1956 Silvertone H-42 Stratotone Newport, Harmony USA Vintage Electric Guitar Sunshine Yellow

Up for sale, a 1956 Silvertone-branded Harmony Stratotone H-42 Newport in excellent condition and in perfect working order. Arguably rarer than the Harmony-branded iteration, this guitar is the only Stratotone model to feature Silvertone's Art Deco holdover logo from the '40s, denoting that this guitar was made by Harmony for the Sears Catalog and their exclusive line of Silvertone-branded instruments. Finished in Sunshine Yellow and featuring aluminum "Harmometal" trim, the H-42 Newport is very similar in its construction and tonal intent to the H-44, boasting neck through body construction and a smooth, powerful sound. This model was only produced for a few short years in the mid-50s and is notably rarer than the H-44 too. Via the single neck position "Hershey Bar" pickup and concentric Volume/Tone knob, the sound is smooth yet hot, with a cutting, sparkling top end that responds equally well to a pick or fingerpicking. Strummed acoustically, the guitar offers a rich and wooly acoustic tone with a nice top end snap. This Stratotone weighs only 4lbs 12oz. Freshly dialed in by our techs here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Harmony features a particularly straight neck and comfortable action, currently strung with roundwound 10-46 strings. The neck has a deep and substantial U shaped profile, measuring .925" deep at the 1st fret and an eye-popping 1.185" at the 12th. It's a meaty handful that chords easily and is essential to the sustain and power of the neck through body design. On the thick slab Brazilian rosewood fretboard, the guitar features the original slender frets, freshly leveled and crowned. The frets have perfectly rounded crowns and show zero wear, playing cleanly in every register. The scale length is 25 1/4", and the nut is the original hand-carved piece of bone measuring 1 3/4" in width. The original silkscreen graphics on the headstock face are quite well preserved, and the stock open-gear tuning machines are intact too, with original white buttons and uniform patina on the tuner strips. The simple electronics work as intended, with the original Hershey Bar pickup with gleaming chrome cover wired to a single concentric Volume/Tone knob and small two-way Tone switch. The solder joints are untouched with a large original paper-in-oil tone cap and CentraLab stacked pot which dates to the 10th week of '56. The stock pickguard is intact too, as is the original dyed maple bridge with fretwire saddle. The action currently sits at 6/64" at both the bass and treble sides at the 12th fret, easily playable in every register. The nitro lacquer Sunshine Yellow finish is 100% original with no touchup or overspray, framed by the original Harmometal binding and gasket. Cosmetic wear is limited to palm wear on the neck profile, primarily on the shoulders behind frets 1-5, and some additional minor chips, nicks, and shallow dings on the body as a whole, mostly relegated the back. Easily one of the rarest and most sought after Harmony models ever produced, the H-42 Stratotone Newport is lightweight, tonally potent, and a visual knockout with Harmometal binding.