1965 Harmony H59 Rocket III
Part of being a “guitar nerd” is the fun of trying to figure out everything you can about a guitar - like learning a particular guitar’s history – who owned it, where they got it, how old were they when the got it, what kind of music was played on it, did it change ownership hands, and then the “rinse and repeat” until it finally gets to you! Sometimes that information is an impossible feat, but often you get lucky with serial numbers and bread crumbs left in the case like receipts, names written on things, and sometimes even written on the guitar! Then you get lucky with situations like this Harmony electric. It was in my family so at this point in the guitar’s life I know more about it now than just about anyone left alive, I guess.
Harmony guitars, was at one time the oldest US made guitar manufacturer. Starting in 1892, it had an amazing run and was eventually closed in 1975. The name lived on later and I personally remember first seeing them pop up in the 80s and 90s with imported Stratocaster copies, some that weren’t too bad, honestly. Newly made Harmonys exist today as the brand was re-launched in 2018 and are being built in the Heritage Guitar facility (the original Gibson plant) in Kalamazoo, MI. Personally, the oldest known Harmony model I have ever played was built in the early 50’s, and while it was quirky it was a solid player! Many of these 1950s, 60s, and 70s guitars were marketed as more budget friendly guitars and alternatives to more expensive Gibsons, Gretsch, Fenders, and Guilds. But they often teetered towards professional grade instruments! And with the right care, setups, and tweaks they most certainly were for certain genres and styles of music.
I’m from a very musical family. I’m blessed to have that coming from both my mother and father’s side. I truly think it was my destiny to play guitar and music has been one of the most important aspects of my life. On my father’s side of the family get-togethers and reunions were filled with playing music and singing. Unfortunately, by the time I decided to learn to play guitar my Grandfather had just recently passed away. It is a regret of mine that I never got to talk to him about his playing, how he learned, the music he loved, and about the music gear he had over the years. However, I was able to piece much of that together by talking with my Grandmother, father, and my aunts and uncles. One of his guitars, this 1965 Harmony H59 Rocket III, sat in my grandmother’s bedroom for a few years after he was gone. As it became apparent that I was serious about playing and had caught “the guitar bug”, she gave it to me along with his Silvertone 1472 amplifier.
At this time, my Grandma lived in Ohio and I was in Alabama. Once I got the guitar home I took it to a local trusted guitar shop that was ran by an older gentleman who went over the guitar, cleaned, and set it up properly. This was before I knew what a “set-up” even was, and thankfully this older shop owner was kind enough to teach me and educate me about working on my own stuff whenever I visited. He was a little younger than my grandpa, but he also loved the same music – mainly Chet Atkins and Merle Travis.
So for quite some time Grandpa’s Harmony was part of my growing stable of instruments that I would get out and play sometimes. I had seen old photos him playing it over the years and eventually I saw old photos of my Uncle also playing it – on stage with his band! So this led me to start asking questions. Was it really my Uncle's? Or was it shared? Or what? Unfortunately, both my Uncle John and my Grandpa have passed away, but my Dad tells me that the guitar and amp were both bought second hand from my Grandpa’s nephew! That nephew has also has passed away (but I also own one of his early 60’s Kay amplifiers, as well). So whose guitar it was FIRST is up for debate, but while my Grandpa has played since the 1930s, I am going to guess that this was seen as an upgrade to the Japanese made Guyatone electric guitar and S.S. Stewart amp my uncle was playing in the early 60s. By the mid-60s my Uncle started playing in a regionally popular rock band called ‘The Dynamic Distortions’ and you can see this Harmony Rocket III guitar being played on stage by my Uncle John in a few photos below on this page. I’ll be writing more about ‘The Dynamic Distortions’ later down the road here. I do know that my Uncle John decided to leave the band to attend college, as the rest of the members went on from a five to a four piece.
In 1971 my Uncle bought a new walnut finished Gibson ES-335TD with a Fender Twin Reverb. Once he moved on to that significant instrument upgrade, it appears the amp and guitar stayed at my Grandparent’s house and was played mainly by my Grandfather from then on out. I have several photographic instances of my Grandpa playing the guitar, as well as my Uncle playing it in the 70s at his parent’s house, too. In one photo, you can see me and my new Mickey Mouse drum set under the Christmas tree at my grandparent’s as I am jamming with Grandpa and Uncle John! I’m sure I sounded great!
So that is pretty much the back story in the instrument itself, and since I’ve owned the guitar it is something I get out a few times a year and play older songs on. In 2011 I had my brother take a photo of me and the amp, which you can see above (in front of the brick wall). Then in 2023 my son, who is also a guitarist, posed with the guitar and amp for some of his senior photos!
This is officially called the Harmony Rocket III, model H59. In the ‘Rocket’ series, there was a single pickup Rocket I (H53), dual pickup Rocket II (H54), the triple pickup Rocket III (H59), and the vibrato equipped guitar called the Rocket VII (H56). The Rocket is a large hollowbody instrument and my Rocket III has six cream colored “cupcake” knobs in a row around the mid to lower bout. Each knob is a volume and tone, corresponding with one of the three DeArmond designed Golden-Tone pickups built by Rowe Industries (each dated May 26, 1965 on this guitar). A large plastic selector switch allows you to choose each individual pickup, or all of them together in the “ALL” setting. Personally, I found the neck pickup and the “ALL” setting the best sounding. Harmony literature says it is finished in “Rich Polished Cherry Red Finish”, but I’d just call it a budget red sunburst!
The neck is a bit on the thicker side, but not baseball bat thick like some of my other instruments. It is supposedly steel reinforced, and there is no trussrod adjustment. Funny enough, Harmony calls this neck “Ultra Slim”. I guess we were years away from the paper-thin Ibanez Slim Wizard II neck that I learned to play on! Comparing those two necks is like comparing a toothpick to a stick of salami! It has a tail piece and a bridge that appears to be cut from rosewood, and is very close to being exactly the same as my ’59 Harmony Stratotone’s bridge – with thumbwheels to adjust height. You can check that guitar out by clicking HERE. Also, a great resource for vintage Harmony information is the Harmony Database, which can be found HERE.
I also have the original chipboard case (C53). When I got the guitar from my Grandma, it had a few loose Black Diamond brand strings and a brand new set of unopened Gibson Guitar Flatwound strings inside (a much larger gauge than I ever use!), as well as various thumb and steel finger picks. As I mentioned before, my Grandpa was fan of Merle and Chet, and finger picking was his preferred style of playing. I also have the strap that I can see in all the old photos with my Grandpa, as well. I’ve been very fortunate with this guitar as it has never needed any repairs. Just cleanings, restrings, and basic setups, and I store it in a humidity controlled room with my other instruments set at 45-55% humidity. I keep the tuning machines lubricated and keep the pots cleaned out with DeOxit and I never get any “crackling” in the signal!
From the best I can tell, this guitar with the case was just under $150 when purchased new. With inflation, that comes out to about $1600 in today’s money. While this guitar isn’t some nearly-priceless family heirloom like an early 50’s blackguard Tele or '59 Les Paul burst, it is priceless to me as it has went through several hands in the family, and will continue to my son as well. In the end, to me it’s a cool looking guitar. You don’t see many guitars with the knob layout like that! It is super-light weight and has a very retro-sound that fits perfectly with a lot of the lo-fi music that I like to play!
