1940 Harmony Supertone Gene Autry

Harmony Supertone 'Gene Autry' Grand Concert Guitar 1940 | $925 | The Singing Cowboy, Gene Autry, was a huge star of both radio and film in the 1930s and 40s, and his fame was used to sell guitars to aspiring young cowboys. This grand concert-size acoustic was introduced by Harmony in 1939, and the model ran for only a few years before folding, likely due to the demands of the world war. The name 'Harmony' doesn't actually appear on the guitar but there is a lot of other branding going on. The label inside is a Supertone label, the brand of guitars sold by Sears, which owned Harmony. The headstock sports the name 'Round-up' and a cowboy on a bucking bronc in white stencil. 'Gene Autry' is stenciled in white script on the fingerboard, allegedly a facsimile of his autograph. S-40 is stamped on the Supertone label, indicating a 1940 year of production, and 4320 244 are stamped in white ink just below the heel block. These are typical Harmony production numbers. This guitar listed for $9.95 in the Sears catalog.

The ladder-braced top is 'selected spruce', stained in an attractive red-mahogany. The back and sides were advertised as 'maple' in the catalog, but it's evident to us that this is either maple or birch ply. The neck is poplar. The fingerboard is 'ebonized' maple or pear wood with 'Gene Autry' in white script, and six pearl position dots at various frets. The neck, back and sides are all painted in a faux tiger maple pattern that's quite pleasing to the eye. Top, back and sound hole are bound in white celluloid. The (replacement) bridge is ebony. One thing worth noting is the guitar is 14-frets clear of the body, but features a slotted head stock, a nod to both the traditional and future in guitar features.

The guitar measures 14 13/16" across the lower bout. Scale length is 25 1/8". The neck measures just a hair under 1 3/4" at the nut and string spacing is 2 3/16" at the saddle. The body is 3 13/16" deep at the end pin. The neck is neither 'V' nor 'C' in shape, but somewhere in between and very comfortable in the hand for a player of vintage instruments.

Older repairs include a few top crack repairs and a replaced nut. We reset the neck, made Replaced end pin and bridge pins. Action is set at 6/64" and the guitar plays easily.

With the big body and ladder bracing, the guitar is bold in the bass with strong mids and highs. It produces a nice 'thump' then finger picked, and projects well when played with a plectrum.

Comes with an old, possibly original, soft case.

Check out the sound clip!