1965 Holiday (Harmony Rocket) Hollowbody Electric Guitar

Everything about this guitar is your classic Harmony Rocket in cherry finish save the "Holiday" branding at the headstock. It has a 1965 date stamp in the bass-side f-hole and it's all-original save the replacement pickguard.

Rockets are quirky guitars -- like most Harmony products -- but very cool nonetheless. The DeArmond single coil (goldfoil) pickups are rip-roaring aggressive and fun to push into breakup. They can sound pretty "whirlwind-y" when pushed hard.

The necks have a non-tapered shape with a short, 24 1/8" scale length. That means that the left hand's stretches are about the same as on a Fender Jaguar or Mustang, though the side-to-side string spread doesn't change when you go up the neck. I tend to like these guitars for chord-playing more than lead work because of this but everyone's different -- I know a number of folks who can completely rock-out on these sorts of necks.

Other things? It looks great, the diamond around the 3-way switch is cool as heck, and the original cupcake knobs are a nice touch, too. I originally planned to cut a replacement pickguard out of an old Santa Claus picture (I mean, it's branded Holiday up there and it's colors are red and white), but that turned-out funky so I made this alternative out of repro-style thin tortoise instead. It's not perfect but it gets the job done.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, bridge compensation, cleaning, side dots, replacement pickguard, and setup.

Body wood: ply maple

Bridge: ebonized mysterywood

Fretboard: ebonized mysterywood

Neck wood: poplar

Pickups: 2x original DeArmond Rowe goldfoil single-coils

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10

Neck shape: medium C/D

Board radius: 10"

Truss rod: non-djustable

Neck relief: teensy relief tuned to pitch (stable)

Fret style: medium-low

Scale length: 24 1/8"

Nut width: 1 3/4"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 2" + arching

Weight: 6 lbs 3 oz

Condition notes: it's overall in good shape with minor wear/tear showing in the body via smaller scratches, nicks, and dings. It's honestly pretty dang clean for its age. It's also all-original except for new side dots and a replacement pickguard (cut to the same shape as the originals, at least). The wiring was a little scratchy in the pots until I sprayed them out and is good to go at the moment.

It comes with: an original chip case.