I recently purchased a Harmony Stratotone. It came to me with the finish stripped off already so I'm not exactly sure what version of stratotone this is. Based on the pickguard, I think it was probably an Alden Tuxedo or a Holiday H45. This means it started out as either an all black or a red black burst finish.
Pickguard
I don't think the original pickguard is very attractive. I have always been a fan of Les Paul Jr's and Telecaster Thinline's pickguards so I designed my own that is somewhat reflective of those designs. I started with making a paper cutout and then I created a template made from baltic birch plywood. Finally, I used that template to route out a tortoise and a pearloid version.
The tricky part was cutting the hole for he pickup.
The tricky part was cutting the hole for he pickup.
Input Jack
You might notice the original input jack was located on the top of the guitar. I found this annoying. Between that and the location of the tone switch I didn't find the guitar comfortable to play. So I decided to relocate the jack to the side. A number of later Harmony guitars had their input jacks located on the side so it isn't unheard of on these guitars.
One challenge was how to get the jack installed. I could not reach with my fingers and hold it in place to tighten the nut. Then I saw StewMac had this jack installation tool. Basically it is a very snug guitar plug on the end of a coat hanger. You guide the tool through the hole and through the control cutout. Then slip on the jack and pull it back through. Worked great!
I had to get the 3/8" jack because the width of the body and the jack plate made it so not enough thread was available to install the nut.I need to find a picture of the metal jack plate installed.
One challenge was how to get the jack installed. I could not reach with my fingers and hold it in place to tighten the nut. Then I saw StewMac had this jack installation tool. Basically it is a very snug guitar plug on the end of a coat hanger. You guide the tool through the hole and through the control cutout. Then slip on the jack and pull it back through. Worked great!
I had to get the 3/8" jack because the width of the body and the jack plate made it so not enough thread was available to install the nut.I need to find a picture of the metal jack plate installed.
Tailpiece
I took off the stop tailpiece and found a weird plug sticking out. It looks like someone may have repaired it earlier. Looking on the inside of the guitar you can see there is a block of wood along the base. I guess this makes sense because the tailpiece rested on top of that area. In addition, you can see the plug is plastic. Not sure this was original or not. I plugged the holes for the tailpiece and the strap button and sanded them flush.
I decided to install a Bigsby tailpiece. I recently started playing a Gretsch and just like the way the feel. I hated them when I was younger, but I think that is because I was trying to imitate 80's hairbands at the time. Now I dig their subtle twang. Apparently, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has a Stratotone with a Bigsby, so it can't be a "bad" idea.
In order to drill the holes for the bigsby in the proper place I used painters tape to hold down the tailpiece to the guitar body. Then I drilled a hole all the way through the block so I can install a ground wire from the bridge to the other components. This made the guitar much quieter once I installed the pickups.
I need to take a better picture of the Bigsby once it was installed.
I decided to install a Bigsby tailpiece. I recently started playing a Gretsch and just like the way the feel. I hated them when I was younger, but I think that is because I was trying to imitate 80's hairbands at the time. Now I dig their subtle twang. Apparently, Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys has a Stratotone with a Bigsby, so it can't be a "bad" idea.
In order to drill the holes for the bigsby in the proper place I used painters tape to hold down the tailpiece to the guitar body. Then I drilled a hole all the way through the block so I can install a ground wire from the bridge to the other components. This made the guitar much quieter once I installed the pickups.
I need to take a better picture of the Bigsby once it was installed.
Headstock and Tuners
I have no idea what was on the headstock when I got it. It looks like something was glued on, but I don't think that was original (see pictures above). I have seen some Kay brand guitars with some extra ornamentation glued to the headstock but as far as I know Kay didn't have a Stratotone.
People have said that the 8396 was an Airline model but some had suggested that the Airline brand didn't start until the 60's but the year stamp on the body says it is from 1959. Who knows, maybe it was an old body that didn't get used until the 60's. Regardless, I'm going with the Airline brand.
The tuners were stiff, one of the keys was bent and they didn't have any bushings so they angle of the peg looked unstable to me. I decided to replace them with a set of Relic Nickel tuners from StewMac. The pegs lined up fine, but the screw holes didn't. So I plugged the holes and sanded them down so I would have fresh wood to hold them in when installed. Also the bushings didn't fit so I had to drill them out a bit.
I used car pin striping tape to mask off the top of the headstock before painting. Then I used blue painters tape for the less detailed parts I needed covered. I used a black lacquer paint on the headstock. This was a common look for the Harmony guitars. I finished it with a clear satin because I thought "shiny" didn't make sense for a 60 year old guitar.
Finally, I found a nickel finish Airline logo at Eastwood Guitars. I think it looks great with the tuners.
People have said that the 8396 was an Airline model but some had suggested that the Airline brand didn't start until the 60's but the year stamp on the body says it is from 1959. Who knows, maybe it was an old body that didn't get used until the 60's. Regardless, I'm going with the Airline brand.
The tuners were stiff, one of the keys was bent and they didn't have any bushings so they angle of the peg looked unstable to me. I decided to replace them with a set of Relic Nickel tuners from StewMac. The pegs lined up fine, but the screw holes didn't. So I plugged the holes and sanded them down so I would have fresh wood to hold them in when installed. Also the bushings didn't fit so I had to drill them out a bit.
I used car pin striping tape to mask off the top of the headstock before painting. Then I used blue painters tape for the less detailed parts I needed covered. I used a black lacquer paint on the headstock. This was a common look for the Harmony guitars. I finished it with a clear satin because I thought "shiny" didn't make sense for a 60 year old guitar.
Finally, I found a nickel finish Airline logo at Eastwood Guitars. I think it looks great with the tuners.
