 H159 - Birch jumbo
Acoustic flatop - Natural
Production year(s) : 1970-1971 (other years possible, not verified)
Economical version of the H1260 (replace the previous H158 ?). All solid birch body. Glued pin-style bridge, No trussrod. Stenciled red ring at sound hole.
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Related to this model
15 comments | Add your comment ! - Carol - 2007-07-07
Just bought one on July 4, 2007, for $100. Almost no scratches, some small cracks in the top, from drying out, no doubt. Doesn't appear to have been played much, if at all. Polished it up and it sounds great!
Inside: F-76 6777H159
Will send pix if anyone is interested. - Ade67 - 2007-08-11
Hi, have just bought one of these. Anyone know how to date from serial number - its 9100h159.
Cheers Ade - Pine - 2008-04-09
I have this guitar; I rebraced it with scalloped X-bracing, and it's one of my favorites! In re-setting the neck, I experimented with leaving it un-glued, so that I can travel aboard airplanes with a big "super-dreadnought" guitar... I use Maple wedges to hold the neck in its dovetail joint, it does not slip, and it comes apart easily once the strings are loosened. I've had this setup since November, 2000. I have since set-up some other Harmony's this way to permit traveling; including a "000" Sovereign H-1203... I did this with one rebraced H922 Silvertone-Stella 12-string, and the only time the neck shifted was when I traveled into a humid climate with the guitar; I re-set the neck with slightly thinner wedges. Back home in my drier climate, I used thicker wedges... Pine - François (webmaster) - 2008-04-10
Wow... That's really uncommon and interesting Pine... What about some photos of your prototype in the luthery section of this site ? Please use the contact form to send your mail address. - Pine - 2008-04-10
I will try to add photos... I set-up the H-6600 dreadnought(mentioned last year on this site with one dot at twelth fret, for which I made a new back)in the same manner with its neck being removeable... Pine - Nick - 2008-05-08
I was curious to know what exactly "glued pin-style bridge" means? Is the bridge removable? and if so, can I set it up to where it isn't? - Pine - 2008-05-09
The term "glued, pin-style bridge" means that the hardwood bridge base is permanently glued to the guitar's top, and the strings are secured with bridge pins. The white bone or plastic saddle is what determines the string height and scale, but was often glued into its slot on Harmony's, making adjustment difficult without breaking the saddle. This design is considered the best design for most better acoustic guitars. Many Harmony-built guitars have a simpler "classical-style" or "pull-through" bridge which does not utilize the white or black plastic bridge pins. Most of these used a brass fret-wire for the saddle. Many of these "pull-through" bridges, especially on the better Stellas like the H931 and H933, are fastened to the guitar's top with a pair of Phillips-head stove-bolts with large fender washers under the bridgeplate. These work well considering their simple construction... Pine - Pine - 2008-05-09
I wanted to clarify that most of the "classical" or "pull-through" bridges made from either rosewood or dyed maple, had a white bone or plastic saddle like the pin bridges. This saddle was always glued in, making adjustments more complicated, but the saddle is angled properly for basic compensation for string length. It is mostly the better Stella models and the student-sized H-150 which had the rectangular, dyed maple "pull-through" bolt-on bridge with the non-compensated brass fret-wire saddle... Pine - jimiearl - 2008-05-26
I just won an H-159 on ebay for $127 (9 bidders) and it looks very clean in the pictures. I'm taking a chance because none of my questions were answered. I'm hoping it will be a good fingerpicking/strumming guitar for blues and folk. I had a 1260 Sovereign and this is supposed to be the economy model of that so here's hoping! - Tatsu-O - 2009-02-04
I have an H159 that I've had for about 36-37 years. LOVE the sound. Stacks up to Martins, Deans and many others for tone. Found this site by accident and am pleased. Mine has seen a lot of wear but still LOVE it. - Bodester - 2009-07-01
i just bought one of these yesterday (June 2009) in great condition. It has a couple minor dings on the edges but that's just detail. Paid $100 for it. Not sure what it's book value is but it's definately worth $100 to me. I think we'll grow old together. (The guitar is winning by about 14 years but that's ok I'm not a sore loser) - jimynagyguitars - 2011-05-24
Wow! I got mine March 18th, 1970 for 12th birthday present from Mom -n- Dad. STILL have it!
Action is High due to neck-pull, no way to economically make her play easy again, but she looks Great hangin' in my Mancave Studio!
find me on Facebook to see New Work! - dg - 2014-12-18
I inherited my grandma's old H159 after if traveled from family member to family member. When I got it the back was cracked, the wood was dry, the bridge was pulling away and the action was so high it was a chore to finger. Just spent $500 (yes, $500 on a guitar that cost less than $100 new) and am glad I did. It was Grandma's and now it's mine to pass on to her great-great-grandkids. - Vlado - 2016-11-02
I got mine few years ago when I needed a wider neck guitar for the studio. Used it on recording most of the tunes for my debut album. Since then I left the New Standard Tuning set of strings on and I don't play it much because I rarely use that tuning, but I still want to work on it, so I'm keeping the strings on. I have other guitars that I use for practice or gigs, I mostly play a Taylor and an old archtop, because they have pick-ups and I'd have to mic this one. But I love that guitar, it has a great neck and is very comfortable to play, the tone is balanced and it works well in all kinds of situations. The only downside is the quality of the mechanics, I want to change the original ones because they don't hold much when I have to tune some strings up for some open tunings I'm using. Also the sound hole seems to be a bit smaller then on other guitars, once I put the pick up on and I almost broke the top before I managed to take it off... - pinwheel - 2020-06-12
I bought one this year, because it had everything wrong with it, except the soundboard was immaculate. Neck reset, bridge reset, nut needed a minor heightening, lower bout crack. Very nice selection of woods, and what seems to be an ebony fretboard, which is wide.
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