Once America's largest guitar manufacturer, Harmony also made a line of mostly budget amplifiers during the 60's before going out of business in the mid-70's. Harmony amps were basic affairs and often constructed of cheaper materials like masonite for the cabinets. But like their guitars they were aimed at a more cost sensitive customer, and never intended to compete with the likes of Fender and Gibson. 

But things are different now, and since their re-launch in 2018 by Vista Music, Harmony has steadily put out a series high quality products that honor the name and styling cues of Harmony, but are thankfully much better constructed. First released in the 2021, the Harmony amp line faced a lengthy supply chain related interruption, but are now back in production. 

The Harmony H605 is the smallest of the 6-series amplifiers and is a 5-watt Class A amplifier powered by a single 6L6 power tube. What is Class A? Most guitar amps use two or more pairs of power tubes in Class AB operation where one power tube handles the positive wave form and one tube the negative waveform. In essence each tube is only working half the time, which is more efficient and cooler running. With any Class A amp the power tube(s) are carrying the full signal all the time. Early  small "single-ended" amps like the Fender Champ were Class A, and this design is known to have more "musical" harmonics and breakup. Class A is less efficient and runs hotter, but with most of these amps being fewer than 15 watts that's not really a factor. 

Producing only 5 watts with a single 6L6 tube (a 6L6 is capable of 25 watts) the overall character of the H605 is warm and smooth. It's also added by a generously sized semi-closed cab cabinet that produces a remarkably rich low end for a low-powered 1x8" combo. At 32 pounds it's heavier than most combos of it's class, but tiny cabinets sound....well tiny. 

With its Master and Gain controls the H605 can be dialed in for maximum clean headroom or creamy and harmonic Class A distortion. But clean headroom of any amp this size is all relative, and the H605 excels where picking and playing style allows straddling the clean/dirty threshold via how you attack the guitar. Or you can play the Fender Tweed technique of cranking the amp and using the guitar volume to clean it up. Either method yields a character that is very tactile and is not reliant on pedals for a great tone. Harmony includes two foot switches with the H605 to control the boost, reverb and effects loop, and the boost option adds gain, and depending on how you have master/grain set will drive the amp harder into the crunch zone. 

Optimized for low volume applications and recording, you could gig with the H605 by taking advantage of its line out jack to feed it into a house system. For a blues or roots player that's not looking for pristine cleans (a Twin Reverb it is not) the H605 is a great companion. Attractively styled and ruggedly constructed, the Harmony H605 goes to show how really good -- and easy to use -- a simple tube amp can be. In a world of modeling amps with multi-level user screens, the H605 puts the player back in the driver's seat. 

The Harmony H605 features:

• 5W watts Class A power via (1) 6L6 power tubes
• 2 12AX7 preamp tubes
• All analog spring reverb 
• Controls: Master, Presence, Reverb, Treble, Mid, Bass, Gain (Pull Boost)
• Speaker: Jensen Falcon, 8" 16 ohm speaker
• Four position power attenuator with silent recording option
• Effects Loop
• 1/4" line out
• Dual speaker jacks with impedance switch
• Dimensions: 19.2"w x16.2"h x10.6"d
• Weight: 32lbs
• Includes (2) foot switches for: Boost, Effects Loop, Reverb
• Cover not included
• Made in China