Buying Harmony Stella need opinions/advice

[gfirob]

Waterloo's are based on the Kalamazoo KG-14 from the 1930's, ladder-braced and made by Gibson. At least the first of the series were, I think.

[LemonCats]

I only wish waterloo made 12 string ladder-braced models!!!!! They seem to be the only company making ladder braced options out there nowadays. If anyone from waterloo is reading this you guys should totally come out with a 12 string model!
Besides these harmony 12 strings it looks like the only ladder braced 12 string options out there are custom built replicas from certain luthiers (hauver and fraulini) but will cost you atleast $3,000. Yikes!

[joe paul]

I've had the pleasure of hearing and playing some Harmony era and Oscar Schmidt era 12 strings, and they are great. They have a sound that no other guitars can get you - except a new Fraulini, that's true.
So good luck on your quest. If you're not in a hurry, I'd say get in touch with Jake Wildwood, a luthier who works putting vintage guitars back into good playing shape. Here's a link to his site :

https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com

He has a system where you he lists guitars he has waiting for work before they go on sale and you can, looks like two 60s Harmony 12s there at the moment.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by phcorrigan

I should rephrase that. Leadbelly played a Stella because it was the most affordable guitar at the time. The Harmony was a much nicer guitar. I loved my Harmony Sovereign until it met an untimely demise!

Builders and distributors such as Regal, Harmony, Tonk Bros., Bruno, and others offered 12 string guitars in the 1930s. Leadbelly's Stella was a custom-built high-end Sovereign jumbo which he ordered in NYC from a master luthier and foreman of the Schmidt shop. Leadbelly later added the white pickguard. The cheaper Schmidt 12 strings would have been the Stella concerts such as Barbecue Bob played. Harmony followed the same business model as Schmidt with the Stellas being the cheapest guitars and Sovereigns being the high end instruments up to the introduction of the Opus line in the early 1970s.

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

Builders and distributors such as Regal, Harmony, Tonk Bros., Bruno, and others offered 12 string guitars in the 1930s. Leadbelly's Stella was a custom-built high-end Sovereign jumbo which he ordered in NYC from a master luthier and foreman of the Schmidt shop. Leadbelly later added the white pickguard. The cheaper Schmidt 12 strings would have been the Stella concerts such as Barbecue Bob played. Harmony followed the same business model as Schmidt with the Stellas being the cheapest guitars and Sovereigns being the high end instruments up to the introduction of the Opus line in the early 1970s.

I stand corrected.

[drive-south]

Originally Posted by LemonCats

I only wish waterloo made 12 string ladder-braced models!!!!! They seem to be the only company making ladder braced options out there nowadays. If anyone from waterloo is reading this you guys should totally come out with a 12 string model!
Besides these harmony 12 strings it looks like the only ladder braced 12 string options out there are custom built replicas from certain luthiers (hauver and fraulini) but will cost you atleast $3,000. Yikes!

There are builders making ladder braced guitars. Mike Hauver, Todd Cambio (Fraulini), and in the UK Ralph Bown. There are others. Del Arte also made some.

[Silly Moustache]

Back to the subject of Harmony H1270s. I've just been reminded of this guy's name - Mike Russo, and what he could do on one.

[bisco1]

I’ve owned a 912, 2 922’s, and currently have an H1270 that I don’t plan on ever selling. ALL Harmony guitars of that era either have had neck set already or need one now. The good news is they are an easy reset and fairly cheap. The 912’s and 922’s both have a flat fretboard and have, IMHO, a thin, uninspiring tone, with 922 being superior due to the beefier neck, which I liked. The H1270 is major league in every way, has a radiused fretboard, and after a proper setup, plays as easy as many 6 strings. I highly recommend them. For a good primer on 12strings, take a look at Neil Harpe’s “12 String Summit” on YouTube. Good luck!

[phcorrigan]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Back to the subject of Harmony H1270s. I've just been reminded of this guy's name - Mike Russo, and what he could do on one.

Thanks for posting this. I've never heard Mike Russo before. Part One of this video has him playing a six-string Martin. He's no slouch on that one either!

[phcorrigan]

Is there any way to delete a duplicate post?

[joe paul]

I stumbled across this documentary about Lead Belly last week, and it's a wonderful introduction to his music if you've never listened to him before.
His 12-string playing is just phenomenal, and the sound he got from his guitars....! With him and Blind Willie McTell, Stella 12 strings are magic.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by LemonCats

I only wish Waterloo made 12 string ladder-braced models!!!!! They seem to be the only company making ladder braced options out there nowadays. If anyone from Waterloo is reading this you guys should totally come out with a 12 string model!
Besides these harmony 12 strings it looks like the only ladder braced 12 string options out there are custom built replicas from certain luthiers (hauver and fraulini) but will cost you at least $3,000. Yikes!

I asked the members of the Collings/Waterloo forum what other models they would like to see built under the Waterloo brand. I also suggested a version of the Stella/Harmony 12 string. (Didn't see much enthusiasm).

[619TF]

Not to completely change the subject but there seems to be so much collective knowledge here about Harmony guitars that I feel like I just have to ask...

I recently received an old Harmony that needs some work. The label inside says it's an H630 but I can't find any info on that model (even on that incredible site linked to on page 1 of this thread).

Any ideas oh Harmony gurus? Thanks in advance!

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by 619TF

Not to completely change the subject but there seems to be so much collective knowledge here about Harmony guitars that I feel like I just have to ask...

I recently received an old Harmony that needs some work. The label inside says it's an H630 but I can't find any info on that model (even on that incredible site linked to on page 1 of this thread).

Any ideas oh Harmony gurus? Thanks in advance!

The H630 was one of the last Stellas offered by Harmony showing up in the early 1970s. There should be a date stamp on the gold foil label or somewhere. These were pretty much a replacement for the H930 which appeared in 1971 and almost identical down to the ADJ adjustable plastic bridge having only slightly different cosmetics.

[gfirob]

This is what Jake Wildwood says about those Harmony 12 strings on his blog site:

"Looking for that big, punchy, brutal Leadbelly sound but don't have the multi-thousands for a true 20s Stella 12 string? Yeah, these will get you really close: with 25 1/4" scale lengths, a big 16" ladder-braced dread-depth body, and a 12-fret neck joint they're about the only more "modern" guitar that comes close to the old specs -- and it's still nearly 50 years old.

The caveat is that these play and sound like crud until they're given a neck reset, good setup, and a bridge that's not so crazy and poorly thought-out as the original floating ones. After that's done (as in this case), these will simply knock your socks off with volume, carrying power, thump, and easy action. Those that own tailpiece 12s know how much slinkier the feel is due to the extra string length -- and when the setup is dialed-in "on spec" (3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret) it's fairly effortless to play. Still -- the nut is a hefty 2" and the profile of the neck is a medium D shape -- it's not for everyone!"