Harmony H1327 Monterey

Mine is most likely a late 30's specimen, before they started stamping date codes inside apparently (no marks of any sort).

Solid spruce top, I believe is is arched (not carved). Solid back and sides (maple? hard to tell). 15.5" lower bout. From what I have read the H1327 had a 16.5" lower bout from 40's onward. Metal tailpiece.

Gorgeous herringbone inlay all around the perimeter of the top. This is really the most striking feature. Goes well with the reddish-orange sunburst. Back and sides have a flamed paint job.

Rosewood fretboard, small frets, joined at 14th fret. Large V-shaped neck, non-adjustable truss rod. Strip tuners. Standard adjustable bridge.

Celluloid pickguard, of a green/yellow/brown color.

Came with a case of same vintage with bright green plush material. The green stuff is breaking down a little bit but it's an interesting case.

I play blues. It works pretty well. The sound is very balanced, as is typical of archtops. Not a ton of bass but enough. Fingerpicking sounds wonderful on this. Also works well for strumming rhythm guitar. I have Gibson brand "L5" strings (pure nickel wrap 12's), really sounds good with those. Previously I had some phosbor bronze strings and didn't care for the sound as much.

What this isn't good for is fingerpicking really thumpy basslines. You need a flattop for that in my opinion.

For an instrument of this vintage it came in pretty good shape. Action is ok but with a neck reset I would be able to really dial it in. Frets are in decent shape but they are very small. You get used to it but I wouldn't mind having it refretted with medium frets.

The fretboard is still in great condition, no complaints there. The back of the neck has a large amount of wear, to the point that the finish is completely removed behind the 1st position. In other words, it's perfect :). The V-shaped neck is surprisingly comfortable, I don't know why they don't make necks like this anymore.

Overall I have been impressed with the construction, it's far superior to a lower-end Harmony archtop that I own. I'm giving this a 10 because it's like 70 years old and still completely functional.

It's lasted this long, I think we can say it's reliable. As mentioned above, this guitar has seen enough playing to wear away the finish on the back of the neck, so it's seen some miles.

The tuners are of a low gear ratio, common for that time period. They're hard to tune. They seem to slip a little bit now and then, doesn't hold a perfect tune for more than a couple days. My other archtop has similar tuners but holds a tune forever, I might need to adjust the screws on the tuners or something.

Harmony went out of business long ago.

I love the sound and how comfortable it is. It compares favorably to the Gibsons I've played from that era. If I had to pick one of my guitars to keep this would be the one.

Feel free to contact me if youo have questions about the guitar or archtops in general, I know some knowledgeable people.