Harmony H-35 Model Hollow Body Electric Mandolin (1970), made in Chicago, serial # 1979H35, sunburst lacquer finish, maple body and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, black gig bag case.
This rather fancily styled electric mandolin dates to the later days of the illustrious Harmony company. The H-35 was a very distinctive model, instantly recognizable with a single-bound scooped double cutaway body sporting an extended upper horn and eccentrically shaped sound holes. The maple neck has a bound, block inlaid rosewood fingerboard and a headstock shape mirroring the body profile and an adjustable truss rod, unlike earlier models. The Harmony logos on the headstock and pickguard were made by etching through the black top layer of plastic tom the whiter beneath, a cool if somewhat old-fashioned method even at the time.
The now much celebrated DeArmond "Golden Tone" pickup is centrally mounted on the body with tone and volume controls on the lower bout. This unit gives the H-35 quite a powerful electric sound, without either the muddiness or overly shrill character that sometimes plagues amplified 8-strings. The sound can be effectively dialed back for a more acoustic-y character, or played flat-out with a nice bite.
This H-35 has the dated Harmony stamp inside the body S-70 indicating it was built in 1970. It was one of the best electric mandolins of the time although to be fair, there weren't a lot of other choices by the late 1960s. It was the favored instrument of Blues mandolin legend Yank Rachell in the later stages of his career and can be seen in numerous pictures of him. For blues or beyond this is an excellent playing and sounding example of this cool and funky 8-string, a classic in its own right if admittedly a relatively obscure one!
Overall length is 27 3/8 in. (69.5 cm.), 10 1/4 in. (26 cm.) across at the widest point, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 14 in. (356 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/4 in. (32 mm.).
This now 55+ year old Harmony shows some minor play wear but remains a completely solid player and all original. The original lacquer finish shows light wear overall, with minor scuffs and dings most noticeably a few dinks to the top. A bit of lacquer is worn off the back of the headstock above the neck probably from sitting in a hanger for a long time.
Several of the back/side seams of the body have been reglued, the lower side edge of the body has a few small finish chips from this. The hardware is original, complete and also relatively clean; even the oft-missing he bridge cover is intact with a little plating wear. This H-35 is an excellent player with a better-then-average straight neck and just-polished out original frets making for an excellent gigging example. It resides in a modern gig bag. Overall Excellent - Condition.
