Vintage 1928 Harmony/Supertone Lindbergh Koa -12th-Fret Slot-Head w/Original Soft Shell Case - $1449
Vintage 1928 Harmony / Supertone Lindbergh Koa - 12th-Fret Slot-Head w/ Original Soft Shell Case - Restoration
Serial#: F13411
Amazing tone - super rich - great clear notes... very comfortable "V" profile neck with action at 2.5mm at 12th fret. When I play her it evokes the images of a place where primal blues were first heard...just prior to the great depression.
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh gained national prominence for his unprecedented, non-stop flight across the Atlantic; a year later, the Harmony Guitar Co. (then owned by Sears), in a stroke of 'marketing 101', capitalized on his fame with a guitar bridge in the likeness of his monoplane, The Spirit of St. Louis.
Among the fanciest of guitars ever produced by the Harmony company, known for it production of 'everyman' guitars.
Adirondack spruce top, over Koa body, is adorned with 3 ply black/white binding topped off with the iconic Spirit of St. Louis profile bridge in Brazilian rosewood. The neck is mahogany, with Brazilian overlay on the headstock. Tuners are a higher grade not commonly found on cheaper instruments and still work well. Inside the sound hole is pasted a blue and white 'Guarantee This Supertone..' label.
Back story: This gem was ushered in to our store by man in his mid-80's - the case was... interesting, I'd seen a few examples like this so I knew it was from the late 1920's - early 30's. The man revealed that he found this in his Fathers' attic decades ago, he didn't play and was "finally gonna sell it". He claimed an acquaintance said it could be worth "a lot". I said, maybe-but not in this condition! I said that the repairs would run well over $1000 and he quickly agree to let it go.
Our repairs:
- neck reset
- new frets
- new neck position markers
- glued and cleated top cracks
- reglued bracing on top
- reattached fretboard
- new compensated bone saddle
- 12th-fret slot-head
Truly a historical unit that actually plays and sounds GREAT!!
