1960's Harmony H305c -- A killer underrated amp

[Cody_J]

Hey Everyone! I am trying out some new content on my channel that focuses on vintage gear that is still affordable/attainable for the average guitar player. My goal is to focus on amps, pedals, and guitars that might have missed the hype train that has turned so many classic pieces of gear into near "unobtainium" in recent years.

That said, I started the series with this video featuring a 1960's Harmony H305c; which is effectively a Tweed Deluxe 5E3 with a few slight differences. This amp is a really fantastic example of an overlooked vintage amp that gives a wide range of great and very useable and recognizable sounds (but still affordable, coming in around between $300 and $400 right now). I'd love to hear what you all think about this idea and this type of content!



A writeup I did for it on my new website: https://www.codyjungmusic.com/blog/rediscovering-vintage-the-harmony-h305c

 

[bottlenecker]

Cool video, Cody, but I wish I had gotten one before you released it.

 

[Cody_J]

Cool video, Cody, but I wish I had gotten one before you released it.

Thank you! And the good news is that channel is so small that I highly doubt this video (or any of my videos) will move the needle on price or availability! Haha.

 

[bottlenecker]

Thank you! And the good news is that channel is so small that I highly doubt this video (or any of my videos) will move the needle on price or availability! Haha.

I wish you much success, but only after I score one of these.

 

[W.L.Weller]

Harmony H306 1960s Gray | Reverb

Harmony H306 Tube Combo AmpThis is a sweet Harmony H306 Tube Combo Amp from the 1960s. It has six tubes (two of which are dual purpose to give 8 tube performance), an advanced tremolo circuit, 12 inch Jensen PM speaker, 4 inputs (1 for microphone) in 2 channels, and 2 volume and 2 tone controls. ...

reverb.com

It's too late!

(I'm kidding, a little, this was the most expensive one I could find in 60 seconds of looking)

(EDIT: See? I looked so fast I didn't notice I linked to an H306 and not an H305c)

 

[Dan German]

Very nice! One of those would be a good pairing with my H303C! (And how did a Canadian market amp end up in Georgia?!?)

 

[Cody_J]

I wish you much success, but only after I score one of these.

Deal! Haha.

 

[Cody_J]

Harmony H306 1960s Gray | Reverb

Harmony H306 Tube Combo AmpThis is a sweet Harmony H306 Tube Combo Amp from the 1960s. It has six tubes (two of which are dual purpose to give 8 tube performance), an advanced tremolo circuit, 12 inch Jensen PM speaker, 4 inputs (1 for microphone) in 2 channels, and 2 volume and 2 tone controls. ...

reverb.com

It's too late!

(I'm kidding, a little, this was the most expensive one I could find in 60 seconds of looking)

(EDIT: See? I looked so fast I didn't notice I linked to an H306 and not an H305c)

Hahaha. Yeah, there are always outliers, right? That said, I found this one in the GC closest to me in Atlanta for $300 back in early December 2022. But who knows, with my channel's massive reach, I might be able to get them up to $310 and turn a profit! Haha.

 

[Cody_J]

Very nice! One of those would be a good pairing with my H303C! (And how did a Canadian market amp end up in Georgia?!?)

You know, it took me doing a bit of research to even figure out what the "C" stood for, but once I learned it, I had the same question!

 

[thunderbyrd]

i like the idea of what you're doing. i hope you do a video of old epiphone tube amps. i had one when i was a teenager (70's) that was good. but i have no idea of the model. probably made in the 60's.

edit: i looked around and the amp might have been an EA-35T.

 

[printer2]

A few differences?

"Each channel has its own volume control, and there is a single tone control. The tone control was set up in such a way as to blend a treble bypass cap and a treble cut cap which are both connected to the volume control as well. This means that as you turn the volume down, the treble cut cap rolls off the treble at lower frequencies while the treble also increasingly ignores the volume control via the bypass cap."

Uh, not according to the schematic. The volume controls are used as a resistive divider, the same as how most reasonable people use them, not with the signal entering the wiper. The tone control is just a treble roll off, no bypass capacitor to shunt treble around the volume controls. The phase inverter is a Paraphase rather than a Cathodyne which the Deluxe uses. So you do not get the volume interactivity and no treble boost from the tone control. That being said, I think the Paraphase PI is better sounding than the Cathodyne when running into distortion, I have not been convinced yet on the value of the volume pots used backwards as in the Deluxe. Adding one capacitor to the tone control and I think it might even be a more friendly amp than the 5E3.

 

[Cody_J]

i like the idea of what you're doing. i hope you do a video of old epiphone tube amps. i had one when i was a teenager (70's) that was good. but i have no idea of the model. probably made in the 60's.

edit: i looked around and the amp might have been an EA-35T.

Thank you! I have been trying to source an old Epiphone for this series. I definitely want to feature one!

 

[jdkr]

ALways like hearing about hidden gems. Vintage or otherwise. I've had a harmony H305c for a number of years and absolutely love it. Great tone. If you jumper the first and 2nd inputs you can get some good blends as well. My 2nd input on the second channel is hotter than than the first.