- Harmony Sovereign H1260
- Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial 609h1264
- Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial Numbers
- Sovereign Harmony Acoustic Guitar
- Harmony Sovereign Guitar H1260
- Harmony Sovereign Guitar H1203
- Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial Numbers
1970 -73 vintage sovereign harmony, solid spruce top acoustic guitar, black finish on sides and back & most of the top, very cool awesome guitar this is a very cool old guitar. It was built in 1970 -73 Model H 164 says so inside. PG 8513: HARMONY H-1264 SOVEREIGN. This page features pickguards for Harmony Hollowbody & Acoustic guitars. Harmony was founded in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz. Harmony Sovereign H1260 V-brace Conversion (our number 238)Factory fresh hard shell case is optional - add $100 (our cost)Please see our website moonlightluthiers dot com for additional details.Sound is exceptional with full harmonic overtones. This is what you want in a great guitar.Neck is ex. Harmony Sovereign Acoustic Guitar - H6560A, 1973 - Korea. Collection in person. Or Best Offer. Harmony Sovereign Vintage 90s Acoustic Guitar.
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 |
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
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]
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]
Harmony Sovereign H1260
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]
- 1963 Sovereign
(Syd Barrett's 1st guitar) - Harmony acoustic
- Silvertone model 1219 Buck Owens 'American' (1971) by Harmony Company[7]
- H1213 Archtone (c.1963)[8] Is 250 lexus.
- H15 Bobkat
- H19 Silhouette
(Silvertone 1480) - H88, H44 Stratotone, compared with travel guitar
- H7208 Roy Smeck Stratotone[9] (Airline Roy Smeck Stratotone)
- 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
![Harmony Sovereign Guitar Harmony Sovereign Guitar](https://images.reverb.com/image/upload/s--y1Qf9OGf--/f_auto,t_large/v1559685869/hwiegzhbdu0xzwsmikgj.jpg)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harmony_Company&oldid=940058592'
The Harmony folk-style Sovereign Jumbo flatop was widely publicised throughout the 1960s, selling in large numbers.
The rich deep sustained bass and clear trebal tones so desirable for folk and Country and Western music are 'built-in' this specially designed Sovereign jumbo model. The large deep body has selected mahogany back and sides, resonant Spruce top, white edge bindings, with inlays. The 'Torque-Lok' reinforced mahogany 'Slim-Line' neck, with ovalled rosewood fingerboard, makes chording and playing fast and Easy. Beautifully finished, highly polished.
Harmony H1260 Sovereign vintage adverts
Acoustic guitar advertisements originally published from 1965 onwards. Click on the images for larger copies. Check out other vintage Harmony advertisements
Harmony 1260 - Harmony guitars (1965)
Mid sixties Harmony advert, showing a solid-body (H19), an acoustic (1260), and an electric semi-acoustic (H75)
[more]
Mid sixties Harmony advert, showing a solid-body (H19), an acoustic (1260), and an electric semi-acoustic (H75)
[more]
Harmony 1260 - The integrity of the Harmony guitar is known by the integrity of its maker (1965)
Mid sixties Harmony adverts for two instruments. The semi-acoustic H-77 and the 1260 acoustic
[more]
Mid sixties Harmony adverts for two instruments. The semi-acoustic H-77 and the 1260 acoustic
[more]
Harmony 1260 - Here are Harmony's Big 3 (1966)
Mid sixties advertisement for three of Harmonys best selling instruments: the H19 solid body, H76 thinline hollow-body and the 1260 flat top acoustic. These three instruments appeared in numerous H..
[more]
Mid sixties advertisement for three of Harmonys best selling instruments: the H19 solid body, H76 thinline hollow-body and the 1260 flat top acoustic. These three instruments appeared in numerous H..
[more]
Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial 609h1264
Harmony 1260 - Now Hear This (1966)
The three instruments appearing in this mid-60s advert are the H19 solid body, H76 thinline hollow-body and the 1260 flat top acoustic. These were Harmony's big-3 instruments and were promoted widely.
[more]
The three instruments appearing in this mid-60s advert are the H19 solid body, H76 thinline hollow-body and the 1260 flat top acoustic. These were Harmony's big-3 instruments and were promoted widely.
[more]
Harmony 1260 - The Crafstmen Come From Here (1967)
In 1967, the American guitar market was under attack. Skilled luthiers at Gibson and Guild were safe, even those these companies had their problems to overcome, but at the lower end, where guitars ..
[more]
In 1967, the American guitar market was under attack. Skilled luthiers at Gibson and Guild were safe, even those these companies had their problems to overcome, but at the lower end, where guitars ..
[more]
Harmony Sovereign Guitar Serial Numbers
Harmony 1260 - Want To Take A Harmony Guitar Apart (1967)
Mid sixties advert highlighting some of the features of a Harmony guitar: the slim necks, truss rod, hollow body construction and De Armond pickups. The fact that Harmony was an American company (f..
[more]
Mid sixties advert highlighting some of the features of a Harmony guitar: the slim necks, truss rod, hollow body construction and De Armond pickups. The fact that Harmony was an American company (f..
[more]
Sovereign Harmony Acoustic Guitar
Harmony 1260 - You plug it in, it turns you on (1968)
The title of this advertisement, of course, is a play on Dr. Timothy Leary's 'Turn On, Tune in, Drop out' suggestion, so current amongst the youth of late 1960s America; Harmony new their market. U..
[more]
The title of this advertisement, of course, is a play on Dr. Timothy Leary's 'Turn On, Tune in, Drop out' suggestion, so current amongst the youth of late 1960s America; Harmony new their market. U..
[more]
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