Harmony Patrician

I received this guitar as a present, if one can say, in 1994. I'll always remember. I was in the living room when sudenly my younger sister arrives to tell me, guitar in hand, "Look what we got you" I turned my head and I must have said something like "my god that's amazing, give it to me!" There were no strings, no bridge, no pickguard, it was in need of care. My initial guess was that it was a Gretsch synchromatic or something like that, which is why I went berzerk when I saw it. Thank you Serge!

It's a USA-made archtop, 20 frets, f-holes (obviously) and has a bound body, but no binding on the fretboard. The neck is mahogany, it's fat, I used to not like that, but now I find its nice, rosewood fretboard (mine has a pale streak running through it) and the bigger headstock, whch frankly I like alot better than the little ones. Serioulsy, I have always found that the bigger the headstock is, the more "serious" the guitar looks. The one on this guitar is rare, I've seen other Patricians on Ebay, and one or two had the same head as mine. Inside there is a stamp in blue ink that reads: H57. Now does that mean it was made in 1957? or is it a model number of some kind. I would say the guitar dates back to that date, but no later than 1968. The top has a clear finish, kind of butterscotch I guess you can say, and the sides and back are most likely mahogany. It looks great, despite the knicks and marks. But after sitting in a closet for like, fifteen years, it's no surprise. The construction seems good to me, although I've never seen another archtop of that age to compare it with. The neck has a steel rod in it, unadjustable.
Heck, the pickguard was INSIDE the body when I got it. I thought it was a Gretsch. Oh well, I am not bitter! I love it.

Well, it doesn't sound like your typical acoustic guitar. Like the previous reviewer said, there is not much bass, and by that I mean no "thump" when you palm mute it, like a dreadnought would do. It's very rich in midrange, and I've grown accustomed to that sound. In fact I would say that the midrange overshadows the bass, and part of the lower highs. When you play notes past the ninth fret, especially the wound ones, it really sounds "round", almost like a strat, but only acoustic. I don't know how else to explain it.
The guitar used to be fitted with D'Addario acoustic strings, I think 11-53, just huge, especially for me who was learning the guitar. The person who installed them, Denis, said "trust me you'll develop strength by playing on big strings" I guess I did, but I later replaced them with electric strings, with a wound G. Maybe that's why the guitar doesn't have much bass, but I think that fundamentally, an archtop, by design, does not permit the proper resonance of bass frequencies, probably because it doesn't have a round soundhole.
Overall I like the sound, but you won't if you want to sound like Neil Young, the Beatles or want a traditional acoustic sound. If you want a mellow sound, then yes.
By the way, Denis t'es o??? Oui toi avait la yamaha blanche avec des stripes noires dessus. Si vous connaissez Denis, dans la cinquantaine, laissez-moi savoir. Merci.

The action for a guitar this age, and that has no doubt been through hellish temperatures (it did not have a case, and it was in Canada) the finish is OK. Now get this: for a guitar with thin, low frets, the action is amazing. It has a compound radius fretboard (flat at nut, changes gradually to curved radius at end of neck). The neck is rock-stable, it hasn't budged and probably never will. As I said earlier the truss rod is a stability rod, it doesn't adjust, but you wouldn't need it the neck a lost an inch thick. I'm not kidding! It's straight as an arrow, and the flatness is, well , FLAT. It plays like a dream. Maybe one day I'll put back the old thick D'Addario strings. Besides, the ones there now have been there for 14 years almost. My hands don't sweat when I play, I really keep strings on there for a long time. In fact the only time I change strings is when I break one, or when I they become dirty and go "sllihss" when you run your fingers down them. The guitar is a real piece of work, It has held up very well. But I play it regularly. I'll give it a 9, cause like all guitars, it ages and eventually all wood cracks. But I think this one still has 150 years left in it.

Like I said, it's durable, it's withstood so much neglect and hard strumming, scratches, but it keeps sounding and playing great. Although I do want to get it refinished. It would look gorgeous. It is rock solid.

Hello... fifty year old guitar company! It changed owners in the seventies. Customer support is ME or a profesional repairman. Does anyone know if the Harmony factory building in Chicago is still standing?

I love it. I only saw another one like it where I live, in almost fifteen years. How's that for rarity? It was well built, it's solid, it plays very well, I simply love it.

This is a 16 inch blonde full depth non-cutaway blonde archtop acoustic jazz box. Decent strip tuners, 1.75 inch nut width, unbound baseball bat neck with dot markers, truss rod, hinged tailpiece, fancy tortoise double binding on the body, uncompensated bridge (glued on to the body by some moron, but, surprisingly, the intonation is fine), solid carved spruce top, mahogany back, sides and neck, rosewood board, monogrammed plastic pickguard. There's a nice picture of one (without pickguard) at www.robertberry.com/guitars/html/img10e.htm.

This is an archtop guitar, and does not have the low end of a dreadnought sized flat top. Compared to other higher end archtops, I would call this one bright, and somewhat lacking in warmth. The sound of any acoustic guitar is radically affected by the strings. This one is set up with Gore acoustic 13s.

The neck is super; the truss rod actually works. Low action with wide string spacing. A dream for jazz chording and fingerpicking. The weak point was the neck joint; it ended up needing a neck reset. No issues with the bracing. No cracks. The finish and frets are in great shape for such an old guitar.

The guitar is very light weight. Other than the neck pocket issue noted above, there are no signs of structural problems.

The company went out of business 30 years ago. However, there is an excellent web site at www.broadwaymusicco.com that advertises parts and service.

How long have you been playing? What other gear do you own?
I have been playing for over 30 years. I have played semi-professionally, and have decent skills. I used to be a collector; at one point or the other I've paid stupid money for jaw dropping stuff (relevant to this review, I've owned a '34 super 400, a '34 L5, a '36 L7, a late 40s L50, and a '53 ES175); got rid of all the non-player pieces when I got married.

Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar?
I asked all the right questions; the seller did his best, but was not extremely knowledgeable, and did not accurately describe the neck issue noted above. I have no regrets; it's fixed now, and I'm glad I bought it.

Did you compare it to other guitars? Which ones? Why did you choose this one?
I considered buying a Tacoma Archtop and a Heritage Sweet 16. I liked the Tacoma a lot, but this was a *lot* less money.

Anything you wish it had? HSC.

Anything else you'd like to share?
This was Harmony's top of the line model. Admittedly, that's not saying a lot. Still, the lowest priced carved (not pressed) solid spruce top guitar sold today is the Tacoma Archtop, which goes for about $1800. You could get an old Gibson L50 for half that, but this guitar is fancier and plays nicer than any L50. Harmony Patricians are available all the time at $200-300. With shipping, setup and neck set, I've got $450 into my guitar; I don't regret paying the extra money, because now it's in perfect shape. I got mine on ebay, but a more reliable source for one might be Subway Guitars (www.fatdawg.com).