Private | |
Industry | Musical instrument |
---|---|
Fate | Company ceased in 1975; 'Harmony' brand relaunched in 2018 |
Founded | 1892; 128 years ago |
Founder | Wilhelm Schultz |
Headquarters | |
Products |
|
Owner | BandLab Technologies |
Website | harmony.co |
- Get the best prices on our Vintage Harmony Guitars both in-store and online. Check us out and get FREE Shipping today!
- Jun 18, 2014 daddystovepipe plays and talks about his 'Harmony Sovereign' The Mance Lipscomb guitar - Duration: 14:37. Daddystovepipe 18,420 views.
The Harmony Company is a former guitar manufacturing company that is currently a brand owned by Singapore company BandLab Technologies. Harmony was, in its heyday, the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the United States. They made many types of string instruments, including ukuleles, acoustic and electric guitars and violins.
The company ceased in 1975, with the 'Harmony' brand being relaunched by BandLab in 2018 to produce electric guitars and amplifiers.[1]
History[edit]
A collection of Harmony guitars: SS Stewart gold acoustic, H73 Roy Smeck, H37 Hollywood, Silvertone 1446, H44 Stratotone
What is the value of my harmony sovereign guitar? The serial number is in it but i cant find the year it was made or the value of it anywhere! Can anyone tell me the year and value! Serial # 6916H1203! And on a scale of one to ten its at least an 8 on its. HARMONY 1971 MODEL H-1204 BLACK SOVEREIGN Hi and thanks for looking.This is a great guitar that was made in the USA during 1971.The guitar is 100% original except for the strings that are recent light guage and are set reasonably low.The neck is straight and everything works as it shouldThere are NO cracks.Breaks or repairs to this guitar.
Harmony was founded in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz. In 1916, Sears, Roebuck and Co. purchased it, in part to corner the ukulele market. At the time Harmony was led by Joe Kraus, who was chairman until 1940.[2]
In 1928, Harmony introduced the first of many Roy Smeck models, and went on to become the largest producer in the U.S. They sold 250,000 pieces in 1923 and 500,000 in 1930, including various models of guitars, banjos, and mandolins.
In the late 1930s, the firm began making violins again after a 19-year hiatus. They also bought brand names from the bankrupt Oscar Schmidt Co.—La Scala, Stella, and Sovereign. They sold not only Harmony products, but instruments under the Sears name, Silvertone, and a variety of trade names—Vogue, Valencia, Johnny Marvin, Monterey, Stella, and others.[citation needed] In 1940, after Kraus had a conflict with management, he left, but then bought enough stock to restart the company independently.[2]
Lime wire search. Between 1945 and 1975, the Chicago firm mass-produced about ten million guitars. The company reduced their output over the years, later focusing on student models sold through JCPenney. The Harmony brand peaked in 1964-1965, selling 350,000 instruments, but low-end foreign competition led to the company's demise 10 years later.
The pickups on almost all electric guitars and basses that Harmony produced were manufactured by Rowe Industries Inc. (later known as H.N. Rowe & Company, Rowe DeArmond Inc., and DeArmond Inc.) of Toledo, Ohio. Many of the instrument amplifiers badged with the Harmony name were manufactured by 'Sound Projects Company' of Cicero, Illinois.[3]
The Harmony Guitar Company ceased in 1975,[4] and sold the Harmony name. In the early 2000s, an unrelated company, the Westheimer Corp., based in Lake Barrington, Illinois briefly imported 'reissue' Harmony guitars.
In 2018, BandLab Technologies claimed to be 'relaunching' the Harmony brand with a new series of electric guitars and guitar amps.[5][6]
Gallery[edit]
- Inwo cards download. 1963 Sovereign
(Syd Barrett's 1st guitar) - Star wars republic commando multiplayer. Harmony acoustic
- Silvertone model 1219 Buck Owens 'American' (1971) by Harmony Company[7]
- H1213 Archtone (c.1963)[8]
- H15 Bobkat
- H19 Silhouette
(Silvertone 1480) - H88, H44 Stratotone, compared with travel guitar
- H7208 Roy Smeck Stratotone[9] (Airline Roy Smeck Stratotone)
- Bluestacks free xbox one. H49 Stratotone Jupiter (Silvertone 1423)
- Stratotone
- H53 Rocket
- H78 3-pickups with Bigsby
- H82 Rebel
Further reading[edit]
- Acoustic Guitars: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. New York: Chartwell Books. 2011. ISBN978-0-7858-3571-4.
References[edit]
- ^Our Guitars on Harmony website, 14 Oct 2019
- ^ abKohman, Peter Stuart (June 2014). 'Journey to the Stratotone! Harmony and the Early Solidbody'. Vintage Guitar. pp. 54–60.
- ^Lectrolab guitar amplifiers
- ^'Harmony Guitar Page'. Broadway Music Co. Archived from the original on 2012-09-23.
In 1975 the Harmony Guitar Co. in Chicago ceased operations and had a huge three-day auction. - ^NAMM 2018: Harmony resurrected with new guitars and amps on Music Radar, 31 Jan 2018
- ^BandLab to Reboot Teisco and Harmony Guitar Brands by Carly Smith on Reverb.com, 14 Dec 2017
- ^http://www.silvertoneworld.net/acoustic/1219buckowens/1219_Buck_Owens_American.html
- ^Zachary Fjestad. 'Harmony Archtone H1213'. Premier Guitar (Dec 2011).
- ^'1962 Harmony Roy Smeck Stratotone Model H7208'. Traynor Tweaks (kilback.net).
Manufactured by Harmony in Chicago, USA, in mid-1962. Similar to Harmony Stratotone H49 Jupiter, but different pickups and controls.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Harmony Company. |
- Harmony at National Music Museum
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harmony_Company&oldid=940058592'
Pete Townshend’s Harmony Sovereign H1270 12-string acoustic guitar, as used in the studio and television performances in the ’60s. The Harmony H1270 — a 12-string version of Harmony’s H1260 — featured a hinged nickel-plated trapeze tailpiece and jumbo body in natural finish. It can be heard on recordings such as Sunrise and Sparks/Underture from Tommy.
Pete likely used a capo on this guitar frequently, as it was — and is — common to tune down 12-strings a half or whole step, to decrease the tension and make chord fingering easier. The guitar is then brought back to standard tuning with the capo.
Whereabouts
Sold by Pete in 1997 or 1998 to benefit the Maryville Academy in Chicago. Currently owned by private collector.
Unique features
- Trapeze tailpiece – which allows the guitar to have very light bracing and fairly low string tension.
- Double bridge – two ivory bridges: One that the strings pass over, the other a sort of “faux bridge,” which the strings pass through.
These features combine to give the guitar a unique, transparent sound.
Specification
From the Harmony Database:
1966 catalog
Harmony Jumbo Model – 12-string guitar – Mahogany – Spruce Top
A deluxe model for those who have learned to appreciate the richness and full toned response of the 12-string guitar, with its pairs of strings tuned in unison, or an octave apart. Large deep body has polished natural finish selected spruce top, carefully braced. Back, sides and neck are of selected mahogany. Torque-Lok adjustable reinforcing rod. Rosewood ovalled fingerboard and bridge. Nickel-plated hinged tailpiece. Smartly bound and inlaid with shell-color and white celluloid.
Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial Numbers
No. 1270 – Size: 16 × 4 5/16 × 40 1/2 in.: $139.50
No. C550 – Carrying Case, extra: $16.00
Caution – A 12-string guitar should not be tuned up to regular 6-string guitar pitch. Experienced players recommend tuning three or four half tones lower, to avoid pulling up the guitar top or bowing the neck.
Selected quotes
All quotes and references are copyright their original owners and are included for reference only.
Harmony Sovereign Guitar
From 2010 Acoustic magazine interview:
My first good guitar was an acoustic made in Prague. Later I bought a Harmony 12-string that became my staple. I was a huge fan of Leadbelly, and the Harmony was as close as I could get to his big Stella.
Wardour Street home studio, ca. 1966 or 1967, with Harmony 12 at right. Speaker cabinet is early Marshall 4×12 on stand.
Ca. 1966, with the Harmony 12 during television performance.
Ca. 1966, with the Harmony 12 during television performance.
Pokemon sun rom for citra for mac. Ca. 1966, with the Harmony 12 during television performance. Note red capo at 2nd fret.
Ca. 1966, with the capoed Harmony 12 during television performance.
Ca. 1967, home studio, recording with the Harmony 12; C-style capo unused at the headstock.
Ca. 1970, home studio, with Harmony 12 on the wall.
Ca. 1970, home studio, Twickenham, with the Harmony 12-string hung on wall at right. (Guitar at left is Coral Hornet.)
Resources and Information
Acknowledgements
- Brad Rodgers at whocollection.com.
Additional information:
- Harmony Database – H1270 – Sovereign jumbo 12-string: harmony.demont.net/model.php?id=49
- Harmony Flat Top acoustic guitars history: broadwaymusicco.com/harmony.htm
- Harmony Sovereign models: broadwaymusicco.com/Harmony1.htm