![]() A Harmony Model number is generally stamped as XXXHXX. There has also been a conventional wisdom that Harmony did not put serial numbers on their mandolins. ![]() I see that is the most likely explanation for the date code. Those instruments built after the shutdown were marked S-YEAR (First Half, Second Half). Those pre shutdown instruments were marked F-YEAR. Harmony apparently shut down for two weeks every July and there would be a rush to complete instruments by the end of June. Everything I've owned (a few dozen) was marked S or F. I went back through my records of instruments that passed through my hands certain I'd had a W in the past. From some recent information that was gleaned from a former Harmony employee that has changed somewhat. The general thought (that I have posted here in the past) is that they were stamped with a letter that stood for the season the instrument was built (Summer, Winter, Fall) followed by the two digit year. ![]() ![]() Harmony went on to produce student-grade Stella instruments, as well as mid-level Sovereign guitars and banjos.There has been a conventional wisdom for the last several years as to how Harmony Date Coded their instruments and how they were read. Schmidt's Stella, Sovereign and La Scala brands were acquired by the Harmony Company of Chicago, Illinois in 1939. Martin instruments.Īfter struggling through the Great Depression, the company sold their fretted instrument division in the late 1930s, but continued to make autoharps. Top-of-the-line Stella and Sovereign guitars cost a fraction of the lowest-end Gibson or C. Stella instruments were noted for their good tone and relatively low price. In 1920, the company was said to be the world's largest manufacturer of stringed instruments. The company thrived during the first quarter of the 20th century, producing many thousands of instruments. The company produced low and mid-level stringed instruments such as guitars, mandolins, banjos and autoharps. ![]() Other Schmidt brands included "Sovereign" and "La Scala". Stella was one of several musical instrument brands made in Jersey City, New Jersey, by the Oscar Schmidt Company. Sovereign guitar - Syd Barret's first guitar ![]()
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