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moosers
Published on 02/19/10 at 12:12
The Harmony H44 Stratotone is an electric guitar made in the late 1950's. There are a number of different models of the H44, but the one I've used was made in 1959. The guitar only has a single pick up, with volume and tone knobs to control your sound as well as a tone switch. The H44 is unique in both sound and look...
UTILIZATION
Playing the Harmony H44 Stratotone is a real treat overall. The neck is thick and wide, making it easy to wrap your hands around and to get a good grip on it. It is also one of my favorite electric guitars to play slide on because of this wide neck. The guitar has a very small body, but it seems like the neck is normal size. It is about an average weight and has a very cool finish and look to it. Getting a good sound from the H44 is easy if you can play, although there isn't too much room here to control your sound.
SOUNDS
The overall sound of the Harmony H44 Stratotone is thick and wide sounding. I've used the guitar with both a '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb and a vintage Gibson amp, and it sounds great with both of them. I have generally used it with some overdrive as well as some delay (a T-Rex Dr Swamp and Replica), which gets me the perfect sound for some slide or other lead parts. While not the most versatile guitar out there since it only has one pick up, I find that the sounds that the H44 can get are milky enough where I don't mind it too much.
OVERALL OPINION
I haven't seen all that many Harmony H44 Stratotones out there other than the one that I've used, since these are more than fifty years old now. The price of the H44 probably wouldn't be incredibly expensive, granted that you could even find a used one of them out there. However, if you do get the chance to try one out or to record with one like I did, I know you'll at least be able to appreciate it for the unique guitar that it is.
UTILIZATION
Playing the Harmony H44 Stratotone is a real treat overall. The neck is thick and wide, making it easy to wrap your hands around and to get a good grip on it. It is also one of my favorite electric guitars to play slide on because of this wide neck. The guitar has a very small body, but it seems like the neck is normal size. It is about an average weight and has a very cool finish and look to it. Getting a good sound from the H44 is easy if you can play, although there isn't too much room here to control your sound.
SOUNDS
The overall sound of the Harmony H44 Stratotone is thick and wide sounding. I've used the guitar with both a '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb and a vintage Gibson amp, and it sounds great with both of them. I have generally used it with some overdrive as well as some delay (a T-Rex Dr Swamp and Replica), which gets me the perfect sound for some slide or other lead parts. While not the most versatile guitar out there since it only has one pick up, I find that the sounds that the H44 can get are milky enough where I don't mind it too much.
OVERALL OPINION
I haven't seen all that many Harmony H44 Stratotones out there other than the one that I've used, since these are more than fifty years old now. The price of the H44 probably wouldn't be incredibly expensive, granted that you could even find a used one of them out there. However, if you do get the chance to try one out or to record with one like I did, I know you'll at least be able to appreciate it for the unique guitar that it is.