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Harmony (short) FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q - What's the value of my Harmony guitar ?
- A - If you're a buyer, the value is the max price you are ready to pay to have it. If you're a seller, the value is the minimum amount you accept to sell it.. Easy !
You can check ebay for completed sales for the same model, but value on ebay is not value in a shop or elsewhere, for reasons. Outside of a completed transaction, value has no meaning, so please do not ask me to value your guitar. Please re-read above and you'll have the answer.
- Q - How can I date my Harmony guitar from the serial number ?
- A - Usually you will find two stamps inside your Harmony guitar. They always are on a place easy to read, ie near the f-holes on a archtop. The larger one is the serial number, and the part after the "H" letter is the model number. For example, on the photo below this guitar is without doubt a H22 (You can type a model number, with the H, on the search box on top of this page). The first part of the serial number has no precise meaning relative to the date of production. It seems Harmony reset these numbers in every batch of the model, so a "6690H22" can be older than a "123H22" for example. Tip : on many guitars (easy to check on flat top acoustics), Harmony stamped the top of the guitar as well as the back, so if the number on the back is difficult to read, use a mirror and check under the top (near the neck)
The other smaller stamp is the date stamp and indicates the year of production. It's said that the letter at the beginning indicates the period of the year, like "F" for "Fall" or "S" for "Spring". That was before Ed, a former worker from the Harmony factory, said : "The company closed down production every July for two weeks. During the last two weeks of June an effort was made to finish as many orders as possible and not start any new orders. The last days of June, we had a complete inventory. I believe the "F'" and "S" may have stood for first and second half of the year."
Photo below : this H22 bass is from 1964. There is some variation in theses date stamps, (in an oval box on some pre-war models), but usually all guitars had one. Sometimes it's difficult to see or read.
On electric guitars with "DeArmond" pickups, you should be able to find a precise date stamped on the back of the pickups, or on the back of the pickguard (some screws to remove). These are supposedly the manufacture date of the electrical harness or pickguard assembly, by Rowe Industries, but should give a close guess to the year of production of the guitar itself.
- Q - Where can I buy parts for my Harmony restoration ?
- A - No known professional is specialized in Harmony parts. Ebay auction site is the main provider for rare parts, but you need to monitor the offers each day... Some ebay sellers are known for Harmony parts. You can check "tom69442" for repro pickguards, and "Harmony12X5" for some parts. For generic guitar parts and tools, well-known web sites include Stewmac and Allparts.
A more efficient way would be to register and ask to the Harmony discussion board. Please do not contact me about parts, I'm not a seller.
- Q - I can't find my Harmony guitar on your site, why ?
- A - Because this site will never be complete, I'm afraid. Please use the contact form and tell me about your model. I will reply, and if you have some pictures I will gladly add them to the site.
But if your guitar has a Harmony logo with the added words "est 1892", it's an asian made Harmony, built after 1975 when Harmony closed his Chicago factory. This site is mainly dedicated to USA-made Harmony's, so for now I have no information on these younger...
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