Harmony H-27 Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966)
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Harmony H-27 Model Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1966), made in Chicago, serial # 5941, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, maple meck with rosewood fingerboard, original two-tone chipboard case.
This fairly imposing hollowbody 4-string is one of the more obscure but interesting of Harmony's 1960's instruments-the H-27 "Deluxe" bass. This large and somewhat flashy instrument sold initially for 199.50, raised to $249.50 in 1967. This was twice the price of the more familiar flat-topped H-22 that had been the company's only bass offering since 1962. The H-27 was introduced in mid-1966; this is a first year model with the production stamp F-66 under the F-hole. "Harmony's finest thin hollowbody electric bass" the catalog offered "Styled and electronically equipped to meet highest professional bass tone standards".
This bass is built with a fully arched, laminated maple multi-bound maple body and maple neck and a huge single-sided Fender-like headstock with a laminate tortoiseshell celluloid overlay. It mounts two "special design" DeArmond bass pickups with a double row of adjustable poles for each string. The bridge is an elaborate fully adjustable metal unit with an integral tailpiece block mounted to the face in place of the H-22's simple wooden fitting. The 30" scale neck has a bound rosewood fingerboard, the tuners are Japanese-made covered-back bass machines. The body has no pickguard but mounts two tortoise-celluloid topped finger rests, a single switch and individual tone and volume controls for each of the two pickups.
The H-27 has seen only one well-known endorser; it was the "other" favorite bass of the Small Faces' Ronnie "Plonk" Lane (alongside his original Harmony H-22) and he once told the tale of getting the first one into England, straight off the trade show booth at the 1966 British music fair. "Plonk" used one extensively in 1966-68, both live and on record, and he can be seen in a number of period clips with this model. The H-27 was not as successful as its lower-budget brother the H-22 and is far less well known now but on its own merits is a very interesting and underrated hollowbody bass with a huge but well-defined tone.
Overall length is 46 1/8 in. (117.2 cm.), 15 5/8 in. (39.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This bass remains very nice overall; clean and all original. The shaded sunburst finish is clean and unfaded with only some small chips, scratches and dings overall. One small chip to the veneer on the face has been filled in on the edge of the treble side F-hole, and there is an impact spot to the binding on the upper edge of the body. The bass remains complete and original, with all the hardware intact including the oft-missing bridge and tailpiece covers and even what appear to be the original strings. There is some corrosion to the plating but nothing too severe.
Shrinkage to the heavy celluloid headstock face veneer has caused the tip of the headstock to warp upwards slightly but this does not affect the instrument in any practical way. This is a very good player with excellent neck and frets, a fine first-year example of this fairly rare bass. It includes the original red-lined chipboard case (1967 list price $27.50); no hardshell was offered with this model. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This fairly imposing hollowbody 4-string is one of the more obscure but interesting of Harmony's 1960's instruments-the H-27 "Deluxe" bass. This large and somewhat flashy instrument sold initially for 199.50, raised to $249.50 in 1967. This was twice the price of the more familiar flat-topped H-22 that had been the company's only bass offering since 1962. The H-27 was introduced in mid-1966; this is a first year model with the production stamp F-66 under the F-hole. "Harmony's finest thin hollowbody electric bass" the catalog offered "Styled and electronically equipped to meet highest professional bass tone standards".
This bass is built with a fully arched, laminated maple multi-bound maple body and maple neck and a huge single-sided Fender-like headstock with a laminate tortoiseshell celluloid overlay. It mounts two "special design" DeArmond bass pickups with a double row of adjustable poles for each string. The bridge is an elaborate fully adjustable metal unit with an integral tailpiece block mounted to the face in place of the H-22's simple wooden fitting. The 30" scale neck has a bound rosewood fingerboard, the tuners are Japanese-made covered-back bass machines. The body has no pickguard but mounts two tortoise-celluloid topped finger rests, a single switch and individual tone and volume controls for each of the two pickups.
The H-27 has seen only one well-known endorser; it was the "other" favorite bass of the Small Faces' Ronnie "Plonk" Lane (alongside his original Harmony H-22) and he once told the tale of getting the first one into England, straight off the trade show booth at the 1966 British music fair. "Plonk" used one extensively in 1966-68, both live and on record, and he can be seen in a number of period clips with this model. The H-27 was not as successful as its lower-budget brother the H-22 and is far less well known now but on its own merits is a very interesting and underrated hollowbody bass with a huge but well-defined tone.
Overall length is 46 1/8 in. (117.2 cm.), 15 5/8 in. (39.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 13/16 in. (46 mm.).
This bass remains very nice overall; clean and all original. The shaded sunburst finish is clean and unfaded with only some small chips, scratches and dings overall. One small chip to the veneer on the face has been filled in on the edge of the treble side F-hole, and there is an impact spot to the binding on the upper edge of the body. The bass remains complete and original, with all the hardware intact including the oft-missing bridge and tailpiece covers and even what appear to be the original strings. There is some corrosion to the plating but nothing too severe.
Shrinkage to the heavy celluloid headstock face veneer has caused the tip of the headstock to warp upwards slightly but this does not affect the instrument in any practical way. This is a very good player with excellent neck and frets, a fine first-year example of this fairly rare bass. It includes the original red-lined chipboard case (1967 list price $27.50); no hardshell was offered with this model. Overall Excellent - Condition.