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Of the different guitars Harmony made, one of the types that made its way into the American home was the basic solid body
electric. What did you do if you wanted to play rock and roll and didn't have an abundance of cash to lay out? Save up for
a Fender Stratocaster, after all that was the guitar to own. You could get yourself a Swedish made Hagstrom electric, because
that was the poor mans Strat. Or if you were like most of the youth of America and wanted to buy American, you went out and
bought yourself a Harmony H-14 electric guitar. These electric guitars had all things the aspiring musician needed. Harmony?bility
to manufacture them for the masses, allowed these guitar players to start out with one.
This was one of the more
affordable American made solid body electric guitars. At it's most expensive point in the early 70's listed for $ 64.50, or
add $ 10 for a vibrato tailpiece. This Bob Kat single pickup model had it's famous "Slim Line" neck with "Ultra
slim??ngerboard, and short scale for easy chording. This guitar, like the single pickup model, had a solid hardwood body in
a shaded walnut finish. The Harmony H-15 had two goldtone pickups angle mounted. Separate tone and volume controls and a selector
switch allowed you to adjust the sound to give you what you want for the music and playing style of the time. The H-16 Double
pickup, known as the ?or Cat,??me in an assortment of richly polished colors. The "Uniform feel" of the slim line
neck and narrow bound fingerboard, -12 frets clear of the body, made these guitars appeal to the players. They had GoldenTone
dual unit pickups with each unit mounted at a slight angel for enyhanced tonal effect, with adjustable pole piecers under
each string. Each guitar came with a Type W chrome plated Vibrato-Tailpiece, in three rich colors, H-16R Candy Apple red,
H16B Metallic Blue and H16W Gleaming white. You could get a HC-14 case for any of these solid body guitars for and additional
$ 12. These guitars were equipped with Modern Designed DeArmond Electronics for, ?eed and response,??tered to what the music,
of the time, called for.
They were built for rock and roll and you can bet many a garage band rocked
with a Harmony Bob Kat. They came upon the music scene and caused an impact that effected many a young player that was starting
out. As they out grew these guitars and went on to bigger and better things, these guitars have almost been almost forgotten.
Today you can find them, inexpensively, and have piece of American Rock and Roll History.
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