Harmony H1270 12-String

This dreadnought shaped 12-string was made by Harmony in the US around 1968. That's when I boughtit.
It has 19 frets.
The top is a beautiful book-matched solid cedar. The back would seem to be laminated mahogany (hard to tell but the back espcially has an otherwise VERY wide single piece of mahogany). The sides could be solid mahogany but I doubt it. The somewhat wide neck is one-piece in mahogany also. The mahogany on the back and sides seem to have been stained a bit of a deeper golden-red. The mahogany seems kind of dark - much darker than the mahogany on the neck and head of my myrtlewood 12-string which were not stained at all. The finish is kind of muddy looking. The beauty of the mahogany doesn't come out all that very clearly.

The fret-board is rosewood. The bridge-plate and the head-plate are of some unidentified (by me) solid wood.
The tuners are standard six-to-a-side strips with one of the pins broken. Happily, I was able to find a matching set of originals for the same guitar that are in 'superb' condition.
The other end of the strings are held by a tail-piece. Interesting because on another site I saw the same model of guitar as mine but with no tail-piece. There the strings are held by pins in the bridge-plate. I think my system is better because the neck is still true after 34 years and, more importantly, the top has no warping in it at all as do older guitars (especially 12-strings) with strings attached by pins in the bridge-plate.

The head is like that of a classical guitar (side-through pins into a split head). I'm told that that's one of the weaknesses of this model. Others have broken at this place and were not repairable though mine is still intact.
The guitar body is bounnd in a w-b-w-b-w-b plastic strip. The neck is bound in a single white plastic strip.

There is a 'standard'(I guess) Martin-ish brown turtle-shell pick-guard.
The original 'cardboard' case eventually fell apart. I've replaced it by a non-descript black hard-shell case.

Though it sounds somewhat tinnier and flatter than my Roy Custom Guitars custom assembled myrtlewood J-17 12-string, it still has a good sound to it.
It was my major instrument for a number of years and, though it may have beed due to not knowing any better, it had good sound for me. I usually play rhythm accompaniment and chording background, so it never disappointed in that way.
It has a very 12-stringy sound. Sounds much like some I've heard on records and tapes. It's bright but not too full and deep.
I like the sound nevertheless. Just different from the myrtlewood 12-string.

The action, after 34 years is still superb. I attribute that mainly to the fact that my guitar has a tail-piece. No warping of the top.

There are no major flaws in the construction of the guitar. I've dropped it a couple of times (once on pavement) and though I cracked the side in one spot and dislocated the top from the sides at a couple of places, yet, it held well despite those shocks. Mr. Rene Roy just glued the crack on the side and re-attached the top to the sides. She looks as solid as before.

As in the section above, this guitar is quite solid and durable. It's construction and the use of a tail-piece have given in structural strength. It's made to last and last it has.
The hardware seems to be it's weakest point here. One of the tuner handles broke off but since I was able to find another matching pair, I should be ok for years.
The tail piece is plastic but has held well over the years.
This very dependable guitar has been used for many years and it will be of great use on gigs as a stand-alone instrument.

At the time that I purchased it, the neck lifted from the body. I brought the guitar back to the dealer and he sent it to Harmony for repairs. They just outright replaced it. Couldn't ask for better.

Since then, I had it workedon by Rene Roy in Sudbury. But since he has moved away, I will have to have it 'serviced' by someone else. As with my other guitars, I imagine I will bring it to '12th Fret' in Toronto. Great work and highly recommended.

I've been playing for over 35 years. I also have a J-16 cocobolo six-string and a J-17 myrtlewood 12-string both custom built by Roy Custom Guitars. I also have a thinline 4578 florentine double-cutaway archtop hollowbody Hofner electric. All three are super performance-level guitars.
At the time that I bought this guitar, it was the only one of 'quality' that I could afford. A Martin 12-string at the time cost almost $800. That was way beyond my means.
The best thing about this guitar is that it still plays as well as it did 34 years ago. The neck is quite a bit wider than normal so it takes adjusting to in order to play it. But, on the other hand, it's probably the size of the neck that, in part, helped to keep the neck true over the years.
If you find one like this at a low price and it still plays as well as it should, grab it!