The 1954 Harmony Stratotone was built as a compact, affordable alternative to the major companies' solidbodies, with a simple control set of volume and tone dials and a bypass slider for a single-coil pickup.
This morning I was reading about the great American architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. His achievements in housing design were truly remarkable and breathtaking, but in the early 1900s he became interested in applying his mastery to building economical housing for working people. There's even a block of his tiny homes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, along Burnham Street, and they feature some of Wright's most famous design cues, such as flat roofs and central hearths. It got me thinking about guitars and how the idea of economical brands has existed almost since the dawn of the dime store. In the U.S., I always think of Harmony, Kay, and Danelectro as the builders who made good quality guitars in the low-to-middle price range, and this resonated with Wright's ideas of homes for the working class. By the 1950s, we would need guitars for the working class, too!
In 1954, Harmony broke away from its typical big-bodied, hollow, archtop designs and introduced the solidbody H44 Stratotone. The new model was billed as an "easy-to-handle" Spanish electric that was lightweight and thin-bodied. At just three-feet long and 10 5/8" wide (with a scale length of 25 1/4"), the Stratotone bridged the gap between the popular Hawaiian lap-steel guitars and full auditorium-sized archtops. There seems to be a natural evolution between lap-steel guitars and some of the original solidbody electrics of the early 1950s, because guitars like the Stratotone were just so darn tiny! But they were also affordable for blossoming baby boomers at the beginning of rock 'n' roll.
The Stratotone bridged the gap between the popular Hawaiian lap-steel guitars and full auditorium-sized archtops.
The price of a Harmony Stratotone in 1954 was $64.50 and a case was eight bucks extra. At that same time, a Fender Stratocaster was selling for around $250 and a Telecaster for $190. In the Gibson universe, a Les Paul Custom was $360, a standard was $235, a Special was $170, and a Junior was $110. So, if you were a working Joe with a youngster craving a solidbody electric … well, the decision was easy, and soon Harmony was on its way to becoming one of the largest guitar makers in the world. It also didn't hurt sales when famous musicians such as Ritchie Valens strapped up an H44.
By the mid 1950s, there was a dual-pickup Stratotone called the H88 Doublet, and a little later there was even a Stratotone H42 Newport, which featured a metal body trim dubbed Harmometal. These Newports are totally drive-in diner guitars. But alas, all these cool solidbodies were gone from the Harmony catalogs by the late '50s and can be hard to find these days on the used market. Depending on the model, the early Stratotones can easily cost over a grand, which is a far cry from the humble heyday of these working-class guitars. Then again, I don't think working-class people currently occupy those Wright homes on Burnham Street, either. So it goes.
This 1954 Harmony Stratotone's headstock is a charming reminder of its atomic-age arrival.
The electronics in the Stratotone are a simple affair, with just one pickup paired with volume and tone controls. There is also a slide switch attached to a capacitor that allowed for more bass or treble sounds. The gold finish was reminiscent of some upscale Gibson guitars, and the atomic-age logo on the headstock was straight out of a Jetsons episode. You were going to go nuclear with this little guy! The wide, full neck with open-back tuners is just a pleasure, and the pickup is a total little screamer that reads in the mid 3k range. The simple bridge and tailpiece don't allow for much fine-tuning and since these had set necks, the guitars were a bit limited. But they do make for excellent slide guitars or a good stand-in for a lap steel.
1955 Harmony H44 Stratotone Guitar Demo
Cat in the hat Mike Dugan demos a 1955 Harmony Stratotone, with a little help from a fuzzbox and a quick trip to Duanesville with a slide—highlighting the guitar's connection to earlier lap-slide electrics.
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
