Silvertone Model 1227 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Harmony , c. 1972

 Silvertone Model 1227 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Harmony ,  c. 1972
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Item # 11359
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Silvertone Model 1227 Model 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Harmony, c. 1972, made in Chicago, serial # 8125S1227, sunburst lacquer finish, birch back and sides, poplar neck with ebonized fingerboard, original black chipboard case.

This early 1970s Harmony-made Silvertone 12-string is a surprisingly nice playing guitar considering its low budget status, and something of an offbeat classic in its own right. This model is the direct descendant of Harmony's H-922 that had been the only 12-string guitar in production through the 1950's, of course by the early 1970s there were many other choices available. This 1972 Model 1227 harks back visually to the older traditional Stellas of the pre-war era but is a much plainer but also solider instrument.

This model went through a number of stylistic and nomenclature. It briefly became the 1225 when Sears unleashed the '12' prefixes in 1968, and then the 1226 in F/W '69, and finally the 1227 in the spring of '70. By the time it was retired in 1976, Sears was making a point of the fact that it was built in the US by Harmony, as most of the mail-order catalog guitars in the US market were by then sourced from Asia.

By the early '70's Harmony's workmanship was somewhat better than in the guitar boom era of the 1950s and '60s. This guitar has a big U-profile neck but still slimmer back-to-front than earlier versions. The fretwork is much nicer than earlier Harmonys, although still older style thin wire. It has the traditional tailpiece and bridge setup and less than deluxe painted on binding and trim with the pickguard screwed to the all-birch, ladder braced body. The short-lived but cool "Silvertone Space Logo" disc adorns the headstock. Despite its budget origins this guitar has a big powerful sound, not sophisticated but quite serviceable with a sort of badass budget cool all its own.
 
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 15 1/8 in. (38.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 2 in. (51 mm.).

This guitar appears very little used with very little wear, just some edge wear and a few small dings and dents. It has recently emerged from a neckset and fretwork and now plays better than it ever did originally, as close to structurally perfect as these get. This is not only super clean but as good a player of a Harmony 12 from this era as we shall ever see. It includes the original SSC. Overall Excellent + Condition.