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1962 Alden 9908 Tuxedo / Dig That Black Sparkle! - $800 (Abington)

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condition: excellent
make / manufacturer: Harmony
model name / number: Alden 9908 Tuxedo

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Here is a funky, fun, nearly impossible to put down Alden “Tuxedo" 9908, yet another version of the H45 Harmony Stratotone Mars, dating from 1962 and in Excellent Condition. The Black Sparkle finish was only available for that one year and this one is nearly perfect! It has a modicum of honest play wear in terms of nicks and scratches, but is in great shape overall, with only a few minor dings. The electronics are all original, function without any noise, and the guitar really sings through its DeArmond Hershey Bar pickup. This will be a great guitar for soulful electric blues, but don’t be fooled; even with one pickup, it has plenty of high end sizzle!.  
This is a chambered body guitar, with no open holes on the body. It is very light, with a chunky neck. It intonates perfectly and plays without buzzing, up and down the neck. The action is a low 5/64ths on the low E and 1/16th on the high E, both measured at the twelfth fret. When it arrived in the shop, it was remarkably clean and well set up. We had no need of adjusting the neck angle, only of setting top the action properly. We leveled and crowned the frets, adjusted the nut slot depths, cleaned the pots with DeOxit, cleaned and lubricated the tuners, and reset the nut, which was loose. The guitar body and chrome were thoroughly cleaned as well. The fretboard and bridge have been treated with lemon oil.

Everything about this guitar is original and functions perfectly. The guitar will ship in its original, chipboard case, well worn but serviceable. It is strung with a fresh set of Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (10-46).

The guitar is 38 inches long, with a 24 1/4” scale. It is an absolute delight to play, and one which you could hang around your neck for hours at a time without tiring (it really IS that light).

Hey, what’s with the switch on a single pickup guitar? If you haven’t played one of these before, this feature might seem a little confusing. The function of the switch is to cut the tone control entirely out of the signal path. Any tone control offers some resistance and bleed to the treble signal, even when dialed up to 10. On many of these single pickup guitars from the late 50’s, early 60’s, particularly the Chicago built instruments, you’ll find a switch to bypass the tone control entirely and let the pickup ring out at “full throat.”

Many players will slide the switch down to take the tone control out of the signal path, and then dial in their amplifier for their “lead” setting. Bring the tone back in and roll it off to set your “rhythm” setting. Now, you can flip the switch to jump from rhythm to lead playing, and pack in a glorious extra punch of tone. When the slider switch is up, the tone control is engaged. Down, it is out.

Study the photos carefully and check out this really cool example of a Alden branded, Harmony made H45 Stratotone. Alden was a brand name used by the big catalog company, Montgomery Ward, and many, if not most of the Alden guitars were made by Harmony.

Serial #: 1822H45

Price $800

For a video demo of this guitar, visit our YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/A5h5dh80iPM


post id: 7919350932

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