Harmony 1215 Archtone

The guitar sounds quiet, but most players try to play it like a regular acoustic guitar. First use thick picks for lead guitar, and the guitar might sound quiet to the player,but the guitar is a jazz guitar,the acoustics of jazz guitars is different, the guitars literally "throw their voice" and project their sound in front of the sounds of the trumpets, trombones etc.The guitar is great for Django Reinhardt style music

The action is awesome, you can belt licks like crazy unlike being twangy like most modern acoustic guitars which are popular today.

Be careful, these guitars are vintage, use a humidifier in the guitar case to keep the wood from becoming brittle.

my date stamp says S-58-T...i THINK.
which leads me to believe it was made in the summer of '58 by the T shift, in the U.S.
19 frets, dull brown-burst finish, f holes, white stripes, simple tailpiece.missing the pick guard.
one of my tuning pegs is bent, so its a bit of a hassle to tune my D string.

i usually play indie pop sort of low-fi songs, and lots of solo coffee house shows, so its tinny overly reverby sound really suits me.for recording though i usually something less thin sounding.

from what i remember as a child and from the few glimpses of my mothers "always in the case dont touch it or ill disown you" guitar of the same make and model, it was most likely set up really nice at first.

ive played this guitar every day for about 7 years, and ill keep playing it until it crumbles in my hands.
everything is all original except for the bridge, which is now on my previously mentioned mothers guitar.
ive played it outside, left it in my car, banged it around in the back of vans etc etc etc.

this thing was made in 58, so im assuming any warranty expired about 43 years ago.but i have tried to find out info about it, and its near impossible, save the odd internet page.
i once asked an "experienced" older guy about it at one of the local "pro" guitar stores, but he couldnt get his head around the fact it has f-holes, but its not electric, so i gave up.

over all, i love this guitar, seven years ive been playing it, my mother played it for 20 odd years.
its looks plain cool, and old.the frets are worn in all the right places.if someone stole it, id most likely die, and then try to find another one from the grave.
wish i had an originally pick guard for it, but becides that, i love it.

19 frets, baseball bat neck, archtop monster. This one appears to have grover style tuners, and a slightly warped neck above the 13th fret. I knew what i was getting into though.

I did find out how to date these guitars from a site tonight so I thought I'd post that info for you guys. If you look into the F hole on the bass/left side inside should be two stamps one is the production/company/model code: mine says 3600H1215, now that stamp has nothing to do with the date at all.


The date stamp is smaller and reads Season/year/shift: mine says S-60-NK meaning that the NK shift built this guitar in the summer of 1960, so find that stamp and you'll have your date.

This guitar likes to go out of tune. I can't play above the 12th fret in fear of scaring away my friends, but for subtle jazz work, acousto punk and bossa nova stylings this guitar sounds great! As sadi before this guitar is sonically limited in a good way, i.e not to bright not to bassy.

The tuning pegs have been changed numerous times as evidensed by the extra screwholes in the back of the neck. The pickguard is MIA. I'm thinking about flat sanding the neck and installing new frets.

I may actually use this live if the weathers nice ( a light breeze could through it horribly out of tune, but then again it might give a nice detuned choral effect.

" Hi, yeah Harmony, I bought one of your archtops from a pawnshop and.....Oh sorry this must be Harmony's old number"

Being that I doidn't expect more than a $30 guitar that would constantly go out of tune, and not allow me to play it above the 12th fret I am very satisfied, in fact if I found one of these with a straight neck I'd buy it, then shave it and start a Violent Femmes cover band to celebrate the fact that I have a great archtop; Crapasonic

I believe this was made in the late '60s, but can't be sure. American made. It's a very cool, retro archtop with f holes. Mahogany painted to simulate spruce, I believe. No frills here. Fat, steel reinforced neck. Painted simulated binding. Large floating pickguard. Mother of pearl dot inlays. Super tight tuners. Came with its original chipboard case. It's old. But it's beautiful.

Okay, here's the deal. This guitar was built to make optimal use of the high-mid radio spectrum of old tyme radio. So there's no low end at all. And no shimmery highs either. It's just very bright and present, with a sharp attack. Having said that, it's a nice guitar to play while singing without a mic. You can really strum the hell out of it and still hear your voice. It's great for porch blues singers and folky types. And Ryan Adams wannabees.

Action was surprisingly nice. No buzzing, not too high. You can see glue in the joints. Wood isn't high quality, I'm sure. No cracks, no loose parts. It's lasted close to 40 years, so I imagine it's built like a tank.

Again, built like a tank. I wouldn't gig with it, just because of its tinny sound, but I'd take it to the beach and bang out cheap trick songs.

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Been playing for about 15 years. I own a Strat, a Takamine acoustic and a Martin Backpacker. If I lost it, I would be heartbroken, 'cuz it's just so damn cool. I would get another. I love its look. But I wish it had a richer, bolder sound. But here's the thing: It LOOKS great. I love seeing it in its stand. I love pulling it out of the old case. I love wearing it. I love playing it. I want to pose with it like a rock star and have pictures taken.

S/N 4938H1215 (Production number 4938 - Harmony - Model 1215)

Stamped beside this, in the 'top' F-hole (as you are holding the instrument left-handed) is another stamp that says:
F-63-FK... this is Fall 1963 (dunno - maybe 'FK' is who assembled it)

Binding is SERIOUSLY yellowed, as are the nut and the plastic knobs on the open-back tuners... back of the headstock is lightly sanded at the top, presumably from leaning against a rough surface for a LONG time (like a brick wall)

Some fingerboard wear, the rosewood-colored-finish is worn away showing the natural color of the neck. This is primarily on the A through G strings at the 2nd to 5th fret, you can almost see the open-A, E and C chords - lots of strumming done on this one over the years.

Small frets, bridge appears to have been moved about a third of an inch closer to the tailpiece (your traditional cheepy floater) presumable to raise the strings slightly.

I got this as a christmas present several years ago, but I knew it when I saw it... came from a local pawn shop where I'd seen it hanging ignored and lonely on the rack for several years before that... guess it was waiting for me.

Headstock proudly proclaims "MADE IN U.S.A." and "STEEL REINFORCED NECK"... no truss rod adjuster that I can see, but neck is still quite straight.

Plenty of chipping on the binding around the edges, and on the back, at the point where your ribs touch the instrument, playing right-handed that is, is a 1" crack. What appears to be some slight warpage towards the tail on the back surface, but not surprising... this is Louisiana... no humidity here, no sir.

This one is missing the floating pickguard.

Considering this a 'bluesy'-type instrument, I'm going to consider all these characteristics as "beauty-marks" and rate them as features.

Nice bluesy-folksy mid-range tone with enough but not too much 'twang'.
Not loud, but not quiet either. Lows are somewhat soft, just shy of 'muted'... highs are stronger but not 'ringing'... imagine how a top-notch accoustic (martin, guild...) would sound through a transistor radio... This is the instrument to play delta blues on... grab it, a bottle of cheap wine and head to the porch.

This is a Harmony, quality finishes were never their strong suit, but this one looks nice enough, I reckon... Nice curlies on the sides and back, no obvious birth-defects, just battle-scars.
Action is great, plays great, doesn't fret-out..

I doubt this would be a mainline instrument for anyone, so I'd predict it could survive live gigs, probably only used for the occasional accoustic piece anyway...
Hardware's lasted 39 years so far... don't see why it'd fail now.
Doesn't have a strap-peg in the tail, just a hole where it appears there's never been one.

No rating for this.

Been playing since '83... lost count of the guitars I've had... Also have a '78 Guild S-300(Cherry), an '87 Aria Pro II XX-Deluxe V (my first credit purchase!), a 93'ish Samick Accoustic/Electric, an '88 Carvin X-220 (black) with all the goodies, and my first guitar, an '83 Harmony V (the white one)... '77 Ampeg VT-22, '96 Sovtek Mig-50, 2001 Fender Hotrod Deluxe...

I don't know when it was built. Either '53 or '69. SN says 5369H1215. I know that the numbers after the H are the model number. If anybody knows, let me know. Solid top. Archtop. F holes. 19 frets. White painted binding. Steel reinforced neck. Simple tailpiece. Rosewood floating bridge. Tuners are 3+3, open gears, original. Fat neck. Bigger frets.

This is my bangin around guitar. I don't have a case for it. I should. I bring this thing everywhere. It is tough. It sounds great! I love this guitar. I've had it almost 5 years now. Not alot of low end, but the warmest, most beautiful lower midrange ever. I still give it a 10! I write most of my songs on it. It stays with me in the living room so I can play during commercials on TV. It plays and sounds beautiful. I love it! I play alternative rock music. I noodle in Jazz, Blues, Rockabilly, Everything!

When i got it, I put on some new strings, and it was perfect! Action is perfect. Neck is straight. Never frets out. THere are some small cracks in it. The back is seperating a little from the sides. It was like that when I got it. Doesn't affect the sound. It is always in tune. The tuners are very hard to turn, (I always have sore fingers after a string change.) But they work! There are tons of scratches everywhere. Paint chips in the binding. Its old.

Totally reliable. This thing is built to last. I can always depend on "Old Lightning" (cute). I have never giged with it, as I play gigs with electric guitars, but I record with it all the time.

Don't need it.

Playing 10 years. I would replace it tomorrow if it were gone today; Hell Yeah! I love this guitar. There are some gripes, overall. Like I said, not a lot of low end. Not real loud either. But it work great for my beater guitar.

Made in USA in 1948. 19 frets?!?! Solid really open-grain spruce top, solid beautiful curly maple back and sides, full acoustic archtop. This was a gift from a friend. When she saw my '62 Silvertone archtop, she gave me this Harmony. The finish was lacking, to be kind. Adjustable, low-profile ebony bridge, stamped trapeze tailpiece. Real Kluson open-back tuners. Non-adjustable, of course. The posts are stamped into the gears, rather than bolted in. Pretty fat neck, made of yellow poplar. Not steel-reinforced, but still in perfect relief after 50 years. Poplar just does not bend or warp. Thin little brass frets, maple fingerboard.

This guitar also came with something called a "Haiwaiian Steel Guitar Kit". It includes a nut extender, fingerpicks, and a steel. Without the extender, this is set up perfectly for slide playing. I play country blues guitar, and the Harmony produces a real rich, warm sound with just the right jagged overtones when played with the slide. As far as chording, well, it is loud, rich, and full.

From the factory, the action is probably about the same it is now. Not too low, but just high enough to not note out on the upper frets. I have played brand-new Takamines with higher action. The playability, however... well, the amount of string tension required to tune it to E is incredible. With 13's, I cannot bend ANY strings below the B string. Chording feels like pushing down on piano strings, but it frets very easily, it just doesn't feel like it does?? Barre chords are actually pretty easy, but jumping from say an A to a C is sort of challenging due to the string tension. The finish when I got it was this awful sort of sunburst with faux woodgrain on the top, and faux fiddleback on the back and sides, in the most hideous colors imaginable from the red/brown part of the spectrum. I sanded all that crap off to reveal the gorgeous open grain, then refinished it in translucent honey colors. The top and back plates were lifting off, but some glue and spool clamps fixed that up real quick.

This guitar has stood up to 52 years of never being cased, and the last 20 or so were spent in a rural church basement, where Sunday-school children could screw around with it, and it spent most of its time under a heating vent. Yikes. But, within six hours of it coming into my posession, it was singing again. I would NOT use this guitar live, I don't think, but I would record with it. I had to put an endpin and strap button on it, and I may throw a pickup in the neck position, if I can find a chep enough dog-ear P-90.

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Have been playing for about 10 years, but only playing CB and acoustic for two. I own a Flinthill Dobro, a Les Paul, a Takamine Acoustic, a C.F. Suzuki 12-string (best 12-string I have ever played), a 62 Silvertone archtop (made by Kay), and an Ibanez RG540. All of these are for sale, cause I have an Alvarez A/E on layaway. The Harmony is going to become my primary slide guitar. If it were stolen, it would be totally irreplacable, and I would cry, then hunt down the thief and kill them.