New Harmony Silhouette

[leokula]

This, uh, looks a lot like one of Doug Kauer's guitars.

Which one? The firebird copy, or the jazzmaster with a different pickguard? lol

[mackerelmint]

Pretty much any offset has that basic shape, you dip. Derivation is in the details.

But you look at the pickguard shape, pickup choice, bridge and the type, location, and number of knobs it has, it's pretty clear someone patterned it after a hardtail arcturus. Very strikingly, in fact.

[BoringPostcards]

This, uh, looks a lot like one of Doug Kauer's guitars.

I certainly hope that Doug sells more of them than "Harmony" does.

It’s literally the exact same body shape as the original model from the 60s.
The pickguard shape doesn’t look like any of Doug’s shapes.
It has two knobs and two pickups.
Not sure what you’re seeing here.
I’m comparing against Doug’s models and I think you’re seeing what you want to see.

[601210]

But you look at the pickguard shape, pickup choice, bridge and the type, location, and number of knobs it has, it's pretty clear someone patterned it after a hardtail arcturus. Very strikingly, in fact.

I can't even tell if you're being facetious.

Where did you think Kauer got the idea for open goldfoils? It's not like all arcturuses come with them anyways.

The bridge is literally just a cutoff tele bridge. It has 2 knobs located where every other 2-knob guitar has their knobs.

It's like Newville all over again, you slap a vaguely blobby pickguard on a guitar and people call it a Kauer clone. If the above criteria are sufficient to be considered patterned after an arcturus then that's basically every 2-pickup, hardtail guitar ever.

I petition we officially change the word, and call all "guitars" as "Kauers" from now on. I play the electric Kauer.

[mackerelmint]

I think Doug got the idea from popular interest in gold foils, not from any particular model. He does custom jobs. There are going to be variations. He also, as I recall, sold them off the shelf with the gold foils, and that's what I usually see on them when one pops up.

Look, offsets are nearly all some variation on that same basic body shape and this is no exception. The particulars of this body shape being the only tie this reimagining has to the original. The pickguard sits in that same space the same way as on the Arcturus. It's not the exact same shape, nor does it have to be in order to share the aesthetic, which it does IMO, very much.

This new guitar looks to me like someone took the body shape of the original and decided that the arcturus' overall look would be a good fit for it with the contrast knobs, pickguard shape, pickup choice and bridge. It's an observation. You can agree or disagree, that's fine. I think declaring all guitars Kauers in sarcastic response is asinine, though.

[Maggieo]

The Harmony isn't an offset. Straight waist, stretched, blobby body.

[BoringPostcards]

The Harmony isn't an offset. Straight waist, stretched, blobby body.

Correct.

I still like it though. Always liked the Silhouette shape.

[Maggieo]

The Harmony isn't an offset. Straight waist, stretched, blobby body.

Correct.

I still like it though. Always liked the Silhouette shape.

I do, too. My beef is they didn't do it justice, AT ALL. here's mine:


Harmony Silvertone S1478 Silhouette by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

[BoringPostcards]

The Harmony isn't an offset. Straight waist, stretched, blobby body.

Correct.

I still like it though. Always liked the Silhouette shape.

I do, too. My beef is they didn't do it justice, AT ALL. here's mine:


Harmony Silvertone S1478 Silhouette by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

I agree, they could have made it closer (pick guard and a vibrato of some sort.
Perhaps it is because a.) the design was reissued by Silvertone a few years back and b.) they wanted to modernize the models to maybe lure sales from folks who aren’t familiar with.

Not sure. I do like these new ones though. They reissued the Rockets a few years ago and they were really well done. I’m guessing this isn’t the same ownership, since the aforementioned Rockets were built overseas

[jthomas]

[/quote]

I agree, they could have made it closer (pick guard and a vibrato of some sort.
Perhaps it is because a.) the design was reissued by Silvertone a few years back and b.) they wanted to modernize the models to maybe lure sales from folks who aren’t familiar with.

Not sure. I do like these new ones though. They reissued the Rockets a few years ago and they were really well done. I’m guessing this isn’t the same ownership, since the aforementioned Rockets were built overseas
[/quote]

See my post above on the history of Harmony reissues.

[BoringPostcards]

I agree, they could have made it closer (pick guard and a vibrato of some sort.
Perhaps it is because a.) the design was reissued by Silvertone a few years back and b.) they wanted to modernize the models to maybe lure sales from folks who aren’t familiar with.

Not sure. I do like these new ones though. They reissued the Rockets a few years ago and they were really well done. I’m guessing this isn’t the same ownership, since the aforementioned Rockets were built overseas
[/quote]

See my post above on the history of Harmony reissues.

Very interesting.
Thanks for posting. That palm oil info is worrying. Good old unrestricted capitalism. Damn the environment, damn the wildlife and damn future generations, our CEO needs to update his Super Yacht.

Shit makes me RAGE inside.
THERE IS NO MOTHERFUCKING PLANET B TO LIVE ON!!!
YOU CORPORATE FUCKS ARE KILLING YOUR OWN KIDS FUTURES TOO.

Do they even think about anything besides never ending profit GROWTH?

Consumers Re nearly as bad. Most don't research the companies and super firms that make all this trash. They just buy it, because some influencer uses it or eats it, or they saw a meme commercial.

We are seriously doomed in the long run.

I repeat, THERE IS NO FUCKING PLANET B!!!!!

[RiffRider]

Long time lurker here at OSG, first time post.

Brief intro...been playing a long time, basically just doing my own thing as a diehard dilettante. I'm a Fender guy. Love the Jaguar (have 2 Johnny Marr Jags), but also love the Tele. Posting here because I also have a thing for the Harmony Silhouette. I have an original '63, one of the Silvertone reissues, and now...the new Harmony Silhouette reissue.

I'll add to this post later when I can get good photos of all three. For now, just want to comment on this guitar and what seems to be the prevailing opinion of it.

As a fan of the Silhouette, I was excited when I first heard over a year ago of plans to relaunch it. I signed up for updates and never got any, in spite of seeing stories about it at NAMM last year and this year. I was skeptical of how this new version would turn out, and held out little hope of ever seeing one in person. Then, yesterday, I walk into my favorite local shop and they have the Silhouette, Rebel and Jupiter on display. So, even though I only went in to see if there were any interesting used guitars, I had to try it.

First impression was that the neck wasn't as thick as I had hoped it would be, but it wasn't bad at all. Not like a flimsy feeling Modern C. Second impression was that they set these up flawlessly at the factory, with action that's actually too low for my tastes. After hearing it plugged in, all I could think about was how much of a discount I could finagle.

I agree somewhat with many of the opinions here on its aesthetics. It is missing the funky futuristic style of the original, but it is it's own thing, which is a cleaner, minimalistic version of the original. Austere, even, perhaps. No bling at all. Either you like this or you don't. I dig it.

Is it a true offset? I'd say yes...just barely. The body shape is fairly true to the original, but there are slight differences. The edges aren't as rounded, the lower bout near the controls doesn't jut out as much (less of a "blobby" bottom half), it has a string-through body, and the jack has been relocated to the side of the lower right bout--which makes it awkward when placed on a stand if you're using a standard cable (not a 90-degree jack). Also, it has a forearm contour on top (which could have been more rounded) and a belly cut in back.

Tonally, the best description I can muster is a mix of Firebird and Telecaster. It does warm and wooly as well as hot 'n nasty. It really has a great sound clean or with overdrive. Fretboard is a dark, 12" radius ebony board. I'm more of a 9.5 and 7.25" player, but this feels great. The 25" scale feels just right. I wish the fretboard edges had been rolled a little, but in hand it's not really noticeable. It's set up with .10 strings feel, which feel too light to me.

The battery in my scale is dead, so I can't get a weight on it, but it feels about 7 1/4 to 7 1/2 pounds. It sits well on a strap and is comfortable seated.

My biggest gripe is that it doesn't have a trem, with the location of the jack input a minor secondary gripe. I would hope a future version offers one.

There's a lot beaching about the price. Although I got a good discount on mine, I would agree it seems pricey. However, it's a mistake to equate these new Harmony models with the Samick and Eastwood reissues. These are made in the Heritage factory in Kalamazoo, have custom, hand wound pickups, a nitro finish, use high quality parts and wood, and come with a Mono Vertigo gig bag/soft case (kind of hideous, but really well made). The build quality is exceptional, easily on par with anything from a boutique builder and definitely as good as Fender's American Original series.

Ultimately, this is one of those guitars you either love or hate. If you're on the fence, don't rule it out on assumptions you may have about it. Give it a try and judge for yourself. Personally, I think the Silhouette is the best of the three they have out now, but the Harmony website has a teaser about an upcoming version of the H44 Stratotone they call the Juno, if I remember correctly. That one could be very interesting.

As for the connection to some billionaire's son, I knew nothing of this beforehand and am not sure it really matters a whole lot to me. One can find fault with this, but one can also consider that this guy apparently has a real affinity for music and guitars and is doing something worthwhile with his fortune.

Being my first post, and being short on time now, I'll have to figure out how to upload photos later.

[Marc]

If Heritage made a reissue of the Harmony Sovereign acoustic I’d be interested. It would probably be at least twice the price of a vintage example but I’ve yet to find one in the UK that doesn’t need a neck reset.

[sidestyle]

I get the impulse people have to poo-poo something new, have a "hot take" and generally be sour at first, especially in the guitar gear world. There are so many flash-in-the-pan happenings or flavor-of-the-month things that just fizzle out and/or just simply don't deliver on the hype. I checked one of these out at CME recently, and I gotta say, the Negative Nancys are way off. Styling is personal choice, so if you don't like the minimalist take, fair enough. I too would like some different pickguard options or some nod to Harmony's off-the-beaten-path history, but that's a minor thing. The real meat of this guitar is pretty damn great. I'd put this up against an Fender MIA any day every day. The quality is just simply on point! And I so much prefer the nitro finish to the poly and gloss that Fender uses. The pickups occupy a very satisfying pocket between a single coil and humbucker with great clarity and definition. They just have their own character. People need to stop comparing to the cheap originals...hand made in America, very high quality parts, on point fit and finish, hand wound pickups with character, perfect setup (though that might have been the shop's doing), top of the line gig bag. It just might be my next purchase!

https://youtu.be/hcGDPVfJMy4

[Mechanical Birds]

The Harmony isn't an offset. Straight waist, stretched, blobby body.

Correct.

I still like it though. Always liked the Silhouette shape.

I do, too. My beef is they didn't do it justice, AT ALL. here's mine:


Harmony Silvertone S1478 Silhouette by Maggie Osterberg, on Flickr

I feel like these were reissued recently, but with a bigsby for some dumbass reason? Anyway I loved these old ones, they’re great.