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Family : Thin Line

Other brands : H54 Rocket 2 pickup was also sold as Airline 7252 | Airline 7282 | Holiday AL9407

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Original catalog descriptions

[1962 catalog]
Rocket ultra-thin cutaway electric
- Golden Tone Indox Pickups 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 II - With highly responsive double pickup. 2 tone and 2 volume vontrols. 3 position switch permits playing forward pickup for rythm - bridge pickup for takeoff or solo - or both pickups at once. $112.50. C53 carrying case, $14.50.

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

- New Golden-Tone Pickups (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 II - With highly responsive Golden-Tone double pickup model. 2 tone and 2 volume controls, 3 position switch permits playing forward pickup for rythm - bridge pickup for takeoff or solo - or both pickups at once.. $119.50. C53 carrying case, $15.50.

Original price

  1959 : $109.50
  1962 : $112.50
  1967 : $119.50

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

10 comments | Add your comment !

• Hornet - 2006-01-29
  I got very lucky. Spotted My rocket in a junk shop window. Offered for sale by original owner(Woman) It was her first electric and she babied it. My Rocket is not red,its tabacco sunburst. It plays like it looks,a dream. As for value this guitar has its own sound and feel and should not be compared with other guitars and other brands. Rather it should be enjoyed for what it is, one fine guitar with its own sound.
• Sandman - 2007-02-24
  I bought a '65 H54 on a whim about a year ago on a well-known web-site.... Although I also have a '66 Tele and a '71 Les Paul which I love, I can't seem to lay down this Harmony! It looks so retro-cool (time-worn finish and playing wear doesn't bother me) and is light as a feather, and the sound of the old DeArmond pickups is irreplaceable. Love these old Harmonys!
• Pigboy Z - 2007-03-20
  I bought my double pickup cherry burst (beautiful color) Rocket last summer off the internet. Never having played one I wasen't sure what I was getting. But boy was I surprised! I can't put it down. I use it for a practice guitar at home and turn heads when I take it out for gigs. Its a bit unruley, tends to feedback until I find the sweet spot on volume and tone . After I get that dialed in I got a full spectum tone monster. Dark basses and bitey trebles.
• BabyGrand000 - 2007-05-14
  I from the states, but live in Sweden now, i had a friend bring over my Airline Rocket on a visit. He found it for $300 in a Chicago music shop. I loved this guitar immediately. It's got a nice chunky neck and, as a mostly acoustic player, i really loved the way it's hollow body resonated when strummed. I've had trouble with the intonation and upon bringing it to a local guitar repair guru, was told that it wouldn't be worth the money to do make any adjustments. I tried some heavier gauge strings and it was fine. Recently though, it fell out of a faulty gig bag as i ran after a bus and got it's but kicked by the asphalt. I think the intonation's been worse since this, but i don't know. I still love this guitar and wish i knew more about how to refurbish it better. Also looking for replacement parts if anyone's got any tips. The pickguard is pretty cracked and i need to replace the pick up selector switch (destroyed in drop) contactbabygrand@hotmail.com
• e33train - 2007-08-30
  I just received this guitar from my dad who had it in the garage for many years. He took it apart 30+ years ago for some strange reason so I do not have any kind of wires or pickups for it. Is there any website that I could go to so I could find the correct wiring for this model?
• Bohonkie - 2007-11-25
  I found my Rocket (H 56-1, red burst with vibrato, S-1969) on e-Bay. I paid $125, but the lady who shipped it from Pennsylvania used a plastic case with no padding inside. As a result, the pickguard was broken (by the neck, below the screw). I repaired it with a small metal brace from behind; you have to examine it closely to tell. When I told the lady that next time she should use some padding, she graciously refunded $25. After restringing and adjusting the truss rod, this guitar plays great! Other than the repair, and the bridge missing a corner piece, the guitar is in very fine conidtion. I wanted one in the late '60s, but no way could I afford it. The quest is over!
• Kerry Ayres - 2007-12-18
  I own the two pickup version from 1966 in Cherry Red. Plays and sounds very good; tuning is sometimes shaky; had a pro install a Bigsby which looks and sounds cool. Dearmonds really cut through the mix. Original two tone chipboard case is failing. Any ideas where to find a correct fit modern replacement? F-holes have red paint overspray inside them. Email me at ayres at mindspring.com
• Rocket - 2008-01-02
  I got my 1967 harmony rocket from my grandpa who got it when it first came out. It is all orginal and still sounds amazing. I love this guitar. It is my 5th guitar and im only 18.
• Jimmy Razor - 2008-03-28
  I purchased my first Harmony Rocket, an H53, at a 1997 guitar show for $60.00. I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, needing money for the down payment on a house, I sold it in 2002. Missing it badly, I just picked up my second Rocket, an H54. However, it has an H56 vibrato. It shows no signs of ever having the standard trapeze tailpiece! I am curious about this design anomaly.
• François (webmaster) - 2008-04-08
  Jimmy, all the Rocket guitars were made on the same line at the Harmony factory, and these serial numbers glitches are not rare... You will not find a flat top number in a Rocket, but a H54 in a H56 is not surprising.. Bodies were stamped early on the line, before they were finished, or having a vibrato. In other words, if your H54 has an original vibrato... It's an H56 !