Harmony H-62 c. 1957 - Natural

The Harmony H62 (c. 1957)… Basically the poor musician’s Chuck Berry guitar. Big sexy full-depth round cutaway electric archtop with single coil Gibson pickups. Of course, for one-fifth the price there are a FEW differences. Only 16” instead 17” as for the ES 350. And it IS a Harmony and NOT a Gibson. Those Gibson P-13 pups were eventually replaced over in Kalamazoo by the new P-90 and farmed out to other companies. These are darker sounding and a little more primitive, but they just drip 1950s cool. All external parts are original, although the correct vintage bridge is not original to this actual guitar. Pups are original, but the pots were definitely replaced at some point. I think the switch may be original 1950s. Plenty of wear and tear overall, but the guitar looks great and presents really well. Three issues that do not affect playability or integrity of the instrument. First, the finish had been sanded off the back of the neck. Oy… NEVER do that, because not only do vintage aficionados take a real dislike to that, but now you have exposed raw wood to the elements. I figured I might be able to improve this a bit cosmetically, but WOW, a combination of a couple different Stew-mac aerosol nitros (Vintage Amber and Aged Clear) yielded a wonderfully original looking finish there (see pic). Feel free to micro-buff it to your liking, but it already has a nice non-glossy vintage look and feel. However, I do not have the equipment or experience to redo and blend the finish between the neck and the heel, where the previous, um, luthier’s work is still evident. Someone with spraying equipment who can mix custom tints could do that easily. My guess is most folks would just leave it. Second, there are a couple spots where some seam separation developed between the headstock and the “wings”. It doesn’t look like anything ever fully separated, although it does appear the small area shown in the pic was glued and clamped long ago. Third, the original Bakelite pickguard had cracked in half but is cleanly and very solidly back together. The light patches on the back are some strange worn areas that first made me wonder if there had ever been any overspray. But no, I’m quite certain we are looking at 100% original finish here, except for the back of the neck. Plays nicely, with action down at 5/64 – 3/32” (high E to low E) and of course has righteous old-school tone. Non-original plush hardshell case.