Harmony Sovereign Jumbo

I found this classic folk guitar at the Three Amigos Guitar Show when it was in San José in 1995. The soundboard has a slight upward bend, which makes the action a little high on the upper frets, and the nut and bridge saddle are worn down (or filed down) so the strings buzz on a few of the frets. If I do any repair work on it at all, it will be just to replace the nut and bridge saddle. The frets are in good shape, so I don't want to replace them. Also, I don't plan to replace the tuners; I want to retain the vintage look, feel, and sound.

This is a very light folk guitar. You'd expect the jumbo size to carry some weight, but it doesn't. The mahogany sides and back and spruce top are very thin.

I've always considered this particular guitar to be very underrated, because the quality of construction is good, and the tone, to me, is better than most Gibson flattops from that era. I first played one of these in 1965 when I helped a friend pick one out in a San José music store.