 H181
Acoustic flatop - Pumpkin color
Production year(s) : 1969-1970 (other years possible, not verified)
Fender-style headstock. Floral design on head and pickguard. Adustable bridge. "Pumkin" coloured top. Some are stamped H181-1. H180 is the same in "natural" finish.
 29 images in database
mouse over image for file name - click to enlarge 
| Top wood | Spruce
| | Body wood | Mahogany
| All solid woods
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| Width | 15"1/8 | 384 mm |
| Length | 41" | 1040 mm |
| Body depth | 3"7/8 | 97 mm |
| Scale | 25"1/4 | 642 mm |
| Neck at nut | 1"3/4 | 44.8 mm |
| Neck at 12th | 2"1/4 | 55.8 mm |
18 comments | Add your comment ! - El Rey - 2006-06-13
I have just recently purchased on of these and it has an awesome dark bluesy sound. I am loving it!!! - b green - 2007-05-19
i have recently aquired one of these guitars from a vacant apt i was renovating....what a find!!(4251H181) - Dave Kamp - 2007-09-12
I found 3525H181 in Bart's Flea Market in Cheyenne, Wyoming for $22.50. Carried it straight to Reimann's Music (3 miles east), where Dave pointed me to his guitar-tech station, cut off all five strings, scrubbed off 30 years of crud, lemon-oil'd the fretboard and bridge, replaced one bridge-pin, wound on a new set of wrapped-4th Phosphor Bronze 10-ups, and WOW... it sounds GREAT! (dave at kampnet dot net) - jeff - 2008-07-18
Bought my H181 on ebay last year, it is hanging in my office and helps keep me sane at work. Although I have picked up many old Harmonys very cheap the past couple of years, I paid 200 bucks for this one, and consider it a great deal. Very playable, vibrant body, and you can't touch this sound in a new guitar nowadays for less than a grand. I'm old enough to wonder about the "70's look" being classic and cool, but I guess it is. Maybe I'll grow my sideburns again. Great woody sound for blues, cowboy, pickin', even the harmonics are good. Sovereigns are deeper and fuller sounding, but this H181 cuts through the middle cleanly and has a plenty rich voice in all registers. Could be my main guitar, but with ebay the last few years, I have lots of choices! - meketone - 2009-01-08
I rescued 606H181 from my dad's closet over Christmas--he hasn't played it for years and it only ever came out when I visited or my sister's kids got bored, so it was in great shape. I restrung it once I got back to NYC and it sounds terrific. It seems like something good finally came out of a family holiday. - tholder - 2009-02-04
Bought my H181 at a music store in Las Cruces, NM called Mountain Music. No dings or scratches just 30 years of dirt. Carried it on the plane home. Cleaned it up put on new strings. It plays and sounds great. - Tom Mintz - 2009-10-21
Hi,
Just got a "S-69" H181 from eBay including it's original "pumpkin" colored case and both are in excellent condition! All for $99 Buy it Now! This one has the earlier type headstock with 3 by 3 tuners. Great sound!!! - Twomato Retread - 2010-09-27
I picked up mine from a pawn shop for $15 twenty+ years ago. It's in pretty good shape although the bridge is starting to raise a bit and I carelessly "chewed up" the sound hole installing a magnetic pickup. Great tone. - Aaron - 2011-03-17
I have one of these (easy to narrow down, with the Fender-style headstock), and otherwise looks identical, but it has no flower pattern on the head and pickguard - rather both have a double-white line bordering them, about a half inch from the edge. My mother bought this guitar in 1970, so I verified that there never was any floral design that rubbed off or something (plus the white lines are still crisp and clear, so it seems unlikely that the design would've otherwise rubbed off). Does anyone know if that was just an option when you ordered them? Thanks in advance. - François (webmaster) - 2011-03-20
Aaron, yours should be model H168 (lower in the range, sorry..) - mandofreke - 2011-04-08
I found my 4251H181 in apawn shop ln 1976, f0r $72.50. Loved the sound and playability. Neck cme loose 20 years ago and put her in the closet. Always thought it was probably laminate, glad to see it is solid-definitely gotta clean off the 40yrs of crud and get it restored. - mandofreke - 2011-04-09
Whups! A closer look at the model number shows it to be 425EH181-sorry about that! It has the pumpkin finish top, gold scrollwork on the headstock and the shorter style pickguard. I wonder if it would help the sound even more by sanding all the rough inside surfaces and scalloped braces. - Alan - 2012-02-20
I just picked up 4265H181 (1969) at Lanham Music in St. Joe, MO missing the pickguard, I paid 20 for the guitar! Looking for the replacement pickguard, otherwise I consider myself to have stolen the axe. Dude told me he took it in on trade for an harmonica not 30 minutes before I walked in. Slapped a new set of wires on her and the action's a bit high. But I know how to massage this baby into fine shape! - SuperProjection - 2013-01-26
Picked up 4267 off Craigslist for 180, not near as good as some of the prices I'm seeing but I sure do love this guitar. Also, immaculate condition. - HELEN - 2013-02-21
I was given a H181 when it was new ... my first guitar ... I still lovingly play it! - Barry. - 2013-05-05
I was given My Harmony (4251H181)by a friend in the mid 70's. It was in such a battered condition I have always assumed it was much older. Anyway I fixed it up to the best of my ability at the time and still play it today. Most playable neck and lovely tone. Thanks to this site I've now solved the mystery of it's age. - iceplant - 2018-06-15
28 years ago, I bought an H-180 with natural Spruce top and limed mahogany back and sides. A great little guitar for cheap(pawn shop score in VA for $40). 8 years later, it was stolen from me and I never saw it again. I was devastated. Fast forward 20 years. I've always missed that old guitar so I recently picked up an H-181 "pumpkin" top model from the original owner. And what a fine example of this cool old guitar it is. I wouldn't say the finish is orange like a pumpkin or some of the more 'aged' models out there. This one is a very deep rich golden amber. A beautiful and stunning eye-catcher. It has been played but well maintained and kept in its case all its life. Very clean. I just finished giving it a proper setup/truss rod adjustment and new strings. Thinking of upgrading to a bone nut and saddle. What a wonderful old guitar that has held up very well and sounds great. Hard to believe it's almost 50 years old!! There's a reason these old Harmony's are sought after. The vibe is real. So glad I picked up another. :) - Cubby Bragg - 2020-03-06
I just picked up one of these # 4272H181...love the tone from this thing and the playability is spectacular
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