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Available now & Ready to go! - complete with set of photos after restoration completed!

COMPLETED & SOLD! - to a many times repeat VTG buyer!
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Over the years I have sold a good number of examples of both the All Solid Mahogany H165, and the Harmony H162....the Spruce topped equivalent....a while ago an H162 went to Dave Beckett - Acoustic Blues & Roots - http://www.deebeeblues.com/....who came all the way up here from Surrey to try it out, and went back with the H162 and also a nice little 1930s Harmony parlor. He was very happy with the H162, and last I heard had fitted an L R Baggs pickup & was gigging with it.I am always keen to be able to offer examples of either model....two of my favourite guitars.

This same model, All Mahogany Harmony H165 was at one time one of the weapons of choice for Lightnin' Hopkins......see the embedded YouTube video clip of him playing one! Indeed an earlier buyer of one of my restored H165s left the following feedback - "Without doubt the best guitar I've ever played and Oh boy have I played some"!

Stock Number: VTG1552.

A classic Harmony H165 Flattop Acoustic Guitar, made in Chicago, from All Solid Mahogany, Top, Back and Sides. The usual inside ink date stamp is visible, showing S-70, therefore made in one of the 1970 production runs. During that year the model changed to the H165-1, with detailing alterations, so this is one of the last of the well-known and loved H165 model in it's original form......one of Harmony's longest running iconic models, first made as far back as 1944, and part of the "family" of Harmony models which also includes the Spruce/Mahogany H162, OM size or "Grand Concert", as Harmony labelled them, both beloved of many bluesmen of the time, for there sound quality and sheer playability, including Lightnin' Hopkins on a similar H165.....see YouTube clips!

With it's original eggshell finish, the components all appear original, from the last couple of years production which were the only ones to have a factory fitted adjustable trussrod, as opposed to the non-adjustable Steel Reinforcement Bar fitted to earlier models, and also has original "bootlace" tuner bushings/ferrules, which were only factory fitted from the late 1960s. The Solid Mahogany top has some very nice grain and figured markings, as do the Solid Mahogany back and sides. The fingerboard and string-through bridge are of the highest quality Rosewood available at the time of production.

I am very enthusiastic about this family of Harmony guitars, which I think rival many far more exalted and expensive USA made acoustics in terms of tone, volume and sheer playability - an ideal addition to any collection of blues/vintage guitars!

Brief schedule of restoration work completed:

Overall, general & cosmetic condition is considered to be as good as you will find on a 50+ year old vintage acoustic guitar. Inevitably there is superficial and local slight marking and small chips, but all really minimal for a guitar of it's age. The original tuners show only a little age-related discolouration, and work fine. Original dark tortoiseshell pattern scratchplate is intact, with typical light play wear marking.

Close inspection of the guitar, along with the top-flight professional luthier I work with, revealed nothing too difficult to readily correct, and indeed a fairly minimal restoration, as they go. It does appear that the neck joint has indeed already been reset, the neck angle appears good, the fingerboard gave just a little more relief than is needed, and very little play wear is visible to the frets or the Rosewood fingerboard. The neck reset appears to have been competently done & is confirmed to be entirely stable after a good number of months settling time.

The action was just a little higher than desired....not hugely so, but the principle reason for that is the rather tall bridge. This bridge is original, but does not have the twin factory-fitted bridge bolts, characteristic of these bridges for so many years, but omitted at the end of the production period for these very long-produced guitars.....a very nice coloured piece of Rosewood, and is the string through type always fitted in H165s & a few other Harmony models.

What at first glance appears to be a very slight "shaping" of the top, was in fact associated with a very slight forward lean on the tall bridge. Examination of the bracing & bridge patch under the top indicated that all is securely in place, so we concluded that the bridge design and height are the issue....not that a tall bridge, giving better break-angle over the saddle, is not entirely desirable. This has been addressed by fitting a JLD Bridge System unit obtained from StewMac, which has not only given a noticeably, if slight, better profile to the top and bridge, but will also ensure the stability of the bridge.

To complete the work, although in good condition the existing (probably not original) frets were removed, the quality Rosewood fingerboard releveled, to achieve the small alignment adjustment that gave the action required, maintaining original 14" radius, and new frets have been installed, stoned/levelled, re-profiled, and dressed, following which the truss rod re-adjusted, before re-stringing and completing the set-up.

The only further replacement is the accurate reproduction truss rod cover in the original design, fitted as the original was cracked.

When properly set-up these guitars always play very well, with a comfortable "C" profile neck and following the work outlined, the guitar has been set-up with excellent action of around 3mm. at the 12th fret. It has the standard Harmony 1.75"/44.5mm. width Nut, and 25.25"/641mm. scale length. It is strung with a set of Martin Bronze Light 12-54 strings.

There is no original case with the guitar to be included, but it has been supplied with Hiscox Liteflite STD-AC hard case at modest additional cost.