Harmony 1221 Acoustic

idk if this is a 1221 acoustic but it says "Model No. 01518". made in china. idk what its made out of but the backs and sides look like some cheap wood or plywood. i dont know about hte top but i think it might be some cheapo laminated wood cause the product description said "all wood construction" which most of the time means its made outta plywood. covered tuners, plastic nut, strung with what seems to be nickelwound or phosphor bronze strings, plastic saddle, a plywood bridge painted with black paint i think. i think it has a plastic fretboard but idk.

at first this guitar had a dull tone with the factory strings so once i broke them, i strung it with Martin SP 80/20 Bronze Strings, and hte tone brightened up A LOT. sounds almost as good as my 320 dollar alvarez.

nut was cut correct, intonation is a bit off but its not really noticable without a tuner. the action was a bit high so i lowered it to 6/32 which is good for rythem playing (i use heavier picks on this). the neck seems to be set properly. however it looks like the bridge it separating from the top but nothing has popped off yet

if you could mic the guitar or install a pickup it would withstand live playing. due to the plywood construction it would be almost bulletproof to humidity and heat. the finish is good i bumped it against many objects and the finish seems fine. the strap buttons were a bit small, so i tried to unscrew them and put larger ones on but when hte turned the screw the screw was warped and broke, now i have no strap button. i could probably drill another one in but im too lazy to do that :).

idk never delt with them

this is a great guitar for campfires and at the beach or somewhere a solid wood guitar would not survive. though this guitar is made out of some cheap wood it still maintains a great tone with the right strings. im surprised of the great setup when i got this guitar.

I have no clue when this was made, but I'm pretty sure it was late 60's/early 70's. I don't think it's plywood, but rather some low grade maple or spruce. Sunburst with three deco-style "inlays" painted on the neck. Everything about this guitar is cheap: tuners, bridge, the whole bit. The saddle is height-adjustable via two screws.

Wow. I bought this thing to use as a fixed guitar for my more experimental leanings, but I've decided to make it my main acoustic. It projects, to my ears, better than a Gibson jumbo. This is really cool since it's a parlor size guitar. This thing sustains as long as my piano with the pedal, and that's honestly not an overstatement. I don't know what else I can say. If you come across one of these, get it, fix it up, and enjoy it.

Like all cheap guitars, the action is high. Somebody had put medium strings on it when it's only made for lights. As a result, the neck had begun to pull out of the joint. I had light strings put on and a strap button screwed into the heel, so it's fixed now. If you've seen one of these, you know the story on the paint.

It's made of cheap materials and has lasted this long with no cracks. The only problem was the neck joint. I think it will last a little longer.

I'm am hugely impressed. after seing what Marc Ribot can do with a junk guitar, I wanted to try my hand. Well, it doesn't sound like a junk guitar. I'm a Harmony convert.