Description
This is a Harmony H79 12 string guitar made by Harmony of Chicago circa 1967. It is a burgundy red finish, double cutaway, thinline, semi-hollow body electric guitar with two DeArmond single-coil pickups, a rosewood (presumably) fingerboard with rectangular mother-of-pearl inlays, a fixed, decorative tailpiece, an adjustable wooden bridge, white binding with a stripe inlay, raised black & white plastic pickguard, two f-holes along with one metal and one plastic strap pin. This instrument plays very nicely and sounds great. It’s super clean and just beautiful. These models were manufactured from 1966 thru 1970 and were designed in cooperation with DeArmond. It includes the original hard shell case (ohsc) with red plush lining. The case is in good shape but there’s some damage on the top near the headstock but it protects the guitar fine as is.Description from VintageSilvertones.com
CONDITION:
It is in very good condition and super clean for its age. The guitar is all original. Overall, there’s nearly 60 years worth of wear with only very minor blemishes if you look closely. And one minor ding on the top of the headstock. Otherwise, it’s super clean.Description from VintageSilvertones.com
TUNERS:
The tuners, opened-back, side-mounted, strip of chrome tuners with silver metal buttons which are in good working condition.Description from VintageSilvertones.com
NECK:
The neck is in good shape. It is a bound, straight, bolted-on neck with rectangular mother-of-pearl inlays on an rosewood (presumably) fretboard, 20 frets, and a 24″ scale. The frets are in good shape with minimal wear. The headstock features a white embossed Harmony logo with very minor wear along the edges, front, and a ding on top. It’s on a layered black & white plate which is mounted on the headstock. The slim neck is kept straight with a steel reinforcing rod. The action is fast. Description from VintageSilvertones.com
PICKUPS:
The two DeArmond single-coil pickups are very clean sounding, strong, and smooth. The neck pickup has a smooth, warm, deep, tight jazzy sound. The bridge pickup is a bit more edgy with a twang. There is a volume and a tone knob for each pickup and a three way selector on a black & white diamond shaped mount to choose the neck, bridge or both pickups. Using the tone and volume for each pickup and the selector you can access a wide variety of sounds suitable for a myriad of musical styles. But, I can’t help but think of The Byrds 12 string tone when strumming this guiar. The pots and toggle sound clean. Description from VintageSilvertones.com
The Dimensions are:
Overall length: 42.25″
Body width: 16″Description from VintageSilvertones.com
Body thickness: 2″ with neck 2.375″
Scale: 24″Description from VintageSilvertones.com
Width of the nut: 1.72″ (depth: 1″ approximately)
String height at 12th fret: 0.0984″
Weight: 6.1 poundsDescription from VintageSilvertones.com
Here’s the original description from the 1967 Harmony catalog:
No. H79. Harmony’s Finest 12 String Electric Guitar — Ultra Thin Hollow Body…Double Cutaway DeArmond Electronics.
The skills of Harmony craftsman in building the widely acclaimed Harmony 12 string acoustical guitars have been employed to develop this outstanding Electric model. “Slim Line” neck with slotted headpiece design and horizontally mounted machine heads. Can be tuned to regular guitar pitch. Short scale — 24 1/4 in. length from nut to bridge saddle Careful workmanship enters into every detail of fingerboard and body, inlays and edge bindings. The finish is in a richly polished burgundy red. Designed in a cooperation with DeArmond, and fully guaranteed, the advance dual pickups and 5 controls assure a wealth of choice of musical sounds and effects. Size 15 3/4 x 41. Rim 2 in. deep……$249.50
No. C79–Carrying Case, keratol, plush lined…….$27.00Description from VintageSilvertones.com
NOTE: 12 String guitars have the strings arranged in 6 pairs. Identical strings in the first pair (E) and 2nd pair (B) are tuned alike, in unison. The other four pairs (G, D, A E) consist of strings which are tuned an octave apart. The result is a rich haunting tone with fascinates listeners.Description from VintageSilvertones.com
