Harmony H59 Rocket

It has 3 pickups and a volume and tone knob for each pickup. Pickups are labled as October 1964. It is a tobacco sunburst as far as I can tell.

I play punk, 80's metal and lots of other types of rock. I play it through a Daneletro Vintage amp with Danelectro D-3 Metal pedal. I like to use this guitar on our punk songs because of the low tone it puts out. It is a fun guitar to play but action can be difficult. I have only used it live once and don't plan on using it live much more due to the sentimental value.

My guitar is in fairly good shape for not have been played for about 30 years or more. Terrible dust build up which I have not yet been able to be completely rid of. Action is a little hard to play due to old and somewhat cheap construction. Just remember it was a budget guitar once.

I have used this live once and only plan using it a few more times until I can get something more durable for the road. I have had to have the bottom strap button repaired and the top simply slipped out which had to replace with screw and new button. I would not play this guitar alone without back up because the tone issues with the varied types of music I play.

I have been playing 2 and a half years and this was my first guitar. It was "inherited" to me from my uncle. I love the tone it puts out on punk songs, low and not and little gritty. It can be used for blues, rockabilly, punk and more I'm sure. My guitar playing friends envy me for having it.

i recently got a rocket h59 thinline f-hole needs work, given too me by my dad from a garage sale for $5. it only said harmony on it six knobs. missing 1 p/up. switch hanging off stripped body and neck shellact. all of it.. so after research, it was a H-59. can't find any other marks other than harmony logo. tuning machinery messed up 1 tuning this way one the other way you know ...well i replaced machinery from a parts guitar. new strings ...now i"m going to put in a p/up from a kalamazoo guitar too make it 3 again. i have to resolder the switch ..make a plate for it,spray switches.bridge is wood. homemade i think, so is nut.CAN"T FIND ANY OTHER MARKING'S to tell me what year maybe 66"???any wiring diagrams would help.they even shellact the fretboard. boy they messed up what seems like a nice guitar. any help wellcomed, also looking for mosrite "ventures'=== sitar=== 360 rick===ampeg bass amp. oh yea, this H-59 has no truss rod. i also have other harmony"s one acoustic with rounded edges, can"t i-d?, others too work on, but i hope too finish this one soon. thanks, joe t.

too soon

action o.k. neck o.k.

too soon but always bring backup

it"s old i don"t know if company now. knows alot about 40 year old guitars they now make them out of USA

40 yr"s playin"

A 1964 red H59 bought in 1995 for #250. All American guitar the same model Stevie Winwood played (his was sunburst)on all the early Spencer Davis stuff. 3 De armond pick ups and more controls than a knitting machine. I think the top, sides and back are maple laminate. Single cutaway and double sided machine head with Klusons.Floating bridge and tail piece of minimal design. With original case

Great sounds eminate from this little beast. Very Gretchy and full. I recorded My Babe with it and got that Winwood sound straight out. Pity I couldn't sing like him.

I think it had been very subtly refurbished before I bought it but the head has a few dinks at the end. The bolt on neck is a bit cheap and cheerful with an unajustable truss-rod. Looks amazing

I wouldn't gig with this guitar because it's irreplacable, but as a recording tool it's very quiet and with that unique sound it makes you play rock a billy

I've playing since 1963 and I have have several Fenders and Gibsons. The Rocket is the coolest looking of them all. I would bother to write all this Schpeil otherwise. For it's price, sound and plability it can hold it's head up high with the big guns.

Pickups dated Sept 14, 1966...this is an amazing guitar, sounds-wise. Three single coil pickups...4 position switch (1/2/3/ or ALL) seems a bit limiting for live, but for studio...turn it to the ALL setting, and then tweak knobs, and you can get 7 pick up combos...great. DeArmong pickups for from jazzy to raunchy...rockabilly, roots rock, coutry twang and blues all sound great. it even ha a bit of Rick jangle if you couple the bridge and middle pickups...

tobacco sunburst, rosewood fingerboard..fast, fun neck...oh, and the cheesy Harmony whammy bar, which no one will ever mistake for a Bigsby...

GREAT looking, too, with the cresent moon of knobs (6 of em...v/t for each pickup) around the lower horn. cooool

Great sound. Big fat bottom...play it straight into a mid-60's Magnatone...killer sound...lead pickup is a tad thin on its own...

No idea about teh factor, but with 11's on it, with teh floating bridge for intonation...good stuff. low, fast action with little buzz...i actually raised the action a hair for some fuller notes on bends...age dings...missing orginal knobs and pickguard, but i'll fix that

It'll be 40 in september, so it's doing ok...

harmony's gone...

this one's a 10. I own a tele, a Harmony H-72 and an H-19, a Dano...in the past I've had Strats, other Dano's and a Stratatone...this is among the best i've had...a super guitar...i'd easily buy another if i had to...

This is a 1959H Rocket, ol' "knobby" with three stock D'armond pickups and one of the best looking silhouettes ever on a guitar. I try to imagine what it was like when you go into a freakin' gas station and buy one of these things, but that's too scary a thought; instead I merely marvel at its physical luster, and have a good time playing it. For modern purposes, this is a most interesting guitar, though read on carefully...

Let's put it this way: as a guitar for anything but metal/hard rock it is an amazing instrument. The sound is rich and bright, and the action is fantastic on the lower strings; you'd be hard pressed to find a better setup for jazz, rockabilly, ska or any non-overkill lead work--doing bends on this thing will take up your afternoon. It also happens to be great for messy modern rock; the pickups are noise machines (in a good way) and will produce crisp fuzz tones with a good tube amp...I pour on the delay and reverb and am in space rock heaven. That said, let me repeat what I said before: do not use this thing if you want heavy power chords, because this guitar won't do them; it was meant for lighter strings (it is a country/rockabilly guitar) and certainly doesn't have the bottom-friendly resonance you want. And don't expect to get much from this guitar's DAE strings past the 12th fret.

It's 43 years old.

I keep this in my studio; I'm inclined to believe this is not a guitar you'd want to use as a road workhorse. Besides, it's too pretty for that.

Harmony is dead.

As with all things guitar-related, getting the right gear requires that you 'know thyself'. This is particularly the case with the Rocket: like with a Jazzmaster, the look is so alluring that the guitar can be compelling for the wrong reasons. So if you're into punk/hardcore/metal/hard rock and you stumbled on one of these things on ebay or in a guitar shop, I suggest going with a safe choice from the larger manufacturers; the Rocket can do a lot of things, just not what you want. As for me, after some finagling I found this guitar just sings on my Ampeg V4...

My Harmony Rocket H59 was USA made in September 1961. The stamped date of these guitars is plainly visible if one looks into the f-hole nearest the player's arm. It is near mint condition. The guitar has a four way switch for the three pickups (one setting is for all pickups and the other settings are for individual pickups). Each pickup has it's own volume and tone knobs which are all lined up in a curved row around the edge of the top of the instrument. The finish is sunburst. It also came with what I believe to be the original case.

The sound it rich and boomy. It sounds better clean than dirty but you can achieve a kick ass dirty sound also because the pickups used are very strong. It is well versitle but you would have to say this guitar is probably best suited for country and rock a billy. What I don't like is that if you turn down one of the volume pots, you will have a prominent humming noise. More than other single coil guitars. If the volumes are kept up on the guitar and controlled elsewhere, there is no problem.

I bought this used on Ebay so I'm not sure of the factory set up. What I will say is that it was set up surprizingly well when I got it. This guitar has NO fretwear! Whoever previously owned it probably bought and put it away for years. As mentioned before, the overall condition is near mint. The intonation is wonderful also and plays very well all the way up the neck.

I'm not sure about a live situation with it - never tried but I will. I would say that this would serve much better as a backup than a primary. It's hard to say because I never gigged with it but I would depend on it and it would probably take a fair amount of abuse as it seems to be well crafted enough.

I have been playing guitar since 1980. I have 8 guitars. Overall, I really enjoy playing this guitar. It is a durable guitar that is visually beautiful and you can get some really original sounds out of it that are very pleasing to even the most discriminating ear. I guess the main thing I don't like about it is the excessive hum when the volume is turned down. But I can live with that.

A 1964 Harmony Rocket, model #H59. It is a red shaded, thin hollow-bodied electric. It is an American made single cutaway, with two 'F' holes, three of the thinner DeArmonde designed single coil pickups. There is a four way selector switch to control the pickups, as well as a tone and volume pot for each.

I am not sure what woods were used for the construction.

I also have the original case.

With three pickups, and the four way selector switch, you can get some very distinct tones ranging from a cutting thin sound, to a nice fat and boomy sound. I like to play it with a Silvertone model 1472 from around the same time, just so I can get an original feel and sound for the combination. You can get some really cool Rock-a-Billy and jazzy tones with it... and some major feedback if you want!

I am not sure how the original set-up was. It was ny Grandfathers guitar, and he played with some monster Gibson strings on it that you could tow a truck with (.012 - .051), I have since had the guitar reset-up to use mediums. It plays pretty decent for an entry level hollow bodied electric, and stays pretty well in tune, unless I start getting too crazy with bends.

The guitar was given to me after my Grandfathers death many years ago. There was very little wear on it, and for its age, is in pretty good condition.

Well, I know my Grandfather played it for about 25 years frequently, and I have had it for coming close to a dozen now. I would never take it out on the road with me to play gigs, but it is fun to play and practice on at the house. But I have never had anny problems with the guitar, just string changes, cleaning, and maybe some contact cleaner to clean up the pots.

Overall, it is pretty cool guitar. I still see a few of them every now and then and they aren't too expensive. If you can't afford a Gibson or other American hollow-bodied electric, it is a nice beginners choice. I love mine probably for more sentimental reasons, but even if it weren't for that, I'd like it alot. Neat tones, and a cool vintage look.