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Family : Lower end archtop

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Original catalog descriptions

[1957 catalog]
BROADWAY
Auditorium size. Highly polished finish. Top edge is bound, inlaid with black-and-white block design. Birch top, back, and frame grained, highlighted and shaded in deep brown. Large headpiece, ovaled ebonized hard maple fingerboard and bridge, celluloid quardplate, adjusting tailpiece.
No.954 $49.50

[1966 catalog]
HARMONY BROADWAY GUITAR
Arched top model, made of selected hardwoods beautifully finished in reddish mahogany with large warm yellow sunburst effect. Highly polished. Edges are bound, top edge inlaid with distinctive black and white block design. Large headpiece. Ovalled ebonized hard maple fingerboard and adjustable bridge. Celluloid pick plate.
No. 954-Size : 153/4 x 403/4 in : Each $59.50

Original price

  1951 : $36.00
  1957 : $49.50
  1958 : $49.50
  1959 : $49.50
  1962 : $52.00
  1967 : $59.50
  1969 : $64.50
  1971 : $74.50
  1972 : $76.50

Verified production year(s) : 1947-1971
others years possible, not verified.

5 comments | Add your comment !

• Snapcase - 2006-02-21
  H954 seems to be an evolution of H955 Broadways. The earlier model has a somewhat smaller body, really closer to the H50 and H51 family models. It's said these guitars are non-electrified H50 sisters. They usually have a carved solid spruce top and maple or birch bottom and sides. A really great and welcomed thing for a mid priced guitar, but nothing unusual in this era guitars. Solid or ply-wood were used in different construction periods for those parts. H954 have mostly all birch bodies with laminated back and sides and usally a solid top. My '64 H954 has a nice and resonant one piece molded birch top. Birch is a great tone-wood. It gives a nice resonant high volume with a rich midrange projection and solid bottom. Is not as brilliant and janglier as spruce. In comparison spruce have less pronounced singing mids. The great birch drawback is dryness. It tends to crack while ageing if humidity is not controlled. This is the reason why many old Harmony guitars shows cracks in their bottom and tops. Specially in solid ones. I cannot say which model is better, each one have its partcularities. Don't be blinded by solid spruce, solid birch gives a terrific tone too, a different one but great and desirable anyway. The best deal is having one guitar of both models. Get both and you still save some money if comparing their prices to Gibsons. Trust me, these Harmony guitars hold comparions against mid-prized vintage Gibsons or Gretsches perfectly well.
• wallytarkington - 2006-08-26
  I got my Broadway for almost nothing when I traded an old tube amp my ex-stepdad left when he left my mom. I got it home and it wouldn't tune, so I put new tuners on it. After that it quickly became my favorite guitar. I added a "convertible" style humbucker, and then (gasp) drilled some holes in it to put the controls in. It is my main jazz box to this day. The fingerboard is a little rough, and I hate that there are no fret markers on the side, but if you see one, BUY IT! You won't be disappointed.
• François - 2006-08-28
  To add to Snapcase comment, I believe no Harmony acoustic ever had laminated woods (before very last models in the seventies), for top, back or sides. I have many at home, and watched many others, and never saw one (it's different for electrics).
• Mogens - 2006-09-20
  Hi. I may be buying a 954 shortly. Its productionsnumber is 4012. Can anybody tell me the year of production? Anyway it´s a beautiful guitar and plays it well.
• nikspl - 2007-05-15
  great web-site thank you-i recently got one of these guitars for a very good price on ebay its darn near mint-only the tuners needed replacing-i love this guitar i have a harmony master as well & im always amazed at how different they sound.i play fingerstyle-& an always impressed at how evenly balanced the tone of these guitars is.something magical about harmonys it seems.