1969 Fender 1070 (Harmony H1270) Jumbo 12-String Guitar

Overview: This is a Fender-branded version of a Harmony H1270 Sovereign 12-string. The "nice differences" include a solid (vs. slotted) headstock, cool celluloid tortoise headstock veneer, Fender-style pickguard of the same material, and a mustache bridge. It also uses the higher-quality tailpiece found on the earlier H1270s vs. latter-era H1270s from when this one was made.

Interesting features: Internally, it's the same as an H1270 -- with a jumbo-dreadnought, lightly-ladder-braced body. The top is solid spruce and the back and sides are solid mahogany. The tailpiece design mixed with this light body gives these guitars a big, warm, Leadbelly-esque sound and this one sounds particularly woody and warm, even-so! The Fender details (check out the tuners, too) give it that extra bit of "oh, cool" to brag about, too.

Repairs included: A lot of work was needed on this fella. It got a neck reset, fret level/dress, new fully-compensated bone saddle, downpressure bar added to the bridge, cleaning, and setup work. It also had a hairline break (not all the way through) where the neck meets the headstock, with the grain, that we clamped and glued-up. I did some of the work and Jose did most of it. The end result is a powerful, quick-playing guitar (well, save for the fact that the neck is on the bigger side) that's ready to go.

• Weight: 5 lbs 5 oz
• Scale length: 25 1/8"
• Nut width: 2"
• Neck shape: medium-bigger D
• Board radius: 10"
• Depth at first fret: 63/64"
• Depth at seventh fret: 1 1/32"
• Body width: 6 1/8"
• Body depth: 4 1/4"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: rosewood
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: hair over 1/16" bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 47w-10 standard light/extra lights
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium/lower

Condition notes: It has a bit of a headstock repair (not a full break, just hairline cracks on the sides near the join). There's mild wear and tear via scratches, scuffs, nicks, and dings throughout the body, though I didn't find any cracks. It's original save for the saddle and carbon-fiber downpressure bar I added on the back of the bridge. Because of the way the tailpiece is made (with center-mount stringing), it's hard for the strings to get the right downpressure on the saddle to keep notes clean when the instrument is played hard, so this was a way of both adding a little extra downpressure and giving it a tonal bump as well. In addition, the five screws now holding both the bridge in position and the downpressure bar on keep the bridge in the proper place for good intonation, too. The heel cap is also missing.

It comes with: It has some sort of case, as I recall, though it's nothing fancy.

Consignor tag: MULK