Up for sale, a 1959 Harmony Meteor H70, complete with a molded hardshell case. Harmony's premier thinline hollowbody model, the Meteor features a spruce top and maple back and rims, and a "baseball bat" C-shaped neck carved capped by a bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard. Harmony Meteors would also find their way into the hands of Keith Richards and Dave Davies early in their respective careers.
Acoustically, the guitar offers tons of natural projection and a detailed bark. And plugged in, the DeArmond-made gold foil pickups have a distinctive balance and percussie clarity. The pickups have a cutting twang, tight bass, and a harmonically-rich midrange that sounds great when each pickup is singled out or when paired together. Both pickups have strong output, and when mated with the fully hollow body and spruce/maple tonewood combination, the sound benefits from both the immediate attack of the maple and the warmth and fullness of the hollow construction. Featherweight at 6lbs 1oz, this H70 has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 roundwound strings, low action, and accurate intonation.
Neck Specs:
-Wood: Maple
-Shape: "Baseball bat" C, measuring .915” 1st fret, .950” 9th fret
-Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, block inlay
-Frets: Slender, leveled and crowned, virtually no wear
-Scale Length: 24 1/4”
-Nut: 1 3/4”, bone
-Tuners: StewMac Golden Age Restoration open-gear
Body Specs:
-Wood: Spruce, Maple
-Pickups: DeArmond gold foil x2, Rowe Industries foil stickers on baseplates
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Three-way pickup selector
-Hardware: Brazilian rosewood bridge (bone saddle insert) and pickup risers, trapeze tailpiece
-Plastics: Cupcake knobs, four-ply tortoise pickguard, amber switch tip (replacement)
There is a professionally-addressed centerline split on the back, and the two-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer finish exhibits vertical checking, with limited finish loss along the rims. Cosmetic wear is limited to a few small finish chips on top, faint buckle rash on the back central to the lower bout, and a few finish scratches on the body as a whole. The gloss on the neck profile has a bit of checking, with a few chips central to the carve behind frets 2-3.
A modern molded hardshell case is included.