1971 Harmony Sovereign H1203 000-Size Flattop Guitar (X-Braced Mod)

This guitar was converted to x-bracing, refretted, re-bridged, and refinished on the back and sides by Moonlight Luthiers in the summer of 2018. After I did a bit of work to get its playability spot-on, I find it has a sound roughly-comparable to an x-braced '60s Gretsch Jimmie Rodgers. It sacrifices a little bit of volume compared to the Gretsch and also has that ever-present, midsy-chunk Harmony-ness to it. I like it, but it's definitely not a Gibson or a Martin. It's got a woody, grrr-ish sound that makes it endearing.

The upgrade to modern frets (on the already-modern, slim neck) and a pin-style bridge done by Moonlight are, to me, much more substantial to enjoying the guitar than the bracing change -- which is more a sonic shift-over rather than a night/day "wow-factor" difference compared to ladder-bracing. It's a shift that will suit average strummers and flatpickers a lot more, though!

Work included: a minor fret level/dress, setup, and restring. It's got gauges 54w, 42w, 32w, 24w, 16, 12 on it, the neck is straight, the truss rod works, and action is spot-on at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret.

Scale length: 25 1/8"
Nut width: 1 13/16"
String spacing at nut: 1 1/2"
String spacing at saddle: 2 5/16"

Body length: 19 1/8"
Lower bout width: 15 1/4"
Upper bout width: 11 5/8"

Side depth at endpin: 3 3/4"

Top wood: solid spruce
Back/sides wood: solid mahogany
Neck wood: mahogany
Fretboard: rosewood

Neck shape: 10-12" radius on the board, slim-C/D rear profile

Bridge: rosewood replacement

Nut: bone replacement

Saddle: bone replacement

Condition notes: the original finish on the top and neck look good, but the refinish job on the back is a a little dull/satin. The sides look a lot like original finish but aren't. They've either been refinished or topcoated at the same time as the back. The fretboard appears to be original (but reshaped), though the binding on the side of the neck is replaced. The tuners are also replaced and look like older large-plate Klusons from the '60s -- maybe new-old-stock?

It comes with: a nice, newer hard case. There's a little discoloration on its exterior but it's otherwise in good shape.

The maple heel cap is also non-original.