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H22 Sound, without the H22?

J

johnnybregar

Nov 27, 2011
6
0
www.johnnybregar.com
#1
I run a small recording studio, and I am looking to beef up the bass offerings I have available for clients. I have a Fender Jazz, and an Epi Viola Bass, and those get me a long way. I really want the tone of the Harmony H22. The Epi gets me some of the way there, but I was hoping it would be a bit more woody sounding. It has good low end and punch.

Can anyone recommend a poor man’s H22? Does the Gretsch 544 come closer? I don’t have the ability to go try a bunch - and probably wouldn’t really know what I was hearing in a store anyway. Any suggestions for an adequate substitute??

Thanks,

johnny
 
#5
I've never heard another bass sound quite like my old H22, especially with old flats and the "toilet handle" engaged. However it was a sound I didn't need to use often and my Hofner Ignition Club with nylon tapewound strings gets close enough.
 
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#8
Looks like Harmony has reissued them, they appear to go for 6-800 on Reverb. I would assume they'd be pretty similar? The new ones have a set neck instead of the old bolt-on, but that might not matter much (aside from making them harder to work on).
 
#11
Supposedly the reissues didn't really sound like the originals (totally different pickup innards, only cosmetically similar)... But I think any short-scale with a powerful neck pickup, strung with Pyramid flatwounds, would get you close enough. Especially if it's a hollowbody.
 
#14
'64 Harmony H22 Bass.jpg
I've never paid a lot of attention to them, since they were "just another company that doesn't make lefties". But, I know one when I see (and hear) one. They sound like they do because of that primitive wooden bridge; where the pick up is mounted on the comparatively small, thin hollow body; and, because the pick up is a Dearmond "gold foil" pickup - an idiosyncratically constructed, relatively low output pick up (compared to the ones today), that I think is a humbucker (but I could be wrong). If it is, IMO it's pretty similar to the '90s ceramic magnet Filtertrons in my Gretsch Broadkaster, which are about the most single coil-y humbuckers I've ever heard. Would a re-issue sound like a vintage one? I couldn't say; like I said - they still don't make leftys…:(
 
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#15
they make a H22 double cutaway that you could string lefty. It’s Tough to find though
GIBrat51 said:
View attachment 3747593 I've never paid a lot of attention to them, since they were "just another company that doesn't make lefties". But, I know one when I see (and hear) one. They sound like they do because of that primitive wooden bridge; where the pick up is mounted on the comparatively small, thin hollow body; and, because the pick up is a Dearmond "gold foil" pickup - an idiosyncratically constructed, relatively low output pick up (compared to the ones today), that I think is a humbucker (but I could be wrong). If it is, IMO it's pretty similar to the '90s ceramic magnet Filtertrons in my Gretsch Broadkaster, which are about the most single coil-y humbuckers I've ever heard. Would a re-issue sound like a vintage one? I couldn't say; like I said - they still don't make leftys…:(
Click to expand...
 
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#18
Just caught Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters at Infinity Hall a few weeks back. His bassist Paul Kochanski (superb player btw!) was rocking an H22 most of the night. Huge deep sound. Don’t know if his was a 60s vintage or a modern. But based on the condition I’m guessing he had one of the new ones.

You could probably get very close with a violin or other semihollow short-scale and nickel flats. But I have to admit I haven’t heard anything that exactly matches that sound. As someone previously said, the wood bridge and tailpiece plus the DeArmond designed Gold Tone pickup will have a lot of influence on the tone you’re hearing.
 
#20
GIBrat51 said:
View attachment 3747593 ...the pick up is a Dearmond "gold foil" pickup - an idiosyncratically constructed, relatively low output pick up (compared to the ones today), that I think is a humbucker (but I could be wrong).
Click to expand...

I don't know what the actual output figures are, but I do know that my H22 is louder and fuller sounding than any other bass I've owned, aside from my Yamaha BB1200S when it's in active mode and the EQ knobs are turned up... I don't think it's a humbucker, it's more of a beefy full-range single coil.
 
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