1963 Harmony H75 w/ Bigsby H76 H-75

You don't need a Les Paul, really - you just need a beat-up 60's Harmony H75 and a Fuzz Pedal!!

Manufactured in Chicago, Illionois in 1963, this thinline hollowbody is very similar to the one favoured by Black Keys star Dan Auerbach, and is fitted with a trio of sought-after DeArmond Gold Foil pickups with adjustable Magnetic pole pieces (date stamped JUN 21 1963) and along with the 9 controls (!!!) it gives you an infinite choice of tonal effects. 

Harmony’s classification system worked as follows: the H75 featured a brown sunburst finish and a ‘harp’ tailpiece, while the H76 came with a Bigsby. So to make this H75 more useable the previous owner had the tailpiece replaced for an original B3 Bigsby. To safe the original Waverly tuners (wich are in the case) he changed them for a set of brand new original open back Waverly tuners, a 350 Euro set! The beautiful dark RW fingerboard has nice block inlays. The headstock was overlaid with a tortoise, engraved veneer, that matched the tortoise pickguard and trim. As with some of the earlier better grade guitars, this headstock veneer sets them apart from the lesser quality guitars. The bridge was changed for a beautiful rosewood bridge handmade by luthier Willem Oostendorp, who also performed a refret and hand cut a new bone nut. Without these changes these guitars are really hard to play... Oh and one of the switch tips is replaced. The finish shows lots of wear, dings, dongs, marks etc all over the neck and body. The hallmarks of a guitar well played on stage!

These guitars are absolutely killer when driven and played aggressively. It's very Jack White-ish and they're also famous for being used by The Black Keys frontman Dan Auerbach on the first couple of albums. Put a fuzz or treble booster in front of it and the heavens will open all registers.

In more recent years, Auerbach has gone back to the H78 when the band performs earlier tracks as a 2-piece, usually at some point in the setlist. He uses Lo-Fi Fuzz pedals to make his old Harmony wail with The Black Keys. As he has quite the collection of oddballs, the Harmony has always been his favorite. I often associate it with tracks like "Your Touch," "I'll Be Your Man," or "I Got Mine," from back during the band's "heyday," so to speak. There's a rawness to the sound of those old gold-foil pickups; they're not super clear or crisp, and that chewiness is a core component of the Black Keys' fuzzed-out sound.

These are not guitars that are best played clean, although they do have a respectable, somewhat relaxed, late-'50s clean sort of tone to them and you can actually pull-off a bit of retro jazz/blues tone when you've got the amp clean and loud. These are best played on the brink of destruction with a cooking amp. They then sound aggressive, punchy, gnarly and powerful. But when played soft and sweet it sounds warm and jazzy. It has got it all. Comes in a later regular hardshell case.