Harmony H76 Hollowbody Thinline

After waiting 38 years, I finally "Bid and Won" back my H78. The finish, electronics, the tortise shell, neck etc, are all perfect as I remember it. I'll save the typing so you can read everyones elses particulars. I agree with them.

The sound is unique because of the D'armond pick-ups. You'll either love it or hate it. If you say so-so, you have no idea what your listening to and don't deserve this guitar. And for those that hate the sound, obviously, your just biased. It was, by all definition, uniqely Harmony.

The action is great. Yeah, if you compare it to a Strat, you'll definately play faster on the Strat, but that was the mistake I made when I was 12 and got talked into trading it in by my guitar teacher to buy one of his. Within weeks, I wanted it back and he lied and just hid it so I couldnt get it back. I thought about this for 38 years. A lousey thing to live with. I give it a 10, because it felt good on my fingers and my wrist and was extremely comfortable. Speed means nothing if your a hacker thats happy with just "Tic'ing the sounds off, not getting a full sound from each pluck of each note. A 2x4 with some tie wire will suite you fine.

Reliability and Durability? God, I just got this 1965 H78, and after 40 years, its a tight and strong as you could imagine. Honestly, I'm quite shocked at the condition. Even more shocking, is the condition of the original case!!! God, what a guitar. Harmony was one hell of a company.

Customer support?...Ha, there isn't any, but who cares. There are alot of craftsmen out there that know about Harmony's and know how to repair a classic. Just be choosey.

I'm now 52. I started to play since I was 10-1/2, and was stupid to trade it in for a solid body, which I went to a Gibson 335 a year later, then a 345 later on and which I have to this day, never being able to get my Harmony back...until now.
Yeah, technically, it may not be a Gibson, yeah, the pick-ups aren't as strong, yeah, it didn't have the best machines, but as good as the Gibson is, it never fit my body, my arms, my fingers, my wrist..in essence became part of me where I just closed my eyes during a solo and just left my fingers do what they did best... Play beautifully.
Yes, the Harmony doesn't compare to a Gibson 345 Stereo, but in all honesty, the Gibson doesn't compare to the H78.
Harmony should have had the Epiphone ad..."Johnny Couldn't Afford an Expensive Guitar, So He Bought A Great One."

Okay, I have an early 60's harmony model, H-76 or H-77, or 78, I'm not sure which without getting it out and looking inside. They're all pretty much the same except for finish and Bigsby or lack thereof. This one has the redburst or cherryburst or whatever finish and no bigsby w/3 Dearmond pickups and an on/off switch + volume and tone for each. Hot Damn! That gives you a HUGE range of sound choices from sparkling (or nasty depending on the amp) treble to thick, bassy stuff to killer midrange blues rhythm. Still this guitar has it's own distinct sound as well, great for old, early electric blues stuff & rockabilly & surf and whatever else, definitely needs a tube amp to sound it's best. Standard kluson tuners, lyre tailpiece, adjustable bridge, fat baseball bat neck, low action. Excellent. Finish has a few imperfections, probably came from the factory like that, a few things don't line up quite perfectly but overall a damn well constructed machine. Plays and sounds superb. Plus red finish is really deep and nice.

Pickups seem a little noisy but nothing major for old single coils, I think they lend to the charm. The pickups are very responsive to whether you're playing hard or soft and pick up subtleties in a very nice way. My main amp right now is a small 60's japanese made tube amp. I can get all kinds of sounds from clean country to nasty punk with this guitar and you cannot beat these things for that real, earthy, skanky blues sound. Howlin' Wolf. John Lee Hooker, that sort of thing.

I bought this used. There are no real flaws, more or less all original. Pickups/controls all work great, action is low, sounds good all the way up the neck. Neck is comfortable, good fretwork--although mine are getting worn from playing this so much) As I say the craftsmanship is not quite the level of a gibson or the like but for the money you simply cannot beat the sound, playability and overall quality. Plus these are seriously COOL looking guitars.

This thing looks great considering that it's pushing 40. The hardware has lasted this long and everything works great. I've gigged without a backup, although I prefer to have one in general, but I knew this baby wouldn't let me down.

This thing is way too old to worry about it.

I've been playing about ten years. I have a hodgepodge of garage sale gear and oddball amps, guitars, etc. If this were stolen or lost, I'd be crushed. This is one of my few prize possessions in the whole world. One thing I forgot to mention is not only do these sound great plugged in but they have a pretty good unplugged sound for a slim body electric. I would do anything I could to find another one of these if it were lost, stolen, etc. They are my favorite guitars.

This Jewel is a 1963 made in the U.S.A. it has 20 frets on a dark ovalled rosewood fingerboard top over a beautiful heavy "Ultra slim" neck with "Torque-lok" adjustable reinforcing truss rod. The fingerboard features also very nice square mother of pearl rectangulars. The guitar features three single coil De Armond "Maximum" therefore there are three volume and three tone knobs. There are also three switch for the pick ups: this creates 6 positions! The body is 100% curly maple and the eyes are visible throughout the instrument: gorgeous! This 1963 was the Harmony answer to the Gibson ES-335 Dot, but in my opinion the tome of this guitar is way superior. Originally this guitar was tobacco sunburst, but the previous owner decided (I am happy about his decision indeed) to do the same thing that John Lennon did to his 1965 Epiphone Casino: he stripped it of its sunburst and he put over a thin coat of laquer. The original locker were perhaps too old and he decided to replace them with a perfect imitation by Shaller. Superbe! The guitar comes also with a Bigsby "True Vibrato" Tailpiece.

I own several guitars but this one is unique, the sound, the tone, the look are simply superior to anything I ever played before. When played clean this is a darling, when distorted gives a little feed-back that I like very much indeed, but I really enjoy playing it clean. The sound is creamy, rich, if it was compared to a desert it would be a "Mississippi Mud Pie." Having 6 different selections I can nail down pretty much Gibson and Fender sounds, even though this guitar has such an unique sound that it is not possible to be described if not played! What I do not like about it? I do not like the fact that I did not own it before (-:

The set up was pretty good, but having a movable bridge I resetted a little and now is nearly perfect. The pick up cannot be adjusted enough for that! The entire body is double bounded front and back: neck included. The wood is GREAT this thing is 7 years older than me and it will last even after I'll be passed away. Things like this cannot be made anymore due to the fact that (1) It is made in U.S.A (2) After 1970 the U.S.Government changed several laws, and one of them prohibited the import of certain type of woods, therefore this is a truly deserved Vintage Guitar. Made with old imported wood that I never saw anywhere else. The pick ups are incredibly silent!

I love playing Blues and rock'n'Roll and this guitar was born to play these types of music. The hardware is in good shape, think that this baby is 36 yrs old!!! I replaced the strap buttons with lockers Shallers, just in case... I would hate drop it. Perhpas due to the tailpiece (if it is used) the guitar needs to be tuned after every song, but if it not used it keeps the tuning pretty good.

If you wanna know more about this darling please go to the super site @ http://broadwaymusicco.com/Harmony2.htm My guiatr is the first one called "The Cadillac" of the Archtop thinlines. Warranty? After 30 yrs?

I've been playing for about 15 yrs now and this is truly the BEST guitar I ever owned and probably "will." This is unique and rare and I do not even know how it seated in the shop for one year without being purchased before: Lucky me!!! I do not even wanna know if it was stolen or wahtever! It cannot be compared to other guitars because this darling has its own life: perfectly crafted by people that knew how to build guitars. If you find one BUY IT right away they are rare, I did find dozens of other Harmony for sale on internet, but no news about a H-75,H-76 and H-77 and H-78!