1960s Harmony H1265 Sovereign Deluxe Jumbo Guitar

A fella from Florida reached-out to me and asked if I wanted to buy this Sovereign. Yessir! These H1265 models, with their giant asymmetrical pickguards, are hard to find and everyone wants one.  They've got the look and they've got a bit of a Gibson J-45 tone about them, though maybe a little more airy and open. This guy came all original and unmolested -- to a point -- as well.

The usual work was needed -- a neck reset, fret level/dress, minor pickguard regluing, some crack repairs, etc. -- but after work, it plays perfectly and is good to go. It's got a big, warm, full sound and a big, round, C-shaped neck to match it. It's missing a factory date-stamp but these were basically just built in '67 and '68 and this one doesn't have the '68-style logo on the pickguard, so I'm assuming it's a '67.

Like all of these, it's solid wood throughout with mahogany back and sides, a ladder-braced spruce top, mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard and bridge. The (new) saddle in the adjuster gizmo is bone.

Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, minor repair to binding at the fretboard extension (it was cracked), new bone saddle, pickguards partial reglue job, hairline crack repair to the treble side where an old electric jack hole was located, and seam separation on the other side of the lower bout to the top/back where it looks like it got bumped... oh, and plus setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid mahogany

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 54w-12 lights

Neck shape: medium-big C

Board radius: ~10"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-lower

Scale length: 25 1/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Body width: 16 1/8"

Body depth: 4 3/8"

Weight: 4 lbs 5 oz

Condition notes: it has a ~11" repaired tight hairline crack to the treble side on the lower bout that's not at all obvious (hard to photo, even) and cleated on the inside. There's also a couple of short hairline cracks on the bass side in the same position and some seam-separation repair in the same area -- it looks like it got bumped. There's one hairline crack on the back in the same area. All of this stuff is no issue, but I want to be up-front about it. Otherwise, it's really in fantastic shape. A lot of these are pretty beat! The bridge pins and endpin, saddle, and heel cap are replacements but otherwise the guitar is original. The celluloid binding at the fretboard extension had some chip-out/cracking and I reglued the loose sections, too. There's plenty of saddle height and it's adjustable up/down to taste. aside from mild pickwear and some dulling to the finish in spots, it's pretty clean in the finish, too. The headstock veneer has shrunk a bit as well, which is normal.

It comes with: no case, sorry, but I know the brand to order in hardshell to fit these.