Even mass-produced guitars of the 60s were built way better than many of the guitars that would come out of the 1970s and 80s. So getting back to why I love these guitars, it’s mostly because I think it speaks to the American industry of the post war era that these guitars all stand the test of time. Guitars like Harmony, Danelectro, and Kay, were built in such huge quantities that they can still be had for bargains here and there. Many guitar stores seem to think some Harmony guitars should cost as much as a comparable Gibson or Fender, and that’s just delusional. If you see a Harmony at a high price, just wait around and you’ll see another soon enough at a lower price. What’s nice about most Harmony guitars is that the company made SO MANY GUITARS! I’d bet Harmony outproduced Gisbon and Fender COMBINED in any given year or month in the 1960s. ![]() He used to have this Rocket hanging in his shop and every time I went over there I’d bug him to borrow it! All those cupcake knobs and gold pickups just spoke to me, like PLAY ME!!! And that’s what I do! It’s always a joy to buy one of Dano’s guitars because he just dials these suckers in! This one came in the original case and was barely played in the 50 odd years it’s been around. He has a HUGE guitar collection and had a few Harmony guitars in the stable. ![]() This particular guitar I bought from Dave D’Amelio (aka Dano) a few years back. This Rocket doesn’t have a truss rod, but it does have a robust neck which is proudly “Steel Reinforced.” The 1960 catalog describes the necks as “Ultra-Slim”, but most players today might find them pretty darn chunky! The neck isn’t very wide though, it just fills the palm if that makes any sense. And I just dig instruments that are on the verge of exploding at any moment!Īll hardware and components are of good American quality and hold up well over the years. Hands down! These little Indox pups are hot as hell and all read out in the 9k-10k range! The guitar itself is only about 2″ deep but it is fully hollow, and the pickups are so hot the guitar just wants to take off when any bit of dirt is introduced to the mix. They’re built pretty well for mass produced instruments, and even though the DeArmond “Indox” pickups were cheap (cost-wise) pickups, they still hold up to any music you can throw at ’em! In fact, my favorite pickups of all time are the various 50s/60s DeArmonds and Valcos. Now if you’ve been reading my posts, you’ve probably figured out that I just love masonite, plastic, and plywood, but these Rockets sport some nice features for a “beginner’s” guitar. But the badass Rocket featured a stripped down style and more knobs than an oven! Harmony had guitars for just about every price range, and priced guitars according to features like neck inlays, hardware, and adornments (like headstock overlays). Of course, this semi-comparible Harmony version could be had for $135.50 in 1960 and the price only rose slightly over the years to $154.50 in 1964. The Beatles had landed in America, most every kid in the USA wants an electric guitar, and the Harmony Company churns out more instruments than anyone! Salad days! These Rockets were often called the “poor man’s Switchmaster”, referring to the Gibson ES-5 high end jazz guitar. ![]() ![]() By 1966 the pickups changed and a truss rod was in the neck, but alas, those changes would be short lived as the Rocket series would soon be put on the shelf, and the Harmony company would stagger into the 1970s before finally closing the proverbial doors for good in 1975.īut for now, let’s get back to the early 60s. These were sort-of bare bones rock machines aimed at the intermediate to beginner guitarist, and they just flat out BALL!!! Originally, all the Rockets came in sunburst, but in 1963 the redburst guitars became available, and this one right here is from that first run of reds. The Harmony Rocket series guitars had a pretty good run from 1960 to about 1967. Sort of buried on page 6 of the 1960 Harmony catalog, sat a new line of thin cutaway guitars that I just LOVE.
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