1960s Regal 235 (Harmony Sovereign H1260) Jumbo Guitar

I sold this a couple weeks ago and forgot to post on it! That's the rate biz has been going at, I suppose. This "Regal" is yet another iteration of the venerable Harmony H1260 Sovereign jumbo flattop, which can be found under at least a dozen or so brands through the '60s and early '70s.

A customer hand-picked this "as-is" from my racks of instruments in storage after we discussed what might be in his price range and what sound he was looking for. A few weeks after that (as I owed the consignor a "slot" in the repair line) he picked it up all done-up and ready to go. If you've owned one of these fixed-up and playing as they should, you'll know that he had a smile on his face when he was playing it -- these sound full, woody, open, and loud.

The top is solid spruce with ladder bracing and the back and sides are solid mahogany. It has a mahogany neck, ebonized maple (or pearwood?) fretboard, and new rosewood bridge. The mahogany on the back has some nice, light figuring throughout.

Repairs included: a neck reset, new custom bridge (same shape as the original, but with pins and a bone saddle), replacement pickguard, fret level/dress, new saddle, strap button at the heel, and setup.

Setup notes: it plays on-the-dot at 3/32" EA and 1/16" DGBE at the 12th fret. I strung it with normal lights. The neck is straight and the truss rod had a good amount of adjustment room left in it.

Condition notes: general finish-checking and finish-cracking throughout, replacement bridge, pins, saddle, and pickguard...









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Rick VK said…
I have one of these awaiting repairs. I’ve been working on fretted instruments for the past 55+ years, and the Regal Sovereign I have is the only one I’ve seen, and I’ve seen hundreds of the other Harmony branded ones, which have Brazilian rosewood bridges and fingerboards, so I can assume the Regal was a little cheaper, but the guitar is functionally otherwise totally identical. One thing wrong with mine is the ebonized maple bridge self destructed, I think because it was a bad idea using that material for the specific uniquely designed bridges on these things. I like the pin bridge setup you did here. For some weird reason I have a new old stock Brazilian rosewood Harmony Sovereign replacement bridge that’s been in my parts stash since the seventies, and I’m probably going to stick it on my Regal. If I get it right, someone fifty years from now will just think it’s an original wood mismatch from a legendary Chicago sweatshop! I’d love to know how rare this model is, since I’m now looking at only the second one I’ve seen.
February 7, 2026 at 11:34 AM
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