Harmony H59 Rocket / 1965 / Cupcakes From Heaven!

Oh, boy!  We don’t see them in this shape very often.  Here is a Spring of 1965, Harmony H59 Rocket in a condition somewhere between Excellent and Near Mint!  It has that luscious Redburst finish, sparkly chrome pickups and tailpiece, and enough cupcake knobs to wreck any diet.  It plays like a dream and is, as far as we can see, 100% original.

The H59 Rocket was a staple of the Harmony catalog from 1960-1967, after which it was replaced by the double cutaway H59/1.  It sports three DeArmond “Golden Tone” Goldfoil pickups, each with a separate volume and tone control.  There is a pickup selector switch that allows for each pickup to be selected as a stand-alone sound, or for all three to be combined.

In practice, it is just as easy to leave the selector switch in the “All Three” position and then utilize the volume knobs to bring in any or all of the pickups, and in varying degrees.  So, in reality, you have seven basic pickup choices:  Neck, Middle, Bridge, All 3, Neck and Middle, Middle and Bridge, or Neck and Bridge.  Can’t do that with a Stratocaster!  And, just as importantly, you’re not going to get DeArmond Goldfoil tone out of a Strat.  In the world of Single Coil pickups, you just aren’t going to beat DeArmonds (or Gibson P90s) for clarity, warmth, depth and grit.

Here are the important specs:

Scale:  24 1/4”

Top, Back and Sides: Laminated Maple

Neck: Maple

Fretboard: Ebonized Maple

Bridge: Rosewood

Pickups: 3 DeArmond Gold Foils

Lower Bout:   15 5/8”

Upper Bout:   11 1/2”

Body Depth:  2”

Nut Width:  1 3/4”

String Spacing at Bridge:  1 7/8”

Pots:  1 Meg Volume / 250K Tone

Caps: .1uf (neck), .022uf (middle and bridge)

Action at 12th fret: Low E - 5/64”, High E 1/16”

Coming into the shop, this guitar was very nearly perfect.  We lowered the action, cleaned and lubricated the tuners, cleaned the body and fretboard, and lemon oiled the board and bridge. We’ve set it up with a fresh set of D’Addario XL Nickel Wound Regular Lights (with a wound G).  She’s fast and smooth and oh, so comfortable in the hand.  The electronics are scratch free, the pickups are very well balanced, and the volume and tone controls super responsive.  You can play anything from jazz to hard rock on this guitar.  The neck pickup alone will go from a soft, smooth, bluesy tone up to a gritty Americana, and the middle and bridge pickups have clarity, sparkle and bite.  On top of that, this is a true hollowbody, much like an ES 330, so she’ll feedback if you want her.

She also travels in her original chipboard case, which is in excellent condition.

Please be sure to check out the photos and zoom in for detail, as we have tried to capture this beauty from all angles.

Serial Number: 6772H59 (date stamped S-65)

This Harmony H59 Rocket is sold AS IS and is not returnable unless it arrives in a condition other than as described or photographed, here.

Price: $2000.00 plus $145 Shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)