1970s Harmony H6583 Jumbo Flattop Guitar

This guitar is very similar to Harmony's Opus XX model, albeit with a simpler bridge and decorations. The Opus line was intended as Harmony's high-grade line and have solid woods throughout with x-bracing (and thus a more refined tone vs their normal ladder bracing) and upgraded trim. This one has the elusive x-bracing and Sovereign-style trim but doesn't have the wild "eagle" (or mustache) bridge shape or big-block inlay and extra binding of the Opus line. It's marked as a model H6583 in the soundhole but is very similar to a Harmony-ized take on a Gibson J-200, though with mahogany for the back and sides.

It's also been entirely refinished, though the "all natural" look is close to factory spec. I wouldn't have really suspected (at a glance) except that the headstock isn't black and has no Harmony logo on it. Along with that refinish (a good job) came some older repairs, too -- a previous neck reset (good job), bridge reglue, refret (I know!), and Kluson Revolution (nice quality) tuners. I added a replacement black pickguard and truss rod cover per a customer's request. Since I saw it last (sometime in 2019), the owner moved-on to other guitars and he dropped this off for consignment. I just needed to adjust the setup and it was ready to go.

Being an x-braced jumbo (full-sized, 17" lower bout) with a slim, speedy neck profile, this guitar is well-suited as a "daily strummer." The fast neck lends itself to barred chords up and down its length and I think of this as the "rock-n-roll" feel in the way that slim Gibson necks from the late '60s are geared towards that playing-style, too. It has a balanced, clean sound and records easily.

A previous owner added a Baggs (I think) undersaddle pickup that has volume control at the soundhole's edge. I can leave that in or take it out as desired, but it does work just fine.

Repairs included: a neck reset and refret with medium stock before my time (but done competently), a new saddle, replacement pickguard and truss-rod cover, older undersaddle pickup install, older refinish job, replacement tuners, minor cleaning, and a setup. I added slots to the saddle to align the strings a little bit more inboard on the neck. Harmony Opus-style models tend to have bridge pin spacing that's too wide from the factory and that's shared on this guitar. If left "normal" the outer strings are almost off the edge of the neck -- so my (easy) solution is to simply slot the top of the saddle to grab the strings and align them correctly.

Setup notes: it plays perfectly with 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE action at the 12th fret and is strung with 54w-12 gauges. The neck is straight, the truss rod works, and the frets are in as-new condition. It plays great!

Scale length: 25 1/8"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

String spacing at nut: 1 3/8"

String spacing at bridge: 2" using saddle slots, 2 3/16" without

Body length: 20 3/8"

Lower bout width: 17"

Waist width: 10 1/4"

Upper bout width: 12 1/2"

Side depth at endpin: 4 3/8"

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid mahogany

Neck wood: mahogany

Bracing type: x-braced

Fretboard: rosewood

Bridge: ebony? w/bone saddle

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

Condition notes: it's refinished and has replacement tuners, pins, and saddle. The bridge may be a copy of the original style, too. It's clean overall but does show only the most minor handling-wear.