H1233 - 12 String

Seventies 12 string - "moderately priced" - H1233 model has a 12 frets neck in the 1972 and 1973 catalogs, but a 14 frets neck in the 1974 catalog.

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Top wood	Spruce
Body wood	Mahogany
Solid spruce top, but some models have a laminated sides and / or back.

10 comments | Add your comment !

• Richard in England - 2007-02-06
  The illustration in the 1973 catalog this guitar has the neck joining the body at the 12th fret, but the pictures of the real guitar show the join at the 14th fret !
• François - webmaster - 2007-02-06
  Richard, you're right, I never noticed that. But there is definitely a 14 frets H1233 in the 1974 catalog (unfortunately the 12 strings page is missing on the site for now, sorry, the 1974 catalog was separate sheets). I add the information in the H1233 description above. I love the Harmony 12 strings 12 frets : solid neck and very compact guitars (same length as the 6 string !)
• Jerry from Branson, Missouri area - 2007-06-12
  My H1233 12-string I converted over to slide guitar and it's awsome. I use only 7-strings with the extra string being on the the D-string only.
  The height is excellent and the extra string on the D-string gives the bluesish dobro sound that really kicks. Put on a Pro-mag Plus Dean Markley pick-up and it cranks~!
• Pine - 2008-05-19
  I own a '72 H-1233 12-string, which I got at a Rainbow Gathering for seven bucks in 1990, with the headstock broken off(it was still there, held by the strings)... Sombody had also taken a magnifying-glass, and burned a large six-pointed star in the finish all across the top... I took the guitar home, took the back off, and X-braced the top. The original bridgeplate was spruce and causing the original rosewood bridge to split between the string holes, so I used maple. I scalloped the braces, figuring correctly that the maple bridgeplate would be enough to support the top with the scalloped braces. Eighteen years later, the guitar's top is as stable as ever!! After regluing the headstock and adding a narrow maple reinforcement on the head's back across the joint, I made a new rosewood bridge in the shape of the "airplane-wing" bridge of the jumbo Sovereign. I also shaved-down the three lower-bout back braces of the five(same mass as a Martin 000 pre'88 when done), added a spruce cross-grain back center-brace, and a maple center inlay and end-wedge. Before gluing the bridge, I refinished the top, raising the grain over the burns in the wood with water and a hot iron, as I sanded the burned-in star out of the grain... After lacquering and wet-sanding, I used white and black model paint to replace the painted-on Harmony rosette which is intended to resemble a Sovereign(I had a copy of the pattern)... Last but not least, I overlaid the headstock with a piece of maple to reinforce it further against breakage... Before I did this, I photo-copied the "Harmony" logo so that I could repaint it with model paint, along with the white painted-on "binding" against a black-painted background... I put the original Waverly tuners back on... Although far from "original", the finished product looks more like a Harmony than Harmony intended it to look, and it's a REAL player!!! My H-1233 has a solid back; I have occasionally seen a plywood back on this model, but not very often (you can carefully peel back a portion of the binding near the end-pin to see whether your back is solid or ply, without damaging the finish). I would enjoy finding the earlier 12-fret version of this guitar, rebracing it while keeping the original finish and bridge, knowing how well my Stellas and the H-1233 came out, I would bet that it would be just as fine a guitar... Later, I rebraced an identical H-1233 for a friend; the finish and bridge were in "original new" condition; it came out equally well with far less work!! Pine
• Scott - 2010-02-26
  I just picked up an original 1972 h-1233 in perfect condition for 50.00 bucks also with case and a 1972 gibson instruction book with the 33 1/3 7in record inside also perfect condition man what a find.
• Aaron - 2011-03-16
  I just found a H-1233 Guitar at a pawn shop in perfect condition for $80 bucks. I went ahead and bought it considering.
• Mark in LA - 2012-12-17
  I got one of these from Pine in 1991. He had rebraced the top with a Martin-style X-brace, and most importantly, reset the neck so that it plays the way a good 12-string is supposed to. The bridge split a couple of years ago and I had a new one made from Indian rosewood. Also had the frets leveled, since they were never right, and somewhere along the way I installed a Duncan Sadducer under-saddle pickup, along with a set of brass bridge pins. The tuners were replaced with Gotohs that resemble the originals. I string it with Martin medium gauge and tune it to pitch. If only you could hear it....
• Dave - 2016-03-22
  The 74 H1233 has a great neck, a Martin style truss rod. I have seen three of these. Two were solid wood. One had laminated back, solid sides. Excellent candidate for rebuilding.
• gregg - 2016-07-05
  I bought my harmony H1233 new in 1974. It travelled throughout Europe and Africa with me. It swam in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and froze with me in the Alps...It remains a good friend and is in great playing condition despite a few cracks in the back. The intonation remains true...the string height is good and it sounds as good, if not better, than the day I bought it. I am going to have a Harmony guitar players party in 2024 for our golden anniversary!!
• Scott - 2018-05-16
  I have a 1972 that's 14 fret. Got it very cheap I think, $170 CDN, then spent $10 on a set of bridge pins, $1.41 on a new pre-slotted plastic nut, and $18 on a new set of strings... so, about $200 CDN. Fantastic sounding guitar!Action is a little high, going to try a slight adjustment to the truss.