Harmony (String Instruments)

A vintage original Stratotone would have been made in Chicago USA. It would have been made of all maple, and had a semi-hollow body design. The same goes for the more modern korean made re-issue models, all maple, semi-hollow design. The Stratotone is an interesting guitar, the original harmony models are some of the best out there. They featured the early version of the "Hershey Bar" pick-up and simple controls. You would have a volume knob, a tone knob, and a rythym/treble switch. They were very small body guitars with an unusually wide tapered neck which definitely made them an odditiy then, and still does today. Surprisingly, these guitars are very well balanced body/neck wise. The extra wide tapered neck is also really fun to play on once you get used to the style. The Stratotone was available in a single pickup version, the H44, or a dual pickup version, the H45. The newer re-issue versions are available in the classic copper metal flake paint job or the classic high gloss black (tuxedo) paint job. The industrious collector of Harmony made instruments can also find many different Stratotone models available for purchase that were simply built by Harmony and then marketed, branded and distributed by several other companies. The Alden Tuxedo, or the Airline Tuxedo for instance, are both some of the more common H44 models that float to the surface nowadays. (Plenty of Harmony branded H44's and 45's also pop up as well!) UTILIZATION The Stratotone's design is reminiscent of a scaled down les paul body type. The single cutaway provides ample access to the upper frets and overall is a really comfortable guitar to play. Vintage and Re-issue Stratotones share a unique tone. I just can't call it muffled, that would be wrong, but to say that it is overly thick to the point of absurdity would be closer to the mark. SOUNDS I play my Stratotone through a vintage Fender Princeton amp. I typically set the low tone knob way low, the mid about 12o'clock, and the high about 3-4o'clock. I always play the guitar with the Rythym/Treble or Lead switch set to Treble/Lead. Also Volume and Tone knobs are set to max, all the time. The overall sound is an interesting mix between vintage and modern. It has a sort of "radiohead'ish" sound. It mixes quite well with my original band's quasi-classic/modern rock sound and it also blends very nicely with some of my solo electronic/organic music. OVERALL OPINION I purchased both my re-issue and my vintage model for about 250-300$ a piece. The overall sound vs. the price is...well it's unique. What can I really say? Both have a tone that you simply cannot find in ANY other guitar. Your choice of string thickness, setup preferences, and amp choice are going to be huge factors with this guitar. I'm a long-time Harmony enthusiast, so, yes I've played as many as have come close to me. (close enough to grab it and say, "hey, let me jam on this for a bit") The Stratotone is it's very own and very unique animal. I'd buy either another re-issue or another vintage model in an instant if I didn't already own both. Both the vintage and the re-issues are readily available from private collectors, music stores, and ebay.

The Harmony H420 is a somewhat rare hollow body bass guitar. It's got a double cutaway design and two F holes on both sides of it. I don't know the exact years that this was was made for, but I'm pretty sure that the one I used was made in the early to mid 1970's. The bass has two single coil pick ups, each with their own tone and volume controls. I really don't know much about the make up of the bass in terms of materials used, but it's certainly nicely crafted. UTILIZATION Playing the Harmony H420 is an absolute pleasure. It seems like it would take a little bit of time to get completely used to the feel of it, but of course this is going to vary slightly from instrument to instrument. Its just really easy to play and to get a nice sound from it. The control knobs definitely make it easy to tweak here and there, but I don't think anyone is going to have a hard time getting a good sound from it. SOUNDS I really love the sound of the Harmony H420! It's definitely it's own sound, but when it works, it works extremely well. It's perfect for emulating the sound of an upright, although of course it's not anything close to a dead match - it's just a good replacement. It has that warm and round kind of sound that just suits well in the same sort of situations. It really just depends on the type of sound you're going for, but this is a more than viable option and works perfectly to compliment something like a Jazz or P bass. OVERALL OPINION I don't have a bad thing to say about the Harmony H420, as it's really a stellar instrument. I'm a huge fan of the way this bass sounds, as I think when used in the right situations it can be as good of a sound as any bass out there. It's definitely it's own kind of sound, but it's one that I think will work well in a variety of situations. The H420 probably isn't for everyone, but if you do come across it I'd highly recommend checking it out just in case you might fall in love with it...

This is an American made guitar. It's a hollow-body with an interesting electronic vibrato installed on it. It has 20 frets, two single coil pickups (with a volume knob and tone control for each), a maple body with a cutaway, and an ebony fingerboard. UTILIZATION This guitar is really comfortable to play. It feels really good, with a rich and resonant body. Getting a nice sound should be as easy as playing the guitar. It's not the heaviest hollow-body but it is noticeably heavy, I guess the tremolo installed in the guitar adds some weight to it. It's got an action that's pretty high but overall it's fine. SOUNDS I love using this guitar with just about any amp. It doesn't really sound good distorted, as it feeds back and has too smooth a tone to really cut through the noise. I'd rather use it with a clean tube amp like a Fender Twin, a Hughes and Kettner tube amp or something like a Matchless. It has a rich, smooth tone that's really fat when you need it to be, but also can be bright and clean. I personally think all the old Harmony guitars sound fantastic. This is even before talking about the built-in vibrato. While I'll be the first to admit it's not the most amazing vibrato effect I've come across the fact that it comes from the guitar itself means that it is unique, and no pedal could truly replicate it. It expands the sound options you get by a lot. It is great for jazz and stuff of that nature but with the added vibrato its great for classic pop, old school rock and roll, and a bunch of other stuff as well. It's such a well-rounded instrument that it'll really be a unique addition to almost any collection. OVERALL OPINION The best thing about this guitar besides its incredible sound is the built in vibrato effect. I can't stress how cool that is. I think that finding one of these nowadays is going to be tough, and if you do find one it'll probably cost you a pretty penny. It'd be worth it though as it's a really cool and great-sounding guitar. I've played a lot of guitars but none quite like this. I'd say get this if you can.

The Harmony H165 is an flat top acoustic guitar, made mostly in the 50's and 60's but was also made in some capacity in the mid to late 40's and the early 70's. I don't know exactly what year the one I've used was made, but I would think it's somewhere in between. The studio that I work at has one of these, and while it doesn't see as much use as our Martin guitars, it's still a cool little guitar with a unique vibe and sound. The guitar is made out of mahogany and doesn't have any electronics as it's just an acoustic guitar. UTILIZATION The Harmony H165 has a very round neck, which seems to be characteristic for Harmony guitars of this time. This gives it a unique feel that is definitely an old school style and isn't one that you'll see much these days. It's a pretty easy guitar to play for the most part, but the action is a bit high in general for my ideal liking. There's not much wiggle room when it comes to changing the sound, but in general it's pretty easy to get a nice sound from it if you can play. SOUNDS I'd describe the sound of the Harmony H165 as being pretty jangly. It doesn't have the fullest sound when you strum a chord, but it's great for finger picking and similar styles where you might want the lower strings to kind of jump out at you. It's hard for me to describe exactly what it sounds like in words, but I'd say it's best used for folk and country music, as it just has the sort of vibe to me. I don't know that I'd recommend it if you're looking for a deep and rich acoustic sound, but it definitely has it's own thing going on... OVERALL OPINION Overall, the Harmony H165 is a pretty cool guitar with it's own sound and feel for sure. It's definitely not your traditional acoustic sound, but there's definitely times where I feel this would work very well. I'm not sure how easy it would be to get your hands on a H165, but a lot of Harmony guitars are pretty similar, so I wouldn't say that finding this one in particular would be the end all if you want a guitar like this. If you are able to find an H165, definitely give it a try as I think you'll like what it has to offer...

The Harmony H54 Rocket is a hollow body electric guitar from the 1960's and spilling over into the early 70's. These guitars were made in the USA, and although there are some slight differences in models throughout the years, more or less they are pretty consistent. I don't know the exact year of the model that I've used, as a band member on a recent session brought the guitar in. The guitar has two single coil pick up each with their own independent tone and volume knobs. It also has a standard three way pick up selector for choosing between or blending the different pick ups. I don't know what kinds of materials this guitar is made from, but overall it definitely seems well built considering it's age. UTILIZATION The feel of the Harmony H54 Rocket is definitely pretty unique. It's got a wide sized neck with a good amount of space on it, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your personal preference. I personally found it a pretty easy guitar to play, but I didn't get to mess with it for too long since I wasn't playing on the session and was the assistant engineer. However, the player on the session didn't seem to have much trouble at all getting a killer sound from it! SOUNDS The sound of the Harmony H54 Rocket is definitely impressive, as this is a great guitar for getting that classic hollow body sound, which is a sound that I adore. It's a bit more versatile however, as you can also get some more raunchy sort of sounds from it that aren't really possible with too many of the other hollow bodies that I've used before. It's not the thickest sounding guitar on account that it has single coils, but that's the kind of sound most people are going to be looking for anyway with a hollow body. OVERALL OPINION I'm not sure how easy or hard it would be to get your hands on a used Harmony H54 Rocket, but I would think that if you were determined you could get one without too much trouble. I'm a big fan of Harmony hollow body guitars, as I think they made some of the best from this time period, and the H54 Rocket is a great example of this. If you can scoop one of these up for a reasonable price it's definitely worth it as this is a great hollow body guitar.

The Harmony Patrician is a hollow body acoustic guitar that has been around for quite some time. The model of this guitar that I have played is from 1959 and was made in the USA. It has about twenty frets and since it is a hollow body guitar has two F holes on it. It isn't an acoustic/electric, although it does look like it should be and definitely doesn't have the sound and feel of a traditional acoustic guitar. UTILIZATION The feel of the Harmony Patrician is pretty awesome. It is easy to play all around the neck and especially feels good for finger picking. I've never had any issues with the action on the guitar as it always feels good on the fingers. It is pretty easy to get a nice sound from this guitar but it is definitely a specific type of sound. SOUNDS The sounds that you can get from the Harmony Patrician is great for blues and for country or folk. It sounds good for other genres, but the ones I previously mentioned seem to be its forte. It has a really interesting sound that to me is perfect for blues and finger picking and also great for country. The only downfall of the sound is that you can't plug it in, so you really only get the one sound that you are get acoustically. To me this isn't a big deal but I would see why some people would want the option to plug it in. Not much else to say about the sound that can be described without hearing it, so I suggest that if you are really interested in this guitar you should seek one out to try for yourself. OVERALL OPINION I've been using the Harmony Patrician for practicing and recording for about a year. I've really come to appropriate Harmony guitars in this time and this is a really great guitar. It certainly has a great look and feel and the sound is unique and is great at what is does. These are somewhat hard to find but if you can find one they aren't all that expensive and sometimes people don't know what they have. This is definitely a guitar that is worth looking into if you want a unique hollow body acoustic guitar.

The Harmony Hollywood is a hollow body electric guitar that is pretty basic in make up and is pretty old. The guitar only has a single pick up to go along with a volume and tone control knobs. I'm not sure what type of material the neck is made out of, but the guitar has a pretty good feel when the action is set right. UTILIZATION The feel of the Harmony Hollywood is pretty good overall, but it isn't the smoothest action that I've ever played. Since this is an old guitar, a lot of them have been messed with over the years, so sometimes it is hard to tell if the one you are playing is in original form as I imagine that most of them are not. Getting a good sound is pretty easy as this guitar does has a pretty good inherent tone that definitely has the hollow body signature sound. SOUNDS I usually use the Harmony Hollywood with a 1976 Fender Twin Reverb and this has really been a good fit for this guitar. The reverb on the Twin Reverb is the perfect type for this guitar and they two really sound good together. I don't use too many effects at all with this guitar as I usually keep the signal pretty clean or use the reverb on the amp or the vibrato effect. The clean tone is good enough and is usually the type of sound that I'm going for. This guitar is great for all sorts of music, but I usually use it for folk, country, or rock music. OVERALL OPINION I've had the Harmony Hollywood for longer than I've been playing guitar as it has been in my family for years and it was a guitar that I didn't play for a while but recently have picked up again and I've really enjoyed playing it. It has a unique sound and definitely has an awesome look to it. The action isn't the best, but it is definitely playable and the great look and tone make up for that in my opinion. These are somewhat hard to find, but aren't all that expensive if you can find one used. I would definitely recommend checking out this guitar if you are looking for a nice hollow body guitar that won't cost too much money.