1920s Harmony-made Natural Birch Ukulele

This is an ultra-bare-bones, all-birch, simple ukulele from the '20s. Harmony made scads of these and their "rosettes"are even just a simple set of saw cuts in the top and their "fretboards" are, like the Hawaiian ukes of the time, simply the top surface of the neck. They were intended as inexpensive, catalog instruments to serve the onrush of uke-demand customers of the time.

It's unmarked but has all of the usual Harmony construction features of the time. I originally worked on this years ago and my Aunt and I gave it to my cousin to use. It came back here in the usual life shuffle and I've given it a bit more work -- a level/dress of the frets, a few seam repairs, a neck angle adjustment, another replacement 12th fret, and some geared tuners for the headstock -- and now it's a nice, dependable player with an understated look.

While these can be played however you like, I find that most folks enjoy these as strummers or chordal fingerpickers. Their lack of a raised fretboard will annoy finicky players used to a modern string height over the body but those of us who play vintage-style (strumming and picking up at the upper bout or over the neck) will find it right at home. The action is dialed-in low and fast, mind you -- I'm just talking about the distance of the strings above the body in general vs. a modern uke with a taller fretboard.

Repairs included: fret level dress, setup, etc.

Weight: 10 oz

Scale length: 13 1/16"

Nut width: 1 7/16"

Neck shape: medium soft V

Board radius: flat

Body width: 6"

Body depth: 2 3/8"

Top wood: solid birch

Back & sides wood: solid birch

Bracing type: ladder

Bridge: birch

Fretboard: integral

Neck wood: poplar

Action height at 12th fret: bass 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: LaBella Gold Nylon

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: lower/smaller

Condition notes: it's in good order and crack-free. It's all-original save new (geared) tuners and the 12th fret which is a replacement. There's light wear and tear throughout the finish but overall it looks good.

It comes with: sorry, no case.