Old Man's Guitar Has a New Home

[t-ray]

I recently acquired my father's old guitar. Photos show it after I cleaned it up a bit. It most recently was held by one of my cousins, and I finally had the opportunity to bring it home with me. This is one he bought cheap back in the day to replace a nicer guitar that was ruined by a sibling, so I am told. I so clearly remember him playing this guitar and singing (my, I wish I had his singing voice!) back in the 1960's. My parents would have the occasional dinner party and after dinner, and plenty of wine, dad would pass around song sheets and everyone would sing a bunch of then-old songs. And sometimes dad would play the theme from Batman, to which I zoomed around the house like I was some sort of super-hero. Such fun memories and sweet to have his old guitar.

 

[Big_Bend]

Awesome! Great story and memories. You are very fortunate to have your dad's guitar, now in its proper home.

I hope you have many years to enjoy it. Thanks for sharing!

Cheers

 

[schmee]

Very cool!

 

[Boreas]

I love stories like that as much as old Harmonys. I don't believe I ever saw a Fender or Gibson in person until I was in my late teens. Prior to that were Harmonys, Kays, Silvertones, Monkey Wards, and plastic guitars. But it was the PEOPLE that made them sweet, not the cache of the manufacturer.

As a side, I am curious what the value of these mid-century instruments will be when all the boomers such as myself are pushing up daisies. People that don't have the unique soft spot for them may find them just a curiosity when compared with the highly sought-after brands of the future.

Congrats!! I'll admire your guitar more later tonight whilst lying on my side.

 

[985plowboy]

Love it.

 

[Boreas]

BTW, when I have an image that won't stand up properly, I usually have to open it in editing software and save it again as a jpg. It often will open just fine in the editor, and somehow, saving it again fixes it.

 

[jays0n]

No matter how much it originally cost, it is priceless now. Congrats on getting back. It is really nice looking. I hope you can get it setup and playing as good as it looks.

 

[t-ray]

No matter how much it originally cost, it is priceless now. Congrats on getting back. It is really nice looking. I hope you can get it setup and playing as good as it looks.

It intonate quite well (you can see where I shifted the bridge back a bit) and has great action. But it sounds terrible! My dad had put very heavy strings on it years ago, probably to give it more bass. Pretty thin sounding, otherwise. But I love having it and probably will play it from time to time.

 

[gridlock]

Congratulations, helped make my day even better!

 

[Toadtele]

My father’s wife passed in 2015. We’re not very close but my son and I went to visit him a few months later. We had a great trip and visit. The night before we headed home we were drinking beer in the driveway and my dad said “you play guitar don’t you? You should take those old guitars home with you”
Like I said we weren’t very close but he had never mentioned having guitars.
Turns out his wife’s father played the honky tonks back in the late 50’s early 60’s. Her mother wasn’t a fan of the drinking and late hours. She broke the Silvertone over his back one night. Or more likely early morning.
She felt bad and had it repaired.
Great story right? Well my late stepmom had two children and many grandkids. I couldn’t possibly take these guitars. They belong in her family.
Nobody wanted them!!! I couldn’t believe it. One of her granddaughters even plays guitar and had no interest in them.
I told my step siblings I will take care of them in case they or any of their children ever want them back.

 

[t-ray]

BTW, when I have an image that won't stand up properly, I usually have to open it in editing software and save it again as a jpg. It often will open just fine in the editor, and somehow, saving it again fixes it.

Thanks. Was able to fix.

 

[t-ray]

View attachment 925780 View attachment 925781
My father’s wife passed in 2015. We’re not very close but my son and I went to visit him a few months later. We had a great trip and visit. The night before we headed home we were drinking beer in the driveway and my dad said “you play guitar don’t you? You should take those old guitars home with you”
Like I said we weren’t very close but he had never mentioned having guitars.
Turns out his wife’s father played the honky tonks back in the late 50’s early 60’s. Her mother wasn’t a fan of the drinking and late hours. She broke the Silvertone over his back one night. Or more likely early morning.
She felt bad and had it repaired.
Great story right? Well my late stepmom had two children and many grandkids. I couldn’t possibly take these guitars. They belong in her family.
Nobody wanted them!!! I couldn’t believe it. One of her granddaughters even plays guitar and had no interest in them.
I told my step siblings I will take care of them in case they or any of their children ever want them back.

Now that is an interesting story! Those are very nice looking guitars.

 

[Lef T]

View attachment 925799

That is such a beautiful finish on your guitar.
I hope you get a lot of joy out of playing it.

 

[boxocrap]

I recently acquired my father's old guitar. Photos show it after I cleaned it up a bit. It most recently was held by one of my cousins, and I finally had the opportunity to bring it home with me. This is one he bought cheap back in the day to replace a nicer guitar that was ruined by a sibling, so I am told. I so clearly remember him playing this guitar and singing (my, I wish I had his singing voice!) back in the 1960's. My parents would have the occasional dinner party and after dinner, and plenty of wine, dad would pass around song sheets and everyone would sing a bunch of then-old songs. And sometimes dad would play the theme from Batman, to which I zoomed around the house like I was some sort of super-hero. Such fun memories and sweet to have his old guitar.
View attachment 925799

this looks very nice..i hope it brings the best of memories for you

 

[Stubee]

That’s really cool, what a great thing to have with those memories.

 

[naneek]

I always enjoy the hand painted wood figuring 'tiger stripe' on these old harmony guitars. It's cool how you can see the curly grain of the wood underneath.

you don't see these with the pickguard intact very often.

But it sounds terrible!

it might be fun to slip a piezo disc under the bridge and see if that sounds any better to you. that could be done easily and non-invasively.

 

[Dan German]

A guitar without a story just ain’t the same. That’s a great one. When I was young, a buddy of my guitar teacher had a Harmony Monterey. He was (and still is) a great player, so it sounded good to me, and probably was a big reason why I’ve mostly played archtops since then.

 

[t-ray]

it might be fun to slip a piezo disc under the bridge and see if that sounds any better to you. that could be done easily and non-invasively.

I was thinking more like a dog-ear P-90 at the neck! Maybe I will try your idea. But I probably will keep it as-is.