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Conference napalm::guitar

Title:	GUITARnotes - Where Every Note has Emotion
Notice:	Discussion of the finer stringed instruments
Moderator:	KDX200::COOPER

Created:	Thu Aug 14 1986
Last Modified:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	3280
Total number of notes:	61432

2099.0. "Anyone know Harmony Details" by MISFIT::KINNEYD (ABNORMAL - Do not use this Brain) Tue Feb 05 1991 13:33

    Heres a strange question. I'm in Boston for training and I am a fan of 
    less known strange guitars. I take them traveling a lot of times
    because I usuall pay $150 or less for them and the loss f there is one,
    is minimal.
    
    I found a H.78 Harmony smi-hollow body electric in playable condition.
    It seems to be original with the low end Bigsby trem and tone knobs and
    tjhe mechanices are servicable. The wierd thing about this on is that
    the head stock says "Harmony by Heath". I nvever heard of this before
    and it makes me think this is a copy or something. 
    
    Antyone h hear of this before? I know of Heathkit which I think was
    popuylar in the 60's 70's etc. Any connectin? Details on any harmony
    are scarce because they were so cheap and noone really pays uch
    attention.
    
    What ever happened to the Harmony Company. They were based in Chicago
    from the 1890's I think.
    Sorry for the typos, this network link is the pits and I don't dare
    
    do an uparrow!
    
    Dave Kinney

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2099.1	Probably not worth much $$$	CSC32::MOLLER	Fix it before it breaks	`Tue Feb 05 1991 14:08`	20
	Harmony sold guitars thru Heathkit as kits in thier last dying days (in hopes of re-gaining market share). The tidal wave of cheap Japanese guitars in the late 1960's killed Harmony around 1971-1973. I freind of mines father worked for Supro/National in Chicago at about the same time & they were also not doing well in this time frame. Companies like Danelectro (which changed it's name breifly to Coral) also died because of these guitars. Harmony was always low end, but not bad guitars (the electronics were on an even par with the cheapest Japanese imports of the time however). Kay also died about this time frame, but a Korean company bought rights to the name about 5 years ago & makes low end acoustic guitars. The only real survivors were the quality instruments by makes such as Gibson, Fender, Guild, Rickenbacher etc. As to market value, I never buy or build guitars for thier market value. I prefer having oddities that you really can't find anywhere & are quite playable. Jens
2099.2	can you say......goya rangemaster?	SWAPIT::LOR		`Wed Feb 06 1991 11:02`	8
	Do you have any "low end" basses for sale? or guitars as a matter of fact? I really prefer the instuments of character to those of the stale and usual persuasion. I'd take a Microfrets or Mosrite over any Gibson or Fender anyday! One question that keeps boggling my mind is Why do the Fender groupies search & destroy looking for those old pieces of wood & magnet when their creator/frankenstein/genius is still alive today making a much better instrument.....G & L? Can any one answer this question?
2099.3		RAVEN1::BLAIR	Can ya hear me?	`Wed Feb 06 1991 12:00`	3
	A friend of mine has a Goya six string. The one with all the push button pickup selectors. Great action and plays nice.
2099.4	go goya...	SWAPIT::LOR		`Wed Feb 06 1991 13:04`	7
	....IN RESPONSE TO 2099.3................ Yeah.....I have one too, a GOYA RANGEMASTER. The push button stuff are pickup combination selectors. rb
2099.5	Same Name, New Source	AQUA::ROST	In search of the lost biscuit drop	`Thu Feb 07 1991 09:16`	5
	The Harmony name is still around on some really cheap guitars selling in dept. stores, probably Korean made. I'm talking $90 electrics here... Brian