Harmony Meteor H-70 Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1963)
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Harmony Meteor H-70 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1963), made in Chicago, serial # 1311H70, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original blond two-tone chipboard case.
This is an almost unbelievably well preserved example of a true Harmony classic, the H-70 Meteor. Introduced in 1958, the Meteor was the first of the thinline cutaway designs that would become Harmony's bread and butter electric guitars for the next decade. This is a very practical, well designed and fairly classy instrument despite its humble reputation. The H-70 in sunburst finish was listed at $174.50 (plus $22.50 for the case) in 1962, far less than most similar Gibsons but still not ALL that cheap by period standards.
With two great-sounding DeArmond "Golden Indox" pickups (introduced with this model), the Meteor is a very good-sounding instrument, both snarly and sweet when coaxed. The laminated maple body is 15 3/4" wide and 2" deep at the rim with a single rounded cutaway and a laminated spruce top trimmed with subtly fancy 5-ply binding. The Meteor is wired to the now-common scheme Gibson developed in the early 1950s: tone and volume knobs for each pickup and a single toggle for selection.
The slim bolt-on neck is multi-bound with pearloid block inlay and is equipped with the "Torque-Lok" trussrod, an under/over double rod adjusted at the headstock that is actually quite effective. The internal factory date code on this guitar marks it as a 1963 model, as does the vibrant sunburst with more red in it than later examples.
The Meteor has been a popular choice for vintage R&B, soul, and garage band sounds recently and also boasts a solid rock and roll pedigree. Rolling Stone Keith Richards' first "serious" guitar was an identical sunburst H-70 from this period, which saw extensive use on all the Stones' original records (including their landmark first album), first tours, and many early TV appearances.
Dave Davies cut The Kinks' epochal hit "You Really Got Me" in July 1964 with a natural-finish Meteor -- the scraping, drivingly distorted tone he achieved remains uniquely arresting even today. Davies bought the Meteor -- his first "real" guitar -- at Selmer's "on hire purchase" before the Kinks even had a permanent name. This model was very popular with teen and semi-pro combos both in the UK and US in the 1960s and is still a solid performer today; one of Harmony's all-time best designs.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This is quite simply the best example of this model we have ever seen, and one of the cleanest 1960s guitars to come in in a long time. He all-original finish shows a few minor dings and dents (mostly on the headstock edge) and some light handling marks overall and that's about it. The finish still shines like JFK was in the White house with Camelot in full glory. It really looks like someone got this 60 years ago and never learned to play.
The guitar is also completely original; all hardware is complete, correct and equally clean. This is a fine-playing and great-sounding Meteor, a real time capsule still in the very clean original plush-lined chipboard case. In the pocket is a tag from the original Harmony "Guitar connecting cord" packaging and a whimsical hangtag promoting "As Advertised in DOWN BEAT" which we have NEVER seen before! Excellent + Condition.
This is an almost unbelievably well preserved example of a true Harmony classic, the H-70 Meteor. Introduced in 1958, the Meteor was the first of the thinline cutaway designs that would become Harmony's bread and butter electric guitars for the next decade. This is a very practical, well designed and fairly classy instrument despite its humble reputation. The H-70 in sunburst finish was listed at $174.50 (plus $22.50 for the case) in 1962, far less than most similar Gibsons but still not ALL that cheap by period standards.
With two great-sounding DeArmond "Golden Indox" pickups (introduced with this model), the Meteor is a very good-sounding instrument, both snarly and sweet when coaxed. The laminated maple body is 15 3/4" wide and 2" deep at the rim with a single rounded cutaway and a laminated spruce top trimmed with subtly fancy 5-ply binding. The Meteor is wired to the now-common scheme Gibson developed in the early 1950s: tone and volume knobs for each pickup and a single toggle for selection.
The slim bolt-on neck is multi-bound with pearloid block inlay and is equipped with the "Torque-Lok" trussrod, an under/over double rod adjusted at the headstock that is actually quite effective. The internal factory date code on this guitar marks it as a 1963 model, as does the vibrant sunburst with more red in it than later examples.
The Meteor has been a popular choice for vintage R&B, soul, and garage band sounds recently and also boasts a solid rock and roll pedigree. Rolling Stone Keith Richards' first "serious" guitar was an identical sunburst H-70 from this period, which saw extensive use on all the Stones' original records (including their landmark first album), first tours, and many early TV appearances.
Dave Davies cut The Kinks' epochal hit "You Really Got Me" in July 1964 with a natural-finish Meteor -- the scraping, drivingly distorted tone he achieved remains uniquely arresting even today. Davies bought the Meteor -- his first "real" guitar -- at Selmer's "on hire purchase" before the Kinks even had a permanent name. This model was very popular with teen and semi-pro combos both in the UK and US in the 1960s and is still a solid performer today; one of Harmony's all-time best designs.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 1/16 in. (5.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 in. (610 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This is quite simply the best example of this model we have ever seen, and one of the cleanest 1960s guitars to come in in a long time. He all-original finish shows a few minor dings and dents (mostly on the headstock edge) and some light handling marks overall and that's about it. The finish still shines like JFK was in the White house with Camelot in full glory. It really looks like someone got this 60 years ago and never learned to play.
The guitar is also completely original; all hardware is complete, correct and equally clean. This is a fine-playing and great-sounding Meteor, a real time capsule still in the very clean original plush-lined chipboard case. In the pocket is a tag from the original Harmony "Guitar connecting cord" packaging and a whimsical hangtag promoting "As Advertised in DOWN BEAT" which we have NEVER seen before! Excellent + Condition.