Rugeley, United Kingdom
About this listing
________________________________________________________*** VINTAGE & TRADITIONAL GUITARS *** - 28/05/2026.________________________________________________________ACOUSTIC BLUES, JAZZ & SWING VINTAGE ARCHTOP - HARMONY MONTEREY H950 CHICAGO, USA, LATE 1940s/EARLY 1950s, MAPLE TOP, BIRCH BACK & SIDES - Completed Professional Restoration/Partial Rebuild, including Professionally made & fitted Replacement Arched Top & replacement StewMac Golden Age Restoration tuners.______________________________________________________Stock Number: VTG1402.*** In addition to the following description notes, further background information and restoration details can be found on my Vintage & Traditional Guitars website, page A5.*** Superb classic Harmony Archtop Acoustic Guitar, the most popular model from the long-produced Monterey range, originating from around 1937 through to the early '70s, and the "Family" of Harmony archtops, again commencing in the late 1930s, including the Broadway, Master and Cremona models. *** Model: Monterey H950: see VTG website page indicated above for further details and link to the archived Harmony Guitars Database details on the model.*** Date: Usual Harmony ink date stamp is not visible on this guitar, but I believe that the the headstock name decal style was in use on Monterey models during the second half of the 1940s, into the 1950s....indeed the archived Harmony Guitars Database shows photos of this style headstock attributed to Monterey H950s dating from 1944 to 1957.*** Construction: Original Solid Birch to the Back & Sides. Professionally made Replacement Top fitted is made from 3-ply Maple, therefore with very similar appearance and sound characteristics (in The USA sellers frequently refer to Birch built guitars as Maple!)....see Condition section below! *** Scale Length: 25 1/4"/642mm. Nut Width: 1 3/4"/44.5mm.*** "Auditorium" Size Body - 15 3/4" - for full dimensions please see description details in my Vintage & Traditional Guitars website.*** Following completion of restoration of this fully playable archtop guitar with the character that can only come from a true vintage guitar.*** Original 1940s/1950s archtop, brought back to life with new professionally purpose-made Maple arched top to replace the original which had damage cracking, beyond repair, and the restoration of a standard Harmony wooden floating bridge from original parts, in place of the metal tune-a-matic it came with.*** Restoration Details: A full and lengthy description of the expert restoration work/partial rebuild carried out by leading luthier, Colin Keefe, together with the history of fittings and renewals is detailed in the description notes to the listing in my Vintage & Traditional Guitars website....please do ensure that you read this information fully, or request further information, before purchase.*** Whilst the full details are on the VTG website, I should just say that the luthier's expert work included fitting the new top, with new binding fitted, as near as is possible match the original, but the red sunburst is smaller, sort of vintage Gibson style, without the original "faux flame" of course, and to me looks just the ticket! Some past applied over-finish to the sides has been removed and made good....another great job by the luthier, as you will see in the updated photos.*** In addition the neck joint has been reset, fingerboard levelled & refretted, original fittings retained where possible, but replacement StewMac Golden Age Nickel Restoration tuners fitted....a drop in replacement for the original machines.*** The new purpose-made and fitted top is a Maple/Spruce/Maple quality laminate, which the luthier is confident will enhance the sound of this guitar, rather than the opposite. Some reading research will confirm that there is an established, well-recorded and well approved history of the use of such quality laminates in archtop guitars, by principal makers, including historically Gibson, and pre-Gibson Epiphone made guitars.*** Additional bridge height has been provided for the adjusted neck angle, giving improved string break angle over the bridge but on the current thumb wheel settings gives a really good action at 12th. fret, at around 2.5mm./3mm.....would go lower, but not needed for a vintage archtop. Strung with Newtone Strings Double Wound Archtop Series jazz guitar strings 12-54.*** No case included, but I may offer a limited choice of case or gig bag options.*** Courtesy of the indispensable Jake Wildwood, we have the embedded clip entitled "1950s Harmony H950 Monterey archtop guitar", plus in my Vintage & Traditional Guitars website the Additional Link #1 to the corresponding article in Jake's excellent blogspot resource.Please do fully research the details provided on my VTG website, which includes additional links to archived Harmony Guitars Database page, etc., and contact me for any further information in order to fulfil your purchase.Thank you, Bob Chaffer, Vintage & Traditional Guitars.---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Price£699
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