Harmony 1965 tenor

**Al Haley** · Nov-01-2018, 10:13pm

Hi fellow tenor enthusiasts.
I just got a 1965 Harmony archtop tenor- very good shape. Has a musty smell that suggests it spent a lot of years in a case.
Swapped the bridge and put on heavy strings - 46 34 22 12.
Tuned GDAE
Next set I will go 48 36 24 14
It sounds good, but is quiet.
Trying to figure out the best, most cost-effective pickup.
Cheers!
Al

**fox** · Nov-02-2018, 3:28am

Crikey that would be 115lb of total tentsion .24 for the A would be 34lb alone!
I would choose strings for playability and of an equal tension and use the guitar with a pickup rather than trying to overpower the thing.
I guess it has a flat sawn or a pressed ply top neither of which will ever sound great, so I think it would be better to use it like an electric guitar.
I fitted a pretty cheap Chinese pickup on mine must be about 5 years ago and it works really well.
You can hear it at 2.22 on this vid ( strings are 12 18p 30 45)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JhCMMNnNOrk

**Ryk Loske** · Nov-02-2018, 4:51pm

I really like the Acoustic Archtop Pickups at Archtop.com. I have three guitars with them now ... the last was just fitted yesterday on a Grimshaw 4-string plectrum.

Ryk

**Verne Andru** · Nov-13-2018, 9:55pm

That will be all solid birch. The top and bottom are pressed into an arch.

Generally speaking you're not going to get the volume out of a tenor you will from a normal 6-string guitar. There just isn't enough going on to vibrate the body to make as much noise.

But they can sound very good, especially if you put a bit of time into the setup. Pay particular attention to fitting the bridge snugly to the body. It's easy enough to do with a sheet of sandpaper and google is your friend.

If you are going to go electric put on a floating humbucker and a K&K piezo. Kent Armstrong has some nice ones that will attach to the heel of the neck or a floating pickguard. That way you won't be putting holes in the top, which will erode the sound further.

Mine is a '60's Harmony Monterey like this. Sounds and plays very well.