1961 Harmony H74 Meteor Neo Cutaway Vintage Guitar Near Mint DeArmond Gold Foil Pickups w/ohc

Up for sale, a 1961 Harmony H74 Meteor in exceptional condition and in good working order. Aside from a new hand-carved replica rosewood bridge (original also included), this guitar is 100% original and a collector-grade example of one of Harmony's finest models. This guitar features a great maple top with grain that shows through the two-tone nitro lacquer sunburst finish and a pair of DeArmond Gold Foil pickups!  The neo-cutaway H74 is one of the rarer and more desirable Meteors produced in the USA by Harmony and this early example is everything you'd expect from one of Harmony's top offerings. Complete with an original Bigsby B3 tailpiece, the Meteor is a versatile instrument that plays very well with consistent, low action and a great neck.  Acoustically, the guitar has a strident, percussive quality that translates well through the pickups for your daily dose of sparkle and twang. The guitars weighs in at only 6lbs 8oz too. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar and strung with 11-50 roundwound strings, this H74 Meteor is a real stunner!

There's really nothing that can match the balance, clarity, and overall tonal character of original DeArmond Gold Foil pickups. They have a percussive snap and twang, tight bass, and a harmonically rich midrange that sounds great when each pickup is singled out or when paired together. Both pickups have strong and consistent output, and when mated with the fully hollow maple body, the tone gets both the immediate attack of the maple and the warmth and fullness of the hollow construction.

The maple neck has a fairly substantial C profile that has generous shoulders and quite a bit of roundness and chunk, filling the palm comfortably for easy chording and clean lead lines. The original frets are intact and retain their full, original height with great crowns and only light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-3. The guitar plays cleanly all the way to the last fret with consistent, low action and no buzzing or dead spots. There is light wear into the dyed maple board adjacent to frets 1-3 as well, and from the very sparse wear it appears the previous owner never ventured much beyond playing open chords down at the nut. On the headstock, the original metal "Harmony" logo is intact and the stock open back Waverly tuners turn smoothly and hold pitch well. The nut is the original hand carved piece of bone that is integral to the clarity and tone of the instrument.

On the body, all of the electronics work as they should, with the expected Volume and Tone controls for each pickup paired with a three-way pickup selector switch. The pickups have matching date codes on the baseplates from June 19th, 1961 along with the Rowe Industries foil labels and Brazilian rosewood pickup risers. The hardware includes a new hand-caved rosewood bridge with bone saddle (original also included), as well as original "cupcake" knobs, and four-ply red tortoise shell celluloid pickguard. The Bigsby tailpiece retains the original spring and is responsive for quick surfy dives, jumping back into tune well. The original sunburst finish has a classic amber to black fade with a glossy look and very fine vertical lacquer checking on the body. This is a particularly clean instrument, with a couple tiny nicks on the body and the top headstock edge. If you're looking for a very clean and well kept vintage Harmony, this early H74 is completely stock and is a very reliable instrument for stage and studio work!

The original two-tone gray/blonde chipboard case is included and in near mint condition. The case has a clean red plush interior and stock latches. The handle is original as well with zip ties to secure it to the original brackets.