I have a friend who was a hearing aid test engineer. This reminded me of what he had to say about the condition of some of the customer hearing aids that he got back for service - how caked up with earwax they were. Also, I remember the day I cleaned my Silvertone (Harmony) Bobkat's fingerboard the first time. There was a point when I reached wood, and I actually wondered if I'd wrecked some kind of finish it was meant to have! It was about 20 years old at the time (2 years in my possession). The years of grime actually had a kind of smoothing effect as I played, and I missed it once it was gone. The rosewood underneath was indeed rough. I think the previous owner ate KFC each time before playing it. (I wasn't any better - as a teenager I tried lubricating the tuning gears with corn oil. It's oil, right? I don't know if I ever got all of that gunk out. I didn't take college chemistry until ~8 years later, and one day in lecture I actually had a light bulb go off in my head about the old Silvertone tuners!)
I laughed out loud when you showed that tuner. And that dirt! Ted - I have you in part to thank that I got an open seam on my cello reglued all by myself. The nearest violin instrument luthier is 500 km away, and even the local guitar guys have the tendency to be loose canons (after two older techs retired) so there's no one I would trust not to reach for the Titebond if something goes sideways. So I bought clamps and a pallet knife at StewMac, and my cello luthier gave me step-by-step instructions by email. Having watched you glue so many things I was reasonably confident I could do it. By the light of the day, it's a pretty messy glue job, and I'll go at it with hot water and paper towels again, but the difference to the sound is enormous and I'm glad I've got it stabilized.
I've got a '67 just like that. Made it into a bit more reliable working guitar by putting on Grover tuners, a modified ABR-1 bridge with re-grooved saddles which allows for real intonation adjustment. The bridge pickup was not functional, so I shoe-horned a Duncan mini humbucker into the bridge pickup housing - it fit nearly perfectly. The guitar rocks hard, always inspirational. It has mega-mojo, maybe due to the fact it was built on Valentines Day of '67. Love watching these repair vids, Ted - you are a wealth of information!
Oh man!! I loved that colour on a guitar until now. Thanks Ted. I'll never be able to enjoy that shade of guitar tint without a brutal craving for grilled cheese to boot.
Ted I very much enjoyed this repair, not least for the laughter, which seemed to have a tinge of maniacal fatigue underneath it, and possibly a solvent element too. Hope you're OK.
Hey Ted, I just wanted to say that I owe you a debt of gratitude. I am a guitar tech out of Windsor Ontario, and your videos have given me the confidence to take in cosmetic and structural repairs. I am now performing repairs for resale on high end instruments. It is tedious work, but the margins are improving as my skills improve. Your calm demeanor and your patience is inspiring. Thank you so much for your contribution to the craft! Best wishes, Jason P.
My Harmony Rocket also has those weird crossgrain scratches on the fingerboard. I always assumed it was due to some ham fisted previous owner trying to sand off some clearcoat or something. I'm glad to hear that was standard factory workmanship.
CRC electromotive spray is another good electronics cleaner. As a bonus, the stuff is good for killing roaches! Seriously, you spray them with it and they instantly convulse and die.
In 1965, it was my first electric guitar at 14 years old. A Harmony Rocket by Heathkit. Had to solder all the wiring and poke it through the f holes. Installed the tuners, pickguard, tail piece and neck. I bought it for $120 and sold it a few years later for $25 because I wanted a 12 string guitar. Days of folk music you know. I have regretted selling it since.
vintage Harmonys are seriously underrated ,i got 2 in my collection a 59 Hollywood and 67 H941 ,I LOVE that one ... fantastic job as always keeping these vintage beauts playing :D
And now I have Elton John caterwauling in my head. I wish these vids were longer. It's always a pleasure to hear your wit and banter while you work your mad skills. Cheers, Ted!!
I have a '61 Harmony Master. No adjustable truss rod. Did a neck reset, & corrected a slight upward bow with pressure clamps and heat lamp, replaced & dressed a few frets here and there, repaired two cracks near f-holes with cleats, glue, & lacquer. Then I replaced crummy machine heads with original 50's Gib J-45 deluxe (perfect fit. Strung it with nylon core acoustic, and keep it mostly in open G ... and Bobs your uncle. Doesn't have any domestic dispute damage anymore either
I’m partial to the Harmony Bobkats and the Silhouettes with the Hagstrom-style tailpieces. I’ve noticed at recent shows that the prices are trending WAY UP for guitars that were undesirable just a few years ago. I saw Scott Sharrard backing Gregg Allman in Cincinnati shortly before Gregg passed away playing a Harmony Bobkat set up for slide. He said that he purchased it for less than $200, but the prices shot up as soon as people saw him playing it. Eventually all of the cheap guitars of our youth are going to become overpriced “vintage” models. Grab ‘em while you can!
@@robotsongs I’m sure you are correct, but the only St. Vincent I follow is St. Vincent de Paul. There will probably be others who favor this great little guitar and contribute to the increasing prices.
For projects that you record, a copy of the video file on a flash-drive ought to live in that instrument's case for perpetuity. It would be a magnificent addition to the history/provenance for future owners.
I purchased an old '69 Martin awhile back, and can tell that half of it's life was spent in it's case - the finish has reacted with the case lining where it rests by the compartment box. The other half of the time it must have been sitting in the living room next to a chain smoker. While the guitar itself doesn't have a smell, it was so gummy and sticky that you'd leave fingerprints everywhere you touched it and my hands were black from playing for a few minutes. Several washrags and a bottle of Windex later I also was gagging!! Didn't use a solvent because the finish was so beautifully checked I didn't want to change that... but I did end up tossing the rags!!
The Harmony Rocket H59 he mentions at the beginning has a row of 6 pickups at the bottom edge of the guitar, which does look... striking. It also has a 4-way selectro switch, marked with "1 2 3 ALL".
Jeebits, that goddamned fretboard! Hey thanks for these vids, I've just found them and have been watching almost nothing else for the last couple of days.
a few years back I got an H22 bass for $650, the guy had pulled the truss rod out and broken the nut. I got the truss rod working and put it back in, put a Goldtone Zero fret nut on it, took off the neck and suspended it over heat while clamped to an angle iron strip, fixed a few scratches, and now it's working great, all electronics are good, neck straight, about 99% all original(Goldtone Zero fret is new, but better, gives it more sound on open strings), now worth about $2000.
CRC "Lectromotive" contact cleaner $10 for a 20 oz can and it used to be 1-1-1 Ether Tri-Chloro-Ethane, but the Eco-Nazis banned Trike years ago, so it's an eco-friendly Trike replacement. Naptha is a great old music store standby, especially in the form of Zippo lighter fluid. Trike and Lectromotive are not flammable so you can spray it into running motors and not go up in a goodness gracious great ball of fire.
I have one that was taken from a trash can. Huge split in the bottom gusset that went from the bottom of each sound hole. Glued by my friend who built wood framed air planes. $50 to get the electronics working. It plays great. I need to find the cup cake nobs and a pickguard. Can't seem to find one with the Harmony logo present. It is the single cutaway 2 pickup version. 1972 on the back of the pups.
You are a phenomenal artist, I follow all your videos, I love to see how those ancient jewels that are part of our history are recovered, thanks for sharing -
When I need to flush an electronic part, I use CRC or some other inexpensive contact cleaner. However once it is clean and functionality is restored I then treat the part with DeoxIT because the residue DeoxIT leaves behind prevents the contacts from oxidizing again.
That was one funky instrument. I very much appreciate the histories, and especially all the tips and tricks to watch for from the different manufacturers. Thanks very much.
I have the Silvertone 1446 version (it's a Rocket in Sears clothing), black, Bigsby wanger, factory Gibson mini-humbuckers. Their lines follow the golden ratio; perfectly beautiful in form. Alex Chilton tore up the first one I had when he was sleepwalking through his Panther Burns years. The Silvertone version sells for more than the Harmony Rocket proper, due to its unfortunate association with 'one hit wonder' Chris Isaac. Ugh.
To clean the jacks of a guitar use a .30 firearm brass bore brush with a contact cleaner. This works better than either one alone. Enjoy your presentations and have comment on other presentations. I now work as a guitar tech under the tutelage of a 30 year Luther on the gulf coast of Florida. I am on my second career. I always learn something from your presentations. Your presentations are much appreciated. Ricky from IBM, Ret(engineer) FYI - various types of contact cleaners and pot lubricants are available on Amazon
I used to have a H-53/1 with a single humbucker. I worked my tail off back in the 70's to buy that from my neighbor. Then About 2 months after I finished paying it off, I got into a fight with my older brother and he smashed it and my amp. I haven't really touched a guitar until recently and I bought a Tele clone about a month ago and I'm trying to relearn how to play after 40+ years. I still miss that old Rocket though. My dad had taken it and had the humbucker replaced with a Gibson PAF and the pots to match with it. It sounded real sweet.
You have to love how and who TH-cam suggests. I've found so many good people/channels that way. You are a way better editor and producer than I am and I absolutely love your videos.
You are so reserved normally that my whole family lost it when you were having the gunk laugh... yes, family viewing over here... and I am not a luthier.
What a great restoration. I'm absolutely seeing Harmonies and other vintage budget guitars go for big money in my market. Like I've said on other videos, I appreciate seeing these saved even though they are not high-end instruments.
That guitar just looked like some old thing that was only cool due to age. When you got done it looked like something you'd want to play and be proud of.
Had a double cut Harmony Rocket for a few years. Wasn’t really my cup of tea. The gold foils didn’t like overdrive very much. Ended up trading it in for credit towards a USA Stratocaster. I’m sure it found new life with someone who could appreciate it more.
I too remember those RIchard Raffan videos. My middle school shop teacher loaned them to me and I almost didn't give them back. Good to know he's making videos again.
Its funny that most of these cheaper-end guitars like Harmony and Airline from the 60s and whatnot used to be considered junk instruments. Now the same people that possibly learned how to play on these guitars will pay big bucks to aquire one or fix up their old one. It just goes to show how much nostalgia and sentimental value play a part in somethings worth.
@@ileutur6863 my father started on a cheaper end Harmony back in the late 50s. As he tells the story, it met its demise when he " El Kabong'ed " it agaisnt a telephone pole when he was older. He said the guitar was crap and was already playing on Strats and Gibsons. Decades later we both see the same style guitar in a shop selling for $600. He couldnt believe it.
Thanks for the recommendation on Raffan, always looking for video content where a good-natured craftsperson who is very good at a thing does the thing they're good at and talks about what they're doing and why.
I have an almost exact copy of the Harmony Rocket. A tremolo bridge and cheaper pickups. The bridge is screwed. The name brand is Barclay made by Harmony. I bought it in 1967 and gave around $68.00 dollars US for it. Now I need to find someone to repair it.
![SAFEPLANET - ดาวเคราะห์ [ THE PLANET ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4X1XL3I_k3c/mqdefault.jpg)
Lol the reaction of you cleaning that fingerboard is priceless 😂😂😂
Yeah, I let out a hefty belly laugh at the first "Yueeauuuu-uh-uh...". I was a tech for a local seller and t o t a l l y get it.
And that folks, is why you wash your hands regularly before playing your guitar!!
grunge grooves 😂
I have a friend who was a hearing aid test engineer. This reminded me of what he had to say about the condition of some of the customer hearing aids that he got back for service - how caked up with earwax they were. Also, I remember the day I cleaned my Silvertone (Harmony) Bobkat's fingerboard the first time. There was a point when I reached wood, and I actually wondered if I'd wrecked some kind of finish it was meant to have! It was about 20 years old at the time (2 years in my possession). The years of grime actually had a kind of smoothing effect as I played, and I missed it once it was gone. The rosewood underneath was indeed rough. I think the previous owner ate KFC each time before playing it. (I wasn't any better - as a teenager I tried lubricating the tuning gears with corn oil. It's oil, right? I don't know if I ever got all of that gunk out. I didn't take college chemistry until ~8 years later, and one day in lecture I actually had a light bulb go off in my head about the old Silvertone tuners!)
It was priceless! Learn some luthier tricks and laugh at the same time!
And that's why you always keep a stash of spray applicator straws. Don't throw them away lol keep at least four or five spares
I laughed out loud when you showed that tuner. And that dirt!
Ted - I have you in part to thank that I got an open seam on my cello reglued all by myself. The nearest violin instrument luthier is 500 km away, and even the local guitar guys have the tendency to be loose canons (after two older techs retired) so there's no one I would trust not to reach for the Titebond if something goes sideways. So I bought clamps and a pallet knife at StewMac, and my cello luthier gave me step-by-step instructions by email. Having watched you glue so many things I was reasonably confident I could do it. By the light of the day, it's a pretty messy glue job, and I'll go at it with hot water and paper towels again, but the difference to the sound is enormous and I'm glad I've got it stabilized.
Yesterday at work I learned that acoustic guitar strings can become so coated in grime and dirt that they actually have a green patina on them...
I've got a '67 just like that. Made it into a bit more reliable working guitar by putting on Grover tuners, a modified ABR-1 bridge with re-grooved saddles which allows for real intonation adjustment. The bridge pickup was not functional, so I shoe-horned a Duncan mini humbucker into the bridge pickup housing - it fit nearly perfectly. The guitar rocks hard, always inspirational. It has mega-mojo, maybe due to the fact it was built on Valentines Day of '67. Love watching these repair vids, Ted - you are a wealth of information!
Just for documentation -
Richard Raffan
is the person mentioned. Excellent TH-cam channel.
Anyone else take a screenshot of the note to try to read the words Ted dares not speak?
Oh man!! I loved that colour on a guitar until now. Thanks Ted. I'll never be able to enjoy that shade of guitar tint without a brutal craving for grilled cheese to boot.
nothing wrong with tomato soup! it's a badge of honor
A coffee stirrer in the US is the exact same red plastic tube as the one that comes with those cans.
For a minute there I thought you were going to launch into the Faces Stay With Me at the end.
Ted I very much enjoyed this repair, not least for the laughter, which seemed to have a tinge of maniacal fatigue underneath it, and possibly a solvent element too. Hope you're OK.
Hey Ted, I just wanted to say that I owe you a debt of gratitude. I am a guitar tech out of Windsor Ontario, and your videos have given me the confidence to take in cosmetic and structural repairs. I am now performing repairs for resale on high end instruments. It is tedious work, but the margins are improving as my skills improve. Your calm demeanor and your patience is inspiring. Thank you so much for your contribution to the craft!
Best wishes,
Jason P.
My Harmony Rocket also has those weird crossgrain scratches on the fingerboard. I always assumed it was due to some ham fisted previous owner trying to sand off some clearcoat or something. I'm glad to hear that was standard factory workmanship.
CRC electromotive spray is another good electronics cleaner. As a bonus, the stuff is good for killing roaches! Seriously, you spray them with it and they instantly convulse and die.
Your show is informative and relaxing after a hard day. Thanks.
I have a '66 Rocket, this is definitely late 60s. The pickup surrounds came after 1966. Awesome video!
Nice job on this pretty charming old timer. Cheap doesn't mean crappy, and you proved it again.
In 1965, it was my first electric guitar at 14 years old. A Harmony Rocket by Heathkit. Had to solder all the wiring and poke it through the f holes. Installed the tuners, pickguard, tail piece and neck. I bought it for $120 and sold it a few years later for $25 because I wanted a 12 string guitar. Days of folk music you know. I have regretted selling it since.
That explains some of the super crazy wiring I've seen in these guitars over the years. Did not know they were offered in kit form.,
I think that color has aged well, I like it. Of course I'm a huge fan of tomato soup also
Very enjoyable watching and listening to you bring that old beast back to life. Thank you for sharing your craft with us.
From here on out, that color will forever be known as a tomato soup burst :D
Damned if he ain’t right. The pickguard even looks like the blob of heavy cream they put on at the fancy places!
Mmmm, cupcake knobs. "It's a glamourous profession." had me dying over here.
Glad I'm not the only one who thought they looked edible.
It's a glamorous profession. 🤣
vintage Harmonys are seriously underrated ,i got 2 in my collection a 59 Hollywood and 67 H941 ,I LOVE that one ... fantastic job as always keeping these vintage beauts playing :D
And now I have Elton John caterwauling in my head. I wish these vids were longer. It's always a pleasure to hear your wit and banter while you work your mad skills. Cheers, Ted!!
I enjoy having something to look forward to. These videos are that. Thanks
I have a '61 Harmony Master. No adjustable truss rod. Did a neck reset, & corrected a slight upward bow with pressure clamps and heat lamp, replaced & dressed a few frets here and there, repaired two cracks near f-holes with cleats, glue, & lacquer. Then I replaced crummy machine heads with original 50's Gib J-45 deluxe (perfect fit. Strung it with nylon core acoustic, and keep it mostly in open G ... and Bobs your uncle. Doesn't have any domestic dispute damage anymore either
I’m partial to the Harmony Bobkats and the Silhouettes with the Hagstrom-style tailpieces. I’ve noticed at recent shows that the prices are trending WAY UP for guitars that were undesirable just a few years ago. I saw Scott Sharrard backing Gregg Allman in Cincinnati shortly before Gregg passed away playing a Harmony Bobkat set up for slide. He said that he purchased it for less than $200, but the prices shot up as soon as people saw him playing it. Eventually all of the cheap guitars of our youth are going to become overpriced “vintage” models. Grab ‘em while you can!
St Vincent has been playing a bobcat for years and I believe she is way more responsible for the price rise.
@@robotsongs I’m sure you are correct, but the only St. Vincent I follow is St. Vincent de Paul. There will probably be others who favor this great little guitar and contribute to the increasing prices.
For projects that you record, a copy of the video file on a flash-drive ought to live in that instrument's case for perpetuity. It would be a magnificent addition to the history/provenance for future owners.
I purchased an old '69 Martin awhile back, and can tell that half of it's life was spent in it's case - the finish has reacted with the case lining where it rests by the compartment box. The other half of the time it must have been sitting in the living room next to a chain smoker. While the guitar itself doesn't have a smell, it was so gummy and sticky that you'd leave fingerprints everywhere you touched it and my hands were black from playing for a few minutes. Several washrags and a bottle of Windex later I also was gagging!! Didn't use a solvent because the finish was so beautifully checked I didn't want to change that... but I did end up tossing the rags!!
I really enjoyed this. Especially the Def Leppard impression. That guitar sounded fab at the end. Reminds me of The Faces 'Stay With Me''
Yeah, that had a nice crunch tone! I wanted to hear the clean neck pickup though, but he didn't play it :-(
LOL! Thank you for adding to my ongoing Elton John / 'Rocketman' synchronicity! 😄👍
6:18 I've cleaned toilets at high schools. I remain unfazed. This stuff is satisfying to watch.
My 1st electric guitar was a 1970 Harmony Rocket. I found the date underneath the neck pickup.
this was great! thanks! the mustache pickups are date stamped on the bottom....that's most likely a late 60's or a 70!!!!
The Harmony Rocket H59 he mentions at the beginning has a row of 6 pickups at the bottom edge of the guitar, which does look... striking. It also has a 4-way selectro switch, marked with "1 2 3 ALL".
Eastwood does a re-make H59 now with a black top and cream cup cake 6 knobs. Looks even more "striking." They call it an Airline H59
Jeebits, that goddamned fretboard! Hey thanks for these vids, I've just found them and have been watching almost nothing else for the last couple of days.
Nice to see you drop screws too. That's redeeming. Love your skill and dry wit. Keep on truckin'!
I shall sweep my workshop floor immediately!
Amazing how oxidized the jack became that you had to sand it.
nice work and its a fine thing that you made a wall hanger and playable guitar, Thank you for sharing,
Your laughter kills me. Thanks for the video.
Another great vid/repair. Craftsmanship/narration/comedy all great!
Cheers Ted/viewers.
I found the brass brush tip used to clean 22 caliber rifles to be excellent for cleaning ¼" jacks. Canadian Tire rifle cleaning dept.
Hi, hilarious "Def Leppard Style, Let's get the rock out of here", lol "which often ages to a kind of tomato soup looking". Take care.🤣
Massive aesthetic improvement on the guitar that came on to your workbench to the same guitar that left it. Well done Ted.
Got her up and rocking! Great job!
a few years back I got an H22 bass for $650, the guy had pulled the truss rod out and broken the nut. I got the truss rod working and put it back in, put a Goldtone Zero fret nut on it, took off the neck and suspended it over heat while clamped to an angle iron strip, fixed a few scratches, and now it's working great, all electronics are good, neck straight, about 99% all original(Goldtone Zero fret is new, but better, gives it more sound on open strings), now worth about $2000.
CRC "Lectromotive" contact cleaner $10 for a 20 oz can and it used to be 1-1-1 Ether Tri-Chloro-Ethane, but the Eco-Nazis banned Trike years ago, so it's an eco-friendly Trike replacement. Naptha is a great old music store standby, especially in the form of Zippo lighter fluid. Trike and Lectromotive are not flammable so you can spray it into running motors and not go up in a goodness gracious great ball of fire.
Eco-nazis? You mean reasonable people eho don't want cancer and and unliveable environment?
I have one that was taken from a trash can. Huge split in the bottom gusset that went from the bottom of each sound hole. Glued by my friend who built wood framed air planes. $50 to get the electronics working. It plays great. I need to find the cup cake nobs and a pickguard. Can't seem to find one with the Harmony logo present. It is the single cutaway 2 pickup version. 1972 on the back of the pups.
Ted you never disappoint. Thank you.
Omg when you were scraping the fret board. Oh man, I see some bad boards as well. I do jobs for some pawn shops. The shit I see.
I have the same grime on my fretboard and it's only a 1980...
Wow that Harmony sounds great with some overdrive.
You are a phenomenal artist, I follow all your videos, I love to see how those ancient jewels that are part of our history are recovered, thanks for sharing -
"For some reason, the neck feels slimmer now". That one got me. Yeah, after removing 1/4 lb of grunge, it should, LOL.
I reglued the bridge on my old alvarez. Never could have done it without you
I can hear the appraisers at the "Antiques Roadshow" screaming about the loss of "patina" now! ;-)
When I need to flush an electronic part, I use CRC or some other inexpensive contact cleaner. However once it is clean and functionality is restored I then treat the part with DeoxIT because the residue DeoxIT leaves behind prevents the contacts from oxidizing again.
Richard Raffen channel for those who are interested: th-cam.com/channels/2tEGrCP1GiVwfaT4K9bcNw.html
Totally awesome thank you for sharing
Expert craftsmanship & dry northern wit. What's not to like!
That was one funky instrument. I very much appreciate the histories, and especially all the tips and tricks to watch for from the different manufacturers. Thanks very much.
I have the Silvertone 1446 version (it's a Rocket in Sears clothing), black, Bigsby wanger, factory Gibson mini-humbuckers. Their lines follow the golden ratio; perfectly beautiful in form.
Alex Chilton tore up the first one I had when he was sleepwalking through his Panther Burns years.
The Silvertone version sells for more than the Harmony Rocket proper, due to its unfortunate association with 'one hit wonder' Chris Isaac. Ugh.
GREAT VIDEO ( and AUDIO ) !!! Greetings from Europe , Estonia.
To clean the jacks of a guitar use a .30 firearm brass bore brush with a contact cleaner. This works better than either one alone.
Enjoy your presentations and have comment on other presentations. I now work as a guitar tech under the tutelage of a 30 year Luther on the gulf coast of Florida. I am on my second career. I always learn something from your presentations.
Your presentations are much appreciated.
Ricky from IBM, Ret(engineer)
FYI - various types of contact cleaners and pot lubricants are available on Amazon
Cool idea on the bore brush - yet another purloined idea for me. Thanks!
@@perihelion7798 Your very welcome
I used to have a H-53/1 with a single humbucker. I worked my tail off back in the 70's to buy that from my neighbor. Then About 2 months after I finished paying it off, I got into a fight with my older brother and he smashed it and my amp. I haven't really touched a guitar until recently and I bought a Tele clone about a month ago and I'm trying to relearn how to play after 40+ years. I still miss that old Rocket though. My dad had taken it and had the humbucker replaced with a Gibson PAF and the pots to match with it. It sounded real sweet.
Dont forget...we all play used guitars!! I have 2 Kay guitars. More for the "Look"!.. great video Tom🇺🇸🎩🇺🇸
What a hoot! Thanks. Love the old guitars. Lots of character.
You have to love how and who TH-cam suggests. I've found so many good people/channels that way. You are a way better editor and producer than I am and I absolutely love your videos.
For me, this is the most therapeutic channel on TH-cam.
Really nice refreshment of a classic! Thank you!
I recently acquired a mandolin from a smoker, and I used tips from your videos to clean it up. It is odor free and getting regular use now. Thank you!
Hi, I am interested in what you did to clean the mandolin, a acquired an old tenor banjo that is toxic ! Cheers
Priceless intro...😅.
Harmony guitar look sharp👌.
Thanks Ted for the historical info. 🎶🎶🎶
It's a beauty and to me, sounds fantastic. Seriously, who doesn't like tomato soup !
Great video. Love these old harmony rockets. You made that axe into a Phoenix.
You are so reserved normally that my whole family lost it when you were having the gunk laugh... yes, family viewing over here... and I am not a luthier.
What a great restoration. I'm absolutely seeing Harmonies and other vintage budget guitars go for big money in my market. Like I've said on other videos, I appreciate seeing these saved even though they are not high-end instruments.
That guitar just looked like some old thing that was only cool due to age. When you got done it looked like something you'd want to play and be proud of.
Thank you for sharing your craft with us.
Nice work. I like to call these “Affordable Vintage” and they do have their own sound with the DeArmond’s
Very cool Harmony... nice job bringing it back from "The Land of Not"... Rock On :)
Always entertaining to watch….thanks!
Razor blade on the fret board? I use a can of Brake Clean spray with a tooth brush. Doesn't mark the fretboard. Silicone spray for a beautiful finish.
It makes a great Jazz Guitar especailly w/ KF110 Flatwounds
Had the same guitar, blue, when I was a teenager. Sold it to get a “cooler” guitar. Have wished I had it back since.
Once again, beautiful work!
Had a double cut Harmony Rocket for a few years. Wasn’t really my cup of tea. The gold foils didn’t like overdrive very much. Ended up trading it in for credit towards a USA Stratocaster. I’m sure it found new life with someone who could appreciate it more.
I too remember those RIchard Raffan videos. My middle school shop teacher loaned them to me and I almost didn't give them back. Good to know he's making videos again.
yay! now I know how to spell Richard's last name! thanks
It clean up nicely.
Weird such a budget guitar is asking so much in the market.
I had never heard of this model, thanks for blowing my mind.
That's a lifetime of DNA on that fretboard! 😝
Its funny that most of these cheaper-end guitars like Harmony and Airline from the 60s and whatnot used to be considered junk instruments. Now the same people that possibly learned how to play on these guitars will pay big bucks to aquire one or fix up their old one. It just goes to show how much nostalgia and sentimental value play a part in somethings worth.
Back in the day cheaper instruments were still made with decent materials. If nothing else, a decent piece of wood is worth saving
@@ileutur6863 my father started on a cheaper end Harmony back in the late 50s.
As he tells the story, it met its demise when he " El Kabong'ed " it agaisnt a telephone pole when he was older. He said the guitar was crap and was already playing on Strats and Gibsons.
Decades later we both see the same style guitar in a shop selling for $600. He couldnt believe it.
Love the real made in Merica classic guitars, no matter what brand. This one turned out nice!!!!!
Comedy time with Ted Woodford! A great video by any standard, but so funny in parts/ Thanks
Thanks for the recommendation on Raffan, always looking for video content where a good-natured craftsperson who is very good at a thing does the thing they're good at and talks about what they're doing and why.
Thanks for playing them for us Ted.
I am in awe of your craftsmanship!
Legend has it those are directions to a secret stash of the the finest LSD ever made.
Oh dang!! There’s some things you just can’t unsee!! You’re brave dude! Great work as always. Enjoy your videos always
NeverDull cotton wadding with compound in it takes that grunge off the fretboard with no issues. clean it when done and then oil the fretboard.
I have an almost exact copy of the Harmony Rocket. A tremolo bridge and cheaper pickups. The bridge is screwed. The name brand is Barclay made by Harmony. I bought it in 1967 and gave around $68.00 dollars US for it. Now I need to find someone to repair it.