1950s/1970s Frankenstein Harmony/Dobro Biscuit Bridge Resonator Guitar

Overview: This quirky, mixed-guitar beast was made up in Quebec, as I recall the owner telling me. It's built of several instruments and has a refinish job that apes old '30s Dobros in aesthetic. It arrived here with a good sound but with really funky playability but that's been sorted and now it's got great sound and good handling, too.

Tone: It sounds like a woodbody National -- think an old Trojan -- so a bunch of forward punch and snap with low-sustain but warm bottom-end. If you're into old country-blues then this is it, of course.

Feel: The neck is a typical Harmony parlor-guitar-style type -- medium-bigger in heft and flat in the board. It's got a 12-fret joint that pulls the neck closer to your body for a cozy grip on it.

Interesting features: It's got an old Harmony neck on it (he was told it was a Silvertone one and so it probably dates to the '40s or '50s at earliest). It has the usual 24 1/8" scale common to Harmony necks of that ilk so that tracks. The body is, apparently, a '70s Dobro-style that's been modified and it has a full soundwell for a National-style cone fit. It's ply throughout and has a cool-looking new back and headstock veneer on it. It's got no-screens (but bound) soundholes and they look great. The coverplate, tailpiee, biscuit, and cone are new and it's sporting a Continental cone under the hood.

Repairs included: It received a fret level/dress, cone seating and adjustments, side dots, and replacement tuners -- the originals were missing and cheeseball ones were fit so we fit vintage '30s tuners to it instead to capture the look. Jose did most of the work and it's now playing quick and easy and is ready to go. It's setup for fingerpicking/flatpicking height at the moment but can be reconfigured/adjust for higher action slide playing if desired.

• Weight: 5 lbs 7 oz
• Scale length: 24 1/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C/slight V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 13 7/8"
• Body depth: 3 1/2"
• Body: ply
• Cone type: biscuit bridge single cone
• Bridge: ebonized maple or similar
• Fretboard: ebonized maple or similar
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w-12 lights
• Neck relief: hair of relief tuned to pitch
• Fret style: medium/shaved lower near 12th fret and 1st fret

Condition notes: When this arrived, the neck had some relief in it and, while it had been refretted, the job was really funky. Jose wound-up having to seat all of the frets and then level/dress much of their height out of them in frets 1-3 and then also 12-14. It therefore plays just fine but has a more retro feel to its handling than if the frets were crisp and new. As a very-modified guitar, we can't talk much about its originality but it is a good Frankenstein machine.

It comes with: It's got a vintage chip case.

Consignor tag: HKS