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Soulful singing and Sovereign strumming...


Plainsman

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I think that the Harmony Sovereign is the most underrated vintage guitar ever. Sounds like a J-45- and can be had for $200!

 

 

I have played a Sovereign 1260 for years. Mine is one of the older block letter logo guitars so has an Adi spruce top (later ones were made with Sitka) as well as the one piece mahogany back and pinless bridge which were standard. Back in the 1960s the Soveregn 1260 was known as the poor man's Martin D-18. The only ladder braced dread I have ever played that I liked better was a 1940s Vega Profundo.

 

Not so sure you can describe them as underrated any longer though - seems like the word is out. You can still find a Sovereign for $200 but I almost guarantee at that price it will at the least need a neck reset. Still not a bad deal as the Vega will run you around $1800.

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Not so sure you can describe them as underrated any longer though - seems like the word is out. You can still find a Sovereign for $200 but I almost guarantee at that price it will at the least need a neck reset. Still not a bad deal as the Vega will run you around $1800.

 

True, some of them need neck sets. That used to scare me away- no longer! I bought my sovereign (for $75!) with the neck sitting a bit proud in the dovetail. I reset the neck and while it isn't the prettiest job, it certainly did the trick. It is amazing how good these things sound and play for how cheaply they were built.

 

There is a Sovereign for sale locally and they are asking $200 but I can't justify two! I already have too many J-45s. My Sovereign is the Silvertone version (meaning sunburst). So maybe I do need a D-18 wannabe.

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They are great guitars, I just sold mine. The specs are actually quite amazing and I don't consider it a cheap guitar. Solid mahogany back (one piece not two piece back) and sides, Adirondack top, Brazillian Rosewood Fretboard, one piece Mahogany neck, ladder braced, and put together with hyde glue.....Imagine what it would cost to put it together today>>>????? VERY bassy, which I like, very chunky neck, unless you use Elixirs or coated strings, the non-coated strings seem to go dead pretty fast. This was my giggin guitar until I got my Martin 1970 D-18......They often need neck resets, refrets, etc....but once done, are VERY good guitars......everyone should have one.....I kept my Sovereign 1230 which is an OM sized ladder braced guitar which has a nice RAW blues sound but can virtually be played for every type of music....

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