1972 Harmony H6450 Monterey Archtop Electric Guitar

Post updated in 2020 with new description, photos, and video.

I originally worked on this guitar for its owner in 2017 and converted it from its lackluster acoustic archtop self into a "poor man's ES-125" via the install of an Alnico-magnet P90 pickup at the neck, wiring harness, and better setup. I've recently done a bit more to it and now it's a quick-playing roots-rock/rockabilly box that can even handle a little '40s-sounding jazz in a pinch. It really does do the ES-125 thing quite well -- it's got a mids-centric, slightly-raunchy voice that smears beautifully with just a hair of drive on an amp. Chordal ka-chunking sounds really good on something like this.

The instrument itself dates to '72 per a Harmony date stamp on the inside and the body is solid birch throughout. The neck is poplar and both the bridge and fretboard are the usual ebonized mystery hardwood found on Harmony boxes. It's got a red-to-black sunburst finish and the "stripy" lines that look like figured wood are actually painted-on or burned-in at the factory. It has real binding as opposed to the faux (painted) binding one might find on earlier versions of this model.

Because it's so late in the game for Harmony, the neck on this guitar is actually a lot faster than even late-'60s Harmony archtops. It's a medium-C shape and feels close to playing an early-'60s Gibson -- less chunky/D-shaped than the average Harmony but a little thicker than "modern" from the middle of the neck on-up.

Repairs have included: a previous bolt-style neck reset by someone in the past (stable and with the bolts concealed via a fill job at the back of the heel), and then my own work -- a fret level/dress and setup, pickup install (braces weren't cut through), new wiring harness, new nut, and saddle compensation for 3-wound + 3-plain (modern electric) stringing at the bridge.

Setup notes: it plays fast and spot-on with 1/16" overall action at the 12th fret. The neck is straight and there's a bit of adjustment room for the bridge up/down as needed. Strings are normal 46w-10 electric lights.

Scale length: 25 1/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/4"

Body length: 19 1/2"

Lower bout width: 15 3/4"

Side depth at endpin: 3 1/2" +arching

Top wood: solid birch

Back & sides wood: solid birch

Bracing type: tonebar

Fretboard: ebonized mystery-wood

Bridge: ebonized mystery-wood (adjustable)

Neck feel: medium C-shape, ~10" board radius

Neck wood: poplar

Weight: 4 lb 12 oz

Condition notes: there's some usewear in the body but overall it looks good. The heel has a patched area on the rear of it from a previously-installed bolt-style neck reset job. The top is cut to fit the P90 pickup at the neck, but the tonebar bracing is still intact -- just cut lightly to let the pickup fit. Controls and jack are, of course, non-original. It has black "speed knobs" to suit the early-'70s vibe.

It comes with: a decent hard case with some drawings on it (not pictured).