The amphitheater at Mud Island is outdoor, and right on the bank of the Mississippi River. We rode the monorail across the river (the one in "The Firm" with Tom Cruise). Our seats were about half way back, and dead center. I can't do justice in describing what it was like to experience Allison Krauss and Robert Plant as performers, they are beyond words. Their musicians impressed us greatly also. The main guitarist switched between a single lipstick pickup Danelecto and what I think was a modern hollow body Gibson with a 'flashy' modern sharper edged f-hole shape. When I toured the Gibson factory in Memphis this year, I was somewhat disappointed in the stlying they are choosing to adopt to stay 'modern'. This guitarist also played an autoharp, a mandolo, and pedal steel guitar. Their secondary featured instrumentalist played some guitar, banjo, violin and mandolin. His banjo playing was heavily bent with blues tones to fit the 'Zeppelin' edge of their songs. It was quite a thing to hear his 5 string banjo playing blues lead. His violin playing was equally impressive and surprising. The biggest impact in the opening tune was a lead solo fashioned and delivered in a screaming Led Zepplin stlye guitar solo... on violin! Distortion, loads of triplet notes in high speed, just phenomenal!
T-Bone Burnett is touring with this arrangement as band leader. He mostly played a Kay 'Jimmy Reed' Thin Twin guitar. His alternate was a black hollow body with twin pickups, Bigsby vibrato... but JUST too far away for me to make out if it was a Harmony or Gibson. He also played a small body acoustic for a few tunes.
We drove from Memphis to Birmingham, Alabama on 7/3 to see Tom Waits at the Alabama Theatre. For the Memphians familiar with the Orpheum Theatre, this was a similar venue in age and styling, but perhaps a little smaller. We had seats 6 rows back from the stage.
My wife is the bigger fan of Tom Waits himself. My story is, I went for the guitars, but stayed for the show. Tom may be a little hard to listen to for the first time, but in person and in concert, he is a fantastic performer and entertainer. If shock is a word that comes to mind when you hear his voice, the rest of the package squashes that. His band was really great. His drummer had quite an extensive kit to dismiss need for an additional percusionist, and even included what appeared to be a polished brass spent shell from a naval war ship as one of his 'clanging' devices.
I knew there would be a 1950's Harmony Stratotone H44 in the mix. Aside from the songs that called for an acoustic guitar, Tom's guitarist played an H44 exclusively for the entire show. I cannot tell you how great it was to hear and see this instrument being used in this capacity! What an awesome sound! I noticed that the scratch plate was not original, and it lacked holes for the volume and tone pot's (it actually lacked volume and tone control completely that I could tell!). There was a switch, which may have been the original tone cut switch and another very small knob near it which may have been an after-market volume control, but certainly the originals were gone.
Tom had a 1950's Kay solid body guitar with a single pickup close by, frequently incorrectly identified as a Stratotone, but he did not pick it up during the show.
The musician covering saxophone, blues harp and other wood wind also picked up a guitar for 2-3 songs, and as an unexpected surprise, it was a Holiday-branded Harmony-made H15 Bobkat! It had a black-red sunburst body as opposed to the H15's black-honey, but still had the Dearmond goldfoil pickups.
On 7/8/08 we went down town Memphis to the Mud Island amphitheater to see Robert Plant and Allison Krauss on their Raising Sand tour. WWWWOOOOWWWW!
I don't know if I can say more! This was an extremely pleasing blend of the country and bluegrass of Allison Krauss performed with a harder rock/blues edge, and the alternate rock of Led Zepplin styling performed with a bluegrass/country edge! The amphitheater at Mud Island is outdoor, and right on the bank of the Mississippi River. We rode the monorail across the river (the one in "The Firm" with Tom Cruise). Our seats were about half way back, and dead center. I can't do justice in describing what it was like to experience Allison Krauss and Robert Plant as performers, they are beyond words. Their musicians impressed us greatly also. The main guitarist switched between a single lipstick pickup Danelecto and what I think was a modern hollow body Gibson with a 'flashy' modern sharper edged f-hole shape. When I toured the Gibson factory in Memphis this year, I was somewhat disappointed in the stlying they are choosing to adopt to stay 'modern'. This guitarist also played an autoharp, a mandolo, and pedal steel guitar. Their secondary featured instrumentalist played some guitar, banjo, violin and mandolin. His banjo playing was heavily bent with blues tones to fit the 'Zeppelin' edge of their songs. It was quite a thing to hear his 5 string banjo playing blues lead. His violin playing was equally impressive and surprising. The biggest impact in the opening tune was a lead solo fashioned and delivered in a screaming Led Zepplin stlye guitar solo... on violin! Distortion, loads of triplet notes in high speed, just phenomenal!
T-Bone Burnett is touring with this arrangement as band leader. He mostly played a Kay 'Jimmy Reed' Thin Twin guitar. His alternate was a black hollow body with twin pickups, Bigsby vibrato... but JUST too far away for me to make out if it was a Harmony or Gibson. He also played a small body acoustic for a few tunes.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Harmony Partscaster
I just finished building up this guitar from pieces. I bought a very early set of Lindy Fralin Strat pickups 1-2 years back, and have been waiting for a home for them. The old Harmony body came along for $30 with a bridge and scratch guard on it, so I was started! The body is solid wood, and two pieces. The neck is from a 2005 Squire. The harness is from a recent Fender with 250k pot's, but the wiring is a little different than those from my 80's Strat's. Since the pot's came wired, I just loaded it as is, but I may rewire it back to old school and see how the sound differs. I have a nice action set up on it with 10-46 strings. Nice!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
1960's Harmony Sovereign acoustic
Mine is a later model than is usually sought after, although it still has a great tone. I have nylon strings on it presently, which is kind of WRONG in Harmony circles! This was mainly for my wife to learn a few things on, and not hurt her fingers in the process.
This is a little clip with pieces of some Beatles tunes, namely Daytripper and Lady Madonna. I've been trying to make my fingers do this for a couple of years now, but I don't think they've caught on yet. In all my humble ameteur glory...
This is a little clip with pieces of some Beatles tunes, namely Daytripper and Lady Madonna. I've been trying to make my fingers do this for a couple of years now, but I don't think they've caught on yet. In all my humble ameteur glory...
Saturday, May 31, 2008
1991 USA Fender Squire Stratocaster
USA Squire Stratocaster... doesn't exist, huh? Weren't they made in Japan, then Mexico?
I found this in Consignment Music in Memphis, Tennessee. Squires were made for Fender in Japan during the 1980's, and the earliest models are considered equal or better quality than the eary 1980's Fullerton, CA Stratocasters. Perceptions did change through the decade, but still hold a decent esteem. When Japan's contracts expired and Fender did not yet have Mexican contracts in place, they still had orders to fill. During 1990-1991, they made Squires in Corona, CA, USA. It is alleged that they pulled together whatever parts they had at hand to match the model. This makes the USA made Squire unique and pot-luck as to what you get, but at the same time, rare, limited in number, and a great talking point.
Mine has a Nx serial on the headstock (E = Eighties, N = Nineties), and is confirmed as a 1991 model by the stamp on the neck butt. My headstock also includes "Made in U.S.A." with a single string tree. With the rosewood fretboard, 11 hole pick guard, and vintage style bridge saddles, mine closely resembles the 1962 Vintage Reissues. The "FENDER FENDER" stamps on my saddles are facing the same direction, matching those used in Japan. A 5-way switch is installed, 500k potentiometers, and the pickups have a strong punch with ceramic magnets. It's late for noise, but I will post an A/V clip.
I found this in Consignment Music in Memphis, Tennessee. Squires were made for Fender in Japan during the 1980's, and the earliest models are considered equal or better quality than the eary 1980's Fullerton, CA Stratocasters. Perceptions did change through the decade, but still hold a decent esteem. When Japan's contracts expired and Fender did not yet have Mexican contracts in place, they still had orders to fill. During 1990-1991, they made Squires in Corona, CA, USA. It is alleged that they pulled together whatever parts they had at hand to match the model. This makes the USA made Squire unique and pot-luck as to what you get, but at the same time, rare, limited in number, and a great talking point.
Mine has a Nx serial on the headstock (E = Eighties, N = Nineties), and is confirmed as a 1991 model by the stamp on the neck butt. My headstock also includes "Made in U.S.A." with a single string tree. With the rosewood fretboard, 11 hole pick guard, and vintage style bridge saddles, mine closely resembles the 1962 Vintage Reissues. The "FENDER FENDER" stamps on my saddles are facing the same direction, matching those used in Japan. A 5-way switch is installed, 500k potentiometers, and the pickups have a strong punch with ceramic magnets. It's late for noise, but I will post an A/V clip.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Selling: 1980's Premier Strat-style Guitar
I'm selling a very cool Taxi-cab yellow Premier from the 1980's. Very little wear over all, and fully functional. All switch and pot movement is smooth and noise-free.
The auction runs until Sunday Apr-13-08 13:08:34 PDT.
Check it out here.
The auction runs until Sunday Apr-13-08 13:08:34 PDT.
Check it out here.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Mid 1960's Harmony-made Barclay
I haven't confirmed the dates on the pot's, but I think this is from 1965/66, and is my only f-holed thinline. It's equipped with the very respected Dearmond 'moustache' pickups which evolved from their earlier 'gold foils', and have adjustable pole pieces.
My chops are in a varied but constant state of corrosion, but here's a little thing that fell out when I was test driving this Barclay:
My chops are in a varied but constant state of corrosion, but here's a little thing that fell out when I was test driving this Barclay:
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Sunday, February 3, 2008
1950's Gibson P13 pickup
Well, it's not every day you get to see the internals of a pickup from the 1950's. This is a Gibson made P13 single coil pickup. It came off the Harmony lap steel guitar that I received this week. Harmony and Gibson swapped parts here and there during the rough times, when they had resources that each could benefit from. This pickup features on quite a few Harmony models. (And if you look closely at a few old archtop bodies, hmmm, Harmony, or Gibson? How does THAT change your perception on construction and materials quality difference between the "cheap" and expensive brand?!)
My lap steel arrived with no noise. I opened it up, and there were no wires, at all... I wonder if that had something to do with it. There were not even any wires attached to the pickup. A quick test of my pickup had me pronouncing it DOA.
It took some opening; there was a strong weld of solder on each side of the case, and my 30W iron struggled to do the job, since the heat was being soaked up by the entire case. I got in though, and saw both ends of the copper winding loose. I soldered those to the respective terminals, and she is alive!! As you see, measures about 8.8k on the meter.
Enjoy the pictures, you will probably never have this chance again :)
My lap steel arrived with no noise. I opened it up, and there were no wires, at all... I wonder if that had something to do with it. There were not even any wires attached to the pickup. A quick test of my pickup had me pronouncing it DOA.
It took some opening; there was a strong weld of solder on each side of the case, and my 30W iron struggled to do the job, since the heat was being soaked up by the entire case. I got in though, and saw both ends of the copper winding loose. I soldered those to the respective terminals, and she is alive!! As you see, measures about 8.8k on the meter.
Enjoy the pictures, you will probably never have this chance again :)
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Great day!
Good times today, one thing after another. I picked up this very old Harmony lap steel from the post office that I bought during the week. It has the very sought after and expensive Gibson P13 pickup. (I got his complete guitar for $10 more than a solo P13 sold for the next day!)
I seldom enjoy going into the noise at Guitar Center, but it serves a purpose, and today, Mike and I had purpose. I needed to pick up a boom stand for my microphone. Whilst there, a used and abused Epiphone Stratocaster copy was spotted. I pulled out the haggling stick, and we walked away with it for $65 plus tax. It sounds and plays great! I think our friend will adopt this one as his project Strat so it was great to seal the deal.
On the way home I ran over some carpet that had come out of someone's truck... then stopped for a piece. Nice, clean and good size, to serve as a guitar cushion while working on my desk up here.
Added 2/3/08:
Wow, I forgot there was more to yesterday. I stopped in the Hobby shop on the way home too, to pick up a craft knife to shape the styrene I bought for my H44 jack plates. I asked them about larger sheets of the 2mm styrene... and it comes in pieces large enough to make a whole scratch plate as well. So, I ordered in a couple of packs. Things are coming together!
I seldom enjoy going into the noise at Guitar Center, but it serves a purpose, and today, Mike and I had purpose. I needed to pick up a boom stand for my microphone. Whilst there, a used and abused Epiphone Stratocaster copy was spotted. I pulled out the haggling stick, and we walked away with it for $65 plus tax. It sounds and plays great! I think our friend will adopt this one as his project Strat so it was great to seal the deal.
On the way home I ran over some carpet that had come out of someone's truck... then stopped for a piece. Nice, clean and good size, to serve as a guitar cushion while working on my desk up here.
Added 2/3/08:
Wow, I forgot there was more to yesterday. I stopped in the Hobby shop on the way home too, to pick up a craft knife to shape the styrene I bought for my H44 jack plates. I asked them about larger sheets of the 2mm styrene... and it comes in pieces large enough to make a whole scratch plate as well. So, I ordered in a couple of packs. Things are coming together!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Now ONLINE... Tone Den!!!
Tone Den - Guaranteed killer guitar tone!
Save the link!!
http://ToneDen.ThruHere.net
Online source of vintage guitars, some of which feature in my blogs.
Save the link!!
Save the link!!
http://ToneDen.ThruHere.net
Online source of vintage guitars, some of which feature in my blogs.
Save the link!!
Harmony, Silvertone, Supro, National, Airline, Kapa, Barclay, Smeck, Stratotone, Magnatone, Newport, Valco, Regal, Sears, Old Kraftsman, Premier, Holiday, Alden, Orpheum and Stewart
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Desk!
Very loosely related to my blog theme, but this is about my guitar room. To date, I've done all my work spread between the carpeted area inside the attic window, and the top of a tall, closed, cardboard box as a make-shift table. When walking home from work last week, I saw a pile of rubble on someone's front curb which looked like they were refurbishing a bedroom. I went back later that evening with the car and asked for permission to take some of the wood. I got a couple of sliding wardrobe doors, and a bunch of framework, mostly 1.5" x 1.5".
I find it MUCH easier to pull two notes together than two pieces of wood, so I celebrate my small achievements. It's not pretty, but it's functional. A box of screws, some circ-saw action, and about 2 hours work has me set up nicely now upstairs.
I suspect that Rick Springfield poster was introduced in the early eighties, about the same time as those untouched cob webs! Best to leave well enough alone...
I find it MUCH easier to pull two notes together than two pieces of wood, so I celebrate my small achievements. It's not pretty, but it's functional. A box of screws, some circ-saw action, and about 2 hours work has me set up nicely now upstairs.
I suspect that Rick Springfield poster was introduced in the early eighties, about the same time as those untouched cob webs! Best to leave well enough alone...
Friday, January 25, 2008
TheDeanFiles - the truth is out there...
I was randomly searching for Stratotones, and surprisingly found my blog pages in Google search results. Also, this was flattering to see that a forum has linked to my blog page:
Monday, January 21, 2008
1964 Harmony H17 Bobkat
If you've followed my posts, this is another variation in the Harmony Bobkat family. This one is marked as 11/27/1964 production, and is badged as an actual Harmony.
It sports two Dearmond gold foil pickups, and has a simple whammy tail. I have to say, the neck position pickup is still my favourite on these. The action is a little higher on this one than some I have, but it still plays nicely. This won't be kept in 'inventory', so I am not going to mess with the neck adjustment - since it is nicely playable, I will leave that up to another owner if they choose to tweak it. The Dearmond pickups are glorious, and the sound from this thing could rival anything from the era that you care to stack it up against. These are fun little guitars!
This one had its tuners replaced when I bought it; vintage enclosed strip USA Grovers, which should return a few bucks. I found some NOS tuners for it, but they don't fill the holes left by the Grovers. Slight flaw here, but again, since it's not going to be mine long term, a new owner may choose to replace the tuners again.
It sports two Dearmond gold foil pickups, and has a simple whammy tail. I have to say, the neck position pickup is still my favourite on these. The action is a little higher on this one than some I have, but it still plays nicely. This won't be kept in 'inventory', so I am not going to mess with the neck adjustment - since it is nicely playable, I will leave that up to another owner if they choose to tweak it. The Dearmond pickups are glorious, and the sound from this thing could rival anything from the era that you care to stack it up against. These are fun little guitars!
This one had its tuners replaced when I bought it; vintage enclosed strip USA Grovers, which should return a few bucks. I found some NOS tuners for it, but they don't fill the holes left by the Grovers. Slight flaw here, but again, since it's not going to be mine long term, a new owner may choose to replace the tuners again.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
1964 Harmony H14 Bobkat
I'm slowly working through my guitars and cleaning them up. Today's lucky victim was this little Bobkat.
You'll notice the similarity between this and a Silvertone I have posted in another blog. Essentially they are the same body and neck. I think Harmony was going for a copy for Fender's Musicmaster for the single pickup model, and the Duosonic for the dual pickup model, possibly.
The neck is short scale, so it plays like water. Action is easily adjusted by the turn wheels on the bridge. The Dearmond Gold Foil single pickup is very nicely located, kind of central to where the two would be in the two pickup model, I really like the sound there, these pickups are just wonderful.
You may think it has limitations to sound variety... well, I guess it depends what you like. I like simplicity. I don't use effect pedals. I plug a guitar into a tube amp, and turn it on (although I do use my vintage Ibanez Tube Screamer on occasion.) A simple circuit in a guitar is music to my ears. The one switch here that you can see is a tone cut, which behaves the same as the switch on the H42's and H44's. Essentially it bypasses the tone pot completely, and the output is what it would be if the tone pot was wound all the way up. So, I can wind the pot down slightly to muddy up the sound when it is in circuit, then flick the switch to open it up instantly for a lead solo, for example.
This is a joy to play, a very under-rated little gem.
Monday, January 7, 2008
H162 Harmony Acoustic
This little gem was produced in the mid 1960's. With mahogany back and sides, and very nicely aged spruce top, it has a sweet tone.
I am not a luthier, but I do what I can to preserve and enhance the "aged". Aside from a solid all over cleaning on this one, I cleaned the fret-fretboard joints with a toothbrush, dressed the frets with steel wool, and completely dismantled the tuners, so I could oil the gears, and polish the string posts with steel wool.
I've included some photo's in this album to compare this to the Premier acoustic I have. You'll notice the Premier has a floating bridge with a trapeze tail piece, where the Harmony has a solid bridge. With this in mind, the top on the H162 is remarkably straight. This fixed bridge lends to a more solid and woody tone. Where the Premier has a trapeze tail, it has a slight tinny ring to it, but the all-mahogany body makes up somewhat for this (there is no escaping the brass tail however, it can definately be heard in all aspects of playing.)
What disappointed me with this H162 is the poorly presented fretboard. This is from the factory. It is ROUGH sanded. For hillbilly chords, this is a lovely unit, with a very nice tone. For more fluid paying and incorporating some lead, this fretboard is UNfriendly.
It's a sweet little thing, and you have to agree it looks LOVELY, but it was and is a cheapie, and despite the growing popularity in this model and the H165 (all mahogany from Harmony), it remains a cheapie in my regard. I would LOVE to refret this, and properly finish the fretboard, or perhaps even just replace the fretboard with new wood. There is night and day difference between this and the Premier fretboard. Although there is the tonal difference, I prefer to sit down with the Premier to play.
I am not a luthier, but I do what I can to preserve and enhance the "aged". Aside from a solid all over cleaning on this one, I cleaned the fret-fretboard joints with a toothbrush, dressed the frets with steel wool, and completely dismantled the tuners, so I could oil the gears, and polish the string posts with steel wool.
I've included some photo's in this album to compare this to the Premier acoustic I have. You'll notice the Premier has a floating bridge with a trapeze tail piece, where the Harmony has a solid bridge. With this in mind, the top on the H162 is remarkably straight. This fixed bridge lends to a more solid and woody tone. Where the Premier has a trapeze tail, it has a slight tinny ring to it, but the all-mahogany body makes up somewhat for this (there is no escaping the brass tail however, it can definately be heard in all aspects of playing.)
What disappointed me with this H162 is the poorly presented fretboard. This is from the factory. It is ROUGH sanded. For hillbilly chords, this is a lovely unit, with a very nice tone. For more fluid paying and incorporating some lead, this fretboard is UNfriendly.
It's a sweet little thing, and you have to agree it looks LOVELY, but it was and is a cheapie, and despite the growing popularity in this model and the H165 (all mahogany from Harmony), it remains a cheapie in my regard. I would LOVE to refret this, and properly finish the fretboard, or perhaps even just replace the fretboard with new wood. There is night and day difference between this and the Premier fretboard. Although there is the tonal difference, I prefer to sit down with the Premier to play.
Silvertone S1477
This is a Silvertone S1477, which has a date marking of March 24, 1965 on the back of the pickguard. It is Harmony-made, and is a "silverfoil" version of the Harmony H15. Can you imagine a 1964 guitar looking so good?? Well, you can now!
I took a chance when purchasing this guitar, given that it was advertised as "not working", and I bid on the auction accordingly, allowing for the expense of possible pickup rewinding. What better outcome, than to find that there was just a poor connection in the wiring that I was able to fix! This thing is marvellous! I stripped it all the way down on the weekend. Aside from general cleaning, I addressed the neck by getting a toothbrush into the fret/fretboard joints, dressed the frets with steel wool, and oiled the fretboard.
I also completely dismantled the tuners, oiling the gears, and polishing the string posts and ferrules with steel wool. I cleaned up the pickguard and applied contact cleaner to all the potentiometers.
This thing plays like water. It has fairly light guage strings on, but with the shorter neck scale on this model, it is so easy to play.
I have found the bridge pickup sounds a little quieter than the neck pickup, due to no fault, but since the bridge is raised quite a bit to get good neck action and no buzz, the strings are a little further away from the bridge pickup than they are from the neck pickup. This actually suits me quite well. I LOVE the neck pickup sound, and have always found the bridge pickup sound from e.g. a Fender Statocaster to be a little too shrill for my liking.
I think I will enjoy this one the most in the neck pickup position, but sometimes in the middle position, blending both pickups.
I took a chance when purchasing this guitar, given that it was advertised as "not working", and I bid on the auction accordingly, allowing for the expense of possible pickup rewinding. What better outcome, than to find that there was just a poor connection in the wiring that I was able to fix! This thing is marvellous! I stripped it all the way down on the weekend. Aside from general cleaning, I addressed the neck by getting a toothbrush into the fret/fretboard joints, dressed the frets with steel wool, and oiled the fretboard.
I also completely dismantled the tuners, oiling the gears, and polishing the string posts and ferrules with steel wool. I cleaned up the pickguard and applied contact cleaner to all the potentiometers.
This thing plays like water. It has fairly light guage strings on, but with the shorter neck scale on this model, it is so easy to play.
I have found the bridge pickup sounds a little quieter than the neck pickup, due to no fault, but since the bridge is raised quite a bit to get good neck action and no buzz, the strings are a little further away from the bridge pickup than they are from the neck pickup. This actually suits me quite well. I LOVE the neck pickup sound, and have always found the bridge pickup sound from e.g. a Fender Statocaster to be a little too shrill for my liking.
I think I will enjoy this one the most in the neck pickup position, but sometimes in the middle position, blending both pickups.
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