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Harmony H22 reissue--Has anyone tried it yet?

lunarpollen

lunarpollen

Aug 6, 2007
4,905
963
Rio Linda, CA
#1
It seems to finally be available... From the pics I've seen it doesn't look like an exact copy. What's most noticable to me is that the neck on the reissue looks significantly wider than that of the original. This is a big disappointment to me. But otherwise, I wonder how the thing feels, plays, sounds, etc. I still think I'll look for an original rather than go for the reissue. I don't think it would be cost-effective (or even feasible) to have a neck made slimmer on a brand new instrument.
 
#2
I would like to try the reissue myself. While I like the standard fare of my Fender Basses etc, I have a soft spot for some of the vintage budget stuff that Danelectro, Harmony, and Kay were so good at. I remember the H22 basses and I know I'd love to give the reissue a whirl, but sadly no music store in my area is willing to take a few of them into their stores as of yet.
 
#3
I've been keeping an eye out for someone to comment, but haven't seen it yet.

The fretboard on mine is right at 1 3/4" at the nut and 2" at the heel. Sort of like an Aria CSB-380, but not as chunky. If the H22 RI neck is anything like the original it'll be surprisingly fast, or have the potential to be. Nut slot height has a lot to do with that.
 
#8
I have an original I admittedly never really play (I can't find a place in the music I play for such a wide frequency PUP) and while the neck is narrow and fairly slim I would never call it a fast one to play. It's really not the bass for fast runs, etc., IMO.
 
#11
Saw them at Summer NAMM ...

Harmonyredux.jpg


:hmm: ... Had no idea they were that pricy.
 
#14
lunarpollen said:
Like $900

Still, I want to hear a review from someone who tried one out who is familiar with the original vintage H22.
Click to expand...

A reissue of a "budget" instrument that costs a grand... go figure...

Kind of reminds me when Jerry Jones was the only company making the Longhorn reissues... Outrageous pricey for what they were- and then along comes the "new" Danelectro company selling "budget" basses for $200...
 
#15
Well the new reissue is supposed to be much improved, qualitywise. I wouldn't mind paying 900 bucks for a more durable and reliable version, but only if it plays and sounds close enough to the original one. If the pickup is just a generic humbucker that only superficially looks like the original version, and the neck is just a generic width/taper short-scale neck as opposed to the slim original, then I'm not interested.
 
#18
I just saw about this today via Elderly as well. The original was my first bass, about 1967: list $150 CDN, obtained for $75. The reissue is different in several ways: (i) the tuners are modern; the originals were crummy guitar tuners, two each on a metal plate on each side of the headstock (ii) the sunburst finish is wrong on the front and back; the teardrop should be more or less circular; (iii) the original necks were bolt-on with three bolts on the single cutaway model and four on the double cutaway--this version appears to have a set neck (iv) the tailpiece is wrong.

You can see the originals for comparison at: Invalid Link Removed.

I've gotta say that I got all nostalgic when I saw this. My original had a hot, hot DeArmond pickup with a very high output and a neck to die for. Big, round sound that I missed when I got my first Fender. $899 seems a lot, but in line with the cost of some of Eastwood's better re-thunk "vintage" instruments.

One real weakness with this instrument was the jack being mounted on the side of the instrument. Mine, like many others, fell victim to the strap letting go and punched through the side of the instrument. Fixed it with a bit of Mechano plate if memory serves.

Please do report, anyone who had one and can try the new.

All the best,

Mike Lee
 
#19
As a longtime owner of an original Harmony H22 I was excited to try one of the reissues at winter NAMM in Anaheim last month. My old H22 is one of my favorite basses with its amazing low action, flatwound thump, and the sick DeArmond beefy pickup that everyone loves.

The reissue H22 retails for nearly $1200 but is apparently on back order, it's so popular. I plugged it into the small practice guitar amp they had at the Harmony booth at NAMM and played it for a couple minutes. It was strung with roundwounds -- not what I'm interested in -- but the neck's playability was quite nice and the overall craftsmanship was sound. The reissue seemed to have an improvement near the bridge, under the chrome tailpiece: they've added a small piece of wood that the strings fit through that shores them up much better than they do on an original H22. (I've had my old one stuffed with foam and a small piece of wood under the endpiece to calm string vibration and increase string tension.) Tonewise it was pretty hard to tell how close the reissue came to the original -- not having flatwounds or a real bass amp makes for an unfair comparison.

Seems to me that reliability-wise the new ones may be a step up. They've got more solid tuning machines, a better string-through set up, and the neck is fully adjustable (just as the old ones are). Do they sound as good as the old ones? Probably not. But what you lose in old-school tone and vibe you might make up for in reliability and intonatability. I'm also a dedicated Jerry Jones fan and have always thought that those instruments' craftsmanship, style, and playability made up for any of their shortcomings in the vintage tone department.

Nothing beats the sound of old wood and parts in my opinion. But it would sure be nice to have a well-playing bass that closely approximates what's good about the old ones that you don't have to worry about taking on a plane or a bus for fear of its getting dropped and cracked.

My 2 cents.

M.E.
 
#20
One thing that looks different between the original and the new one is the width/taper of the neck. The original looks like it has a narrower and less tapered neck. On the reissue it looks like the neck is wider and widens a lot more toward the body (look at how wide it is compared with the pickup in photos of both the original and the reissue, and you can see the apparent difference). Part of the appeal of the original H-22 to me is the narrow neck, I love how those feel...
 
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