H74 - H75 - H76 - H77 - H78
Models
Harmony H74
The H74 is a favorite among Harmony players.
It was as close as Harmony got to a double cutaway until the late 1960's.
The graceful lines of this guitar are real classy. They sound as good as
they look!
They feature Rowe built DeArmond designed
pickups. This is one of the models that some players refer to as a "poor
man's Gretsch"
This is one of the finest pictures on the entire site!
A picture is worth 1,000 words they say.
I bet this picture is worth at least twice
that many!
The tailpiece and bridge are original Equipment as is the fine soft case in the background.
Technical Tip
This may save you a big headache!
All of the vintage Harmony hollowbody electrics
have the jack mounted on the side of the guitar. This area is very prone
to severe cracking, especially since the wood is now getting really old.
Follow these 3 rules and you will extend the life of your guitar.
1. Always use a right angle plug on your guitar cable.
2. Use a good secure strap or install a straplock system on your guitar and strap (Schaller etc...)
3. Always loop your cable through your strap before you plug into the guitar, this way if someone trips on your cable, the strap will absorb the blow.
H74 With Bigsby Tailpiece
(Thanks for the pics Gabi)
The Bigsby tailpiece is a great match for any Harmony guitar. They stay in tune reasonably well and it does not harm the structure of the guitar. Just be sure that if you install a used Bigsby all of the felt on the bottom is intact so you will not scratch your guitar!
Technical Tip
Most Harmony hollowbody electrics were designed to be used with heavy flat wound strings. Since most players do not use flat wound strings, it is important to find the happy medium. 9-42 gauge strings are too light, the pickups do a good job of getting signal, but the bolt on necks are a little "goosey". The best gauge that I have found for Harmony hollowbody guitars is 10-46. This still allows us benders to wail, while getting the neck stability much better. The pickups also "hear" the heavier gauge strings better, and as a general rule, the heavier the string, the better the tone. Originally, these guitars had 11-52 gauge, all right for rhythm or finger style, but a little heavy for my taste.
H75 - H76 - H77 - H78 Models
1963 H76 Hollowbody Thinline Electric Guitar.
This is the "Cadillac" of the archtop thinlines. The pickups are Maximum DeArmond and the three toggles give you 6 positions. The tremolo is a Bigsby. It features an "Ultra Slim" neck with "Torque-Lok" adjustable reinforcing truss rod. It also sports an ovalled rosewood fingerboard with edge bindings and inlaid position markers. The body is curly maple and the tone, beautiful! This was Harmony's answer to the Gibson ES335. Harmony really tried to break into the professional market with these. The headstock is tortoise. They were offered in two colors, warm cherry tone red, and rich brown mahogany sunburst. The models are identified in this manner: H75, mahogany sunburst, deluxe fixed tailpiece. H76, same as H75 but with Bigsby "True Vibrato" tailpiece. H77 Cherry red, deluxe fixed tailpiece. H78, same as H77 but with Bigsby "True Vibrato" tailpiece.
The finish on this model is beautiful. I bet it sounds as good as it looks!
Another Bigsby on this Cherryburst. Back in
the good old days you saw many of these stages all over the world.
My opinion is that these models sound better
than the model that inspired thier design, the Gibson 335.
Put it this way, I sold my 335 and I wouldn't
part with my H75!
This is an early model single cutaway. Still a great guitar!
Nice Silvertone H78 Style Hollowbody (Right)
These Guitars are owned by John Flynn from Roslindale, MA U.S.A.
Technical Tip
If your guitar has a truss rod and you need
to adjust it, ALWAYS back the nut off first at least one full turn.
Put some light machine oil or WD40 on the
threads and nut and work it back and forth for several turns. Then proceed
with your adjustments. This may save your guitar as expensive visit to
your favorite luthier!
Real nice H72 with Bigsby Tremolo tailpiece and H74 - H79 style headstock
Harmony H72 With Silhouette style headstock
This model features dual DeArmond designed Rowe pickups. It is very similar to the above models in specifications. The H72 was offered in Burgundy. It is one of the few semi acoustic guitars offered by Harmony with a "Fender Type" headstock.
Recent email to me....
Hi My name is Chris Rickerhauser from Bethlehem
Pa. These are Pictures of my Harmony Dec 29, 1966 Guitar. I was given this
guitar by my brother (who is born on Dec 29th!) who found it in the
trash in Florida. I did a lot of research on it . I wanted to see if you
would post these pics on your website.
It took a little while, but here are the pictures!
Thanks....Jim
Chris Rickerhauser's guitar!
Technical Tip
Most Harmony hollowbody electrics can develop cracks in the wood around the tuning machines if exposed to a dry heat source. Do not store your guitar near a heater or other dry location.
Can you help me identify these?
Photo #1
(This one has been identified)
Photo #2
Howard Doyle wrote:
(photo #1) is a sears catalog number 1446 that ran from the spring of 1961 until the fall of 1965. The cost ran from $139.95 in 1962 to $159.95 in the fall of 1965. The guitar in this photo was sold between spring 1964 until fall 1965. The 1446 model when first introduced had a spruce top and back with maple sides and the pickup covers were oval shaped, than in 1964 it had a laminated maple top and back and the pickup covers were as the kind shown in the photo.
Mystery solved!.................Thanks Howard!
Bruce Terrell wrote:
I have always been curious about the guitar in photo #2. I believe that is a Harmony model made in the 50s. Looking at the neck joint on this and on the 60s Rockets, etc. it occurs to me that the guitars like the one in #2 were influenced by Gretsch to capitalize on the Duane Eddy, Eddy Cochran, etc. type players. The models seem to have switched styles in the early 60s, perhaps to capitalize on the Gibson hollowbody styles coming into popularity. Just a thought. Bruce G. Terrell
Ira Gitlin wrote:
Photo # 2 looks very much like the H-62 pictured on p.235 of Tom Wheeler's American Guitars, though I think that one (like my H-60) is a full-depth archtop. --Ira Gitliniragitlin3@aol.com
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