Here we have a Harmony Monterey Leader, from 1971, in Excellent Condition, with a fast action and a punchy arch top snap.  As an acoustic guitar, this will be a great travel guitar, a campfire staple or a plonker for the den.  Add a pickup to it, and the possibilities expand.

The Harmony Monterey was a long-running staple of their line, a solid Birch construction archtop in production from 1938 until 1972.  This guitar became one of Harmony’s most popular in the 1960s, with its distinctive faux-flame and red sunburst finish.  It is, of course, a press top, not a carved arch top, and its construction is a body of solid Birch (Top, Back and Sides), a Maple Neck with a non-adjustable truss rod, a Maple fretboard and a Rosewood Bridge.  

Here are the important specs:

Top: Solid Birch with dual tone bar bracing

Back and Sides: Solid Birch

Neck: Maple

Fretboard: Maple

Lower Bout: 16”

Upper Bout: 11 1/2”

Body Depth: 3 5/16”

Nut Width: 1 3/4”

String Spacing at Bridge: 2 1/4”

Scale: 25 1/4”

Action at Twelfth Fret: Low E 5/64”, High E 1/16”

Coming into the shop, the guitar needed a neck reset, a new heel cap, and a good cleaning.  We reset the neck for a comfortable action, leveled and crowned the frets, reset the nut, repaired a minor crack in the side, cleaned and lubricated the tuners, and set it up with a fresh set of D;Addario 85/15 Bronze Lights (.011 - .052).

The guitar plays easily up and down the fretboard and sounds great for blues and folk. The fretboard and frets are in great shape, the tuners work perfectly, and the neck angle is such that the action is fast and the break angle is high enough to get a great vibration transfer into the top. The guitar is loud and snappy, as an arch top should be.  What also intrigues me is that the string height above the top is high enough that there is room to add a pickup.  The best choice here would probably be a DeArmond Rhythm Chief, attached to the end of the fretboard.  With that, this guitar becomes more of a blues wailer or true jazz box.

The guitar comes in a period correct faux alligator, chipboard case that is lightly worn and completely functional.

Please be sure to check the photos carefully, as we have tried to capture this guitar from all angles.

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

Serial Number: 5067H950

Price: $550.00 plus $145 shipping (Lower 48 USA, only)