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Family : Thin Line

Other brands : H53 Rocket 1 pickup was also sold as Barclay BA53-3

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Original catalog descriptions

[1962 catalog]
Rocket ultra-thin cutaway electric
- Golden Tone Indox Pickup designed in cooperation with DeArmond
- Harmony's ultra-thin arched "tone chamber" construction
- "Ultra-slim" neck, steel rod reinforced, uniform "feel"
- "Straight line" narrow fingerboards - short scale for easy chording, "comping", or solo work
- Outstanding modern design, quality and value !
- Hardwood bodies, celluloid bound edges
- Cutaway design makes fingering easy to last fret

Rocket I - Single pickup model. Volume and tone control mounted in body. Golden one Indox pickup assures excellent electric guitar tone. $82.50. C53 carrying case, $14.50.

[1966 catalog]
Rocket Ultra-Thin Cutaway
Now with Torque-Lok Adjustable Neck Reinforcing Rods

- New Golden-Tone Pickup (Designed in cooperation with DeArmond)
- Harmony's ultra-thin arched "tone chamber" hollow body. Celluloid edges. Cutaway design makes fingering easy to last fret
- "Ultra-slim" neck. Uniform "feel". "Straight line" narrow fingerboards with celluloid edge binding - short scale for easy chording, "comping", or solo work
- Rockets size : 15 3/4 x 40 1/2 inches, A thin 2 in. deep.

Rocket I - Single pickup model. Volume and tone control mounted in body. Golden-Tone pickup assures excellent guitar tone. $87.50. C53 carrying case, $15.50.

Original price

  1959 : $79.50
  1962 : $82.50
  1967 : $87.50

Verified production year(s) : 1959-1967
others years possible, not verified.

6 comments | Add your comment !

• doanclan@theedge.ca - 2006-11-18
  I just acquired a 1964 H53 Rocket from Avenue Guitars in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
  The Rocket is in VG condition with a few nicks and scratches but is otherwise outstanding with excellent action and a tone and vibe that takes me back to my teen years.
  Even my wife who never really notices the tonal differences between other guitars I own has commented that the Rocket has a sweet and distinctive sound.
  I owned a Harmony solid body back in the seventies which I also enjoyed for several years but sold off my collection in 84 when I left Ontario. (Boy have I regretted that!!) I don't recall the vintage but it was in rough condition and I ended up refinishing the body natural. What I do recall is that it was my "playing" guitar at a time when I had half a dozen guitars including a couple of Gibsons (62 Melody Maker single pick up and an SG).
  The H53 is a keeper and one guitar that I will be holding onto for the foreseeable future.
  Doug
• chad - 2006-12-28
  I have a rocket that was my guitar teachers, my parents bought it from him for me when I was in
  sixth grade. I have been playing on it for 17 years and althogh I now have other guitars, I keep coming back to the old rocket. My guitar is red and has the earlier of the two pick ups used, it dosn't have an adjustable truss rod eather so I am pretty sure it,s an earlier model. There is something about these old guitars,eventhough they were cheaper made they still have a nice sound and great playability. I love mine and could never sell it.
• Perma Frost - 2007-07-07
  I have one of these gems but need to get some info on the pickups such as a wiring diagram, if anyone can help that would be brilliant.
  I have been playing the guitar with no amplification and it still rocks, great sound.
• Phil - 2007-08-13
  I just bought a vintage 1963 Harmony Rocket H53 that came equipped with one gold foil DeArmond pickup. The Harmony Rocket has to be one of the coolest guitars I've ever played. The action on the guitar is terrific and the DeArmond pickup sounds amazing with no background hum. The guitar puts out a great vintage blues/rockabilly tone that modern guitars like the Epiphone Dot and Wildkat only dream of sounding like. The neck on the guitar is a little chunkier than I am normally used to, but it is not uncomfortable to play. The only thing I wish this guitar had would be an adjustable truss rod, otherwise this guitar is an amazing bargain. I would absolutely recommend trying out one of these Harmony Rockets if you can find one.
• Jon - 2007-11-13
  I live in Vancouver BC and my first real guitar was H53 Harmony Rocket that my dad bought me in around 1963/4 and which I traded in 1968 for what I believe was the first Ovation Roundback Accoustic Guitar brought into Canada by Pamus Music in Vancouver. That guitar was unfortunately destroyed in 1996 but the neck lives on in a custom Larivee.
  I now own 14 guitars including a number of Gibsons, Fenders and am actively bidding for an H53 on Ebay as I write this. Hope to add it to my collection and play a bit of blues at some gigs. It will look good beside my new Gibson ES-137 Custom, also a single cutaway semi hollow
• Rob - 2008-01-11
  Awesome i had one of the cherry red models when i was young but never had any pictures. Thanks Rob