zombywoof Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 This time it be Harmony-made Buck Owens American. These were sold through Sears from 1970 to around 1973. This one is date stamped 1970. Looks to have been sitting a very long time. It is a mess. Dirty, paint flaking off one side, and it looks like at some point a Munchkin was standing on it. Needs a nut and saddle before I can find out if it is even in the playable range but if you asked a Magic 8 Ball does it need a neck set the answer would come up "You May Rely On It." The scariest part though is what these things sell for. You can easily score a late 1950s LG-2 for less. Even scarier - my wife just downright loves this guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Funny...LOL...it looks like the "red, white and blue" has faded to "red, yellow and blue". Just sayin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Tiger by the tail.. HEEEE Hawww. cool Harmony.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 19, 2016 Author Share Posted March 19, 2016 By the way there is a Gibson connection to this guitar. Buck Owens original guitar was made by Semie Moseley at Mosrite (which were built in Bakersfield, CA). Owens was working on a deal with CMI to have Gibson build a version. While Gibson patented the design it does not appear they ever manufactured the guitar and instead licensed it to Harmony which made a least 5,000 of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salfromchatham Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 That be the Ryan Adams Guitar! Google "New York Ryan Adams". Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 19, 2016 Share Posted March 19, 2016 I do recall the 'American' very well. Never owned one, but saw quite a few back in the - well, you know.... If they're fetching serious $ it goes to show you never know what's going to take off! Once refurbed, an update would be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittgibson45 Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I always wondered what Pat Smear was playing on the unplugged in New York concert. There is the answer! That is the guitar you hear doing the riff on All apologies, not Kurt's That's cool, I'm a fan of both Pat and Buck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 All apologies: NYC Uplugged (Nirvana) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I was aware that Sears used to sell them, but aside from Buck playing one on Hee Haw I've never seen one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 20, 2016 Author Share Posted March 20, 2016 The Bryan Adams (whom I have never listened to so am not really sure who he is) connection would seem to explain the rather ridiculous value placed on these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlejohnny Posted March 20, 2016 Share Posted March 20, 2016 The Bryan Adams (whom I have never listened to so am not really sure who he is) connection would seem to explain the rather ridiculous value placed on these. Its Ryan not Bryan, here you can see the guitar in action, by the way, this version is much better than the album version, well imho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustystrings Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Ryan Adams has been using one of these for a while now - the best single video I have found of it is this concert recording - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_drcB6ulZw. If you seek out his Live After Deaf solo show albums (taken from his 2011 tour of Europe and the UK) you'll hear a LOT of this guitar. These are my favorite recordings of his stuff, simply because the songs are so clearly on display here. Anyway, it sounds pretty cool. I have no idea, though, if his has the stock ladder struts or if he's had it x-braced. He has a thing for Harmony Sovereigns, too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Speaking of Harmony Sovereigns, does anyone have any thoughts on 'em? I've had a kind of attraction/repulsion going on for the last 10 or so years.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Here he is on Austin city limits this year No sign of the red white n blue one Not sure if it's out to pasture , but he's obviously picked up a couple more He also had a black one. . No sign of it either here He does get a fantastic live acoustic sound no doubt The Neil Young of our time regardless of what his hairs like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 In 1972 my 12 year old cousin traded one to a very drunk 20 year old girl for a Honda 50 step-through that we had to retrieve from the rock pile behind her house where it had been laying horizontally for a year or two. It may not have been a Harmony though, as Egmond made their version. And Egmonds are typically not so good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Lol Vive la france Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Speaking of Harmony Sovereigns, does anyone have any thoughts on 'em? I've had a kind of attraction/repulsion going on for the last 10 or so years.... I own two Sovereign 1260s - one from the late 1950s and one from the late 1960s. I am a big fan. About the only ladder braced dread I have played I liked better was a late 1930s Vega Profundo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I also have a pair of 1260s, but not the technology to photograph/post pictures. One is original, late '60s, edging into neck reset country, otherwise relatively pristine, not bad sounding. Other has been rebraced, neck shaved a bit, refinished satin, heads changed to Grover Rotos. The bracing is X, but quite heavy. I run mediums on it to get a decent volume and avoid fret rattle, and it has a Martin wannabe tone. I think of the pair as a kind of before/after experience since they hail from the same approximate era. What intrigues me is the pin bridge on one of yours.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSchooner Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 First guitar I ever owned was a 1260, stamped Airline and sold by Montgomery Ward. Wish I still had it... :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 22, 2016 Author Share Posted March 22, 2016 I also have a pair of 1260s, but not the technology to photograph/post pictures. One is original, late '60s, edging into neck reset country, otherwise relatively pristine, not bad sounding. Other has been rebraced, neck shaved a bit, refinished satin, heads changed to Grover Rotos. The bracing is X, but quite heavy. I run mediums on it to get a decent volume and avoid fret rattle, and it has a Martin wannabe tone. I think of the pair as a kind of before/after experience since they hail from the same approximate era. What intrigues me is the pin bridge on one of yours.... The pin bridge is not original. I get a bit more sound out of of that guitar though when compared the late 1950s Blockie with the original pinless bridge. There is a nice little cottage industry out there with guys re-bracing Sovereigns. If you are a fan of X braced Sovereigns there is always the Opus line. As the older Sovereign is now due for a neck reset I will be bringing it up to the repair guy in the next couple of weeks. I am thinking of having the top refinished while I am at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 That Buck Owens has a certain "cool" factor zw. Hee Haw was the first T.V. show I can remember seeing in color and Bucks guitar really showed up. Looking forward to updates. The Sovereigns are as well. Funny (one of) yours is just getting to reset territory and I have never seen one that didn't need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 23, 2016 Share Posted March 23, 2016 That Buck Owens has a certain "cool" factor zw. Hee Haw was the first T.V. show I can remember seeing in color and Bucks guitar really showed up. Looking forward to updates. The Sovereigns are as well. Funny (one of) yours is just getting to reset territory and I have never seen one that didn't need it. Most need the reset, at least that I've seen. Just got lucky with mine, or exhibited a lot of patience discovering it, one. As mentioned, it's edging into reset territory now, so there's no latter-day miracle involved - maybe it's just a slow deteriorator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 23, 2016 Author Share Posted March 23, 2016 That Buck Owens has a certain "cool" factor zw. Hee Haw was the first T.V. show I can remember seeing in color and Bucks guitar really showed up. Looking forward to updates. The Sovereigns are as well. Funny (one of) yours is just getting to reset territory and I have never seen one that didn't need it. I always figured the neck angle on these guitars was never spot on to begin with. If you hang around with these guitars long enough you get used to them and so will be a lot more forgiving than you would with a Martin or a Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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