The Steel Guitar Forum

The problem I had with mine is that I was trying to play it in my lap. I really couldn't get comfortable with it. I'll bet if I'd had that cool looking stand, I'd still have mine.

Both of mine have the original keyless tuners. I haven't had any trouble with breakage and they stay in tune easily. They are a bit of a hassle to restring although I think the technique will just come with time. The eight string (which is similar to what is for sale in Toronto) is a bit of a squeeze in terms of tuner placement...but it does still work fine. Again I have no complaints they ring crystal clear up and down the fretboard like nothing I have ever heard. I keep an eye out for them online regularly (not sure why just GAS I guess) and the one in Toronto has been for sale for about 8 months . I bought a keyboard stand to hold both of them. Works great. One thing I thought about because they are so light was to mount one to the lower bout of a Tele. I don't understand why folks think they are ugly, I have always found geodesic structures and tetrahedrons to be really elegant.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

I agree with you, Ivan. Maybe not in the traditional sense, but I think they are striking to look at. I mean, that pic that Joey posted was beautiful.

Roger

Only slightly off topic since the subject it Harmos. Check out the third post on this page HERE...

Not off topic. I spoke with the Harmos folks about Robert Randolph's pedal steel right after they built it. They said it was the last one they were going to build because it was a huge hassle.

If they are in fact, still building the guitars, it's even stranger that they're not responding to emails. The site is up and fully functional. I was thinking about placing an order just to see if I got a response. Might even be kind of fun. I could put together my dream steel without the having to come up with the money thing.

Roger

When I spoke with them a couple of months ago they said they were going to shut down the website and only have the Matrax portion of the site up. I think I found a different phone # for them by poking around the web. Try the phone # listed for the Matrax that should work. If not contact me and I will try to reconstruct my sleuthing.

Thanks Sherlock.

I'll try that and let you know.

Roger

Getting ready to restring my Harmos today to get it ready for some band jobs & festivals this season...made me think about this thread. The Harmos is a beautiful sounding lap...I hate to think there will be no more made. If you ever see one for sale, get it...you will not be sorry.

Be careful if you see one with the keyless tuning mechanism. I purchased a Harmos way back when with the keyless tuning and it was impossible to get it into tune. I returned it and they gave me a full refund. I was a beautiful looking instrument but definitely had some design issues, at the one I had.

My opinion....and it's just that.....

The Harmos didn't take off and and was probably not feasable to continue.....especially when you have to make a living....could very well be another chapter in steel guitar history......

I LOVE my Harmos Americana! If they made a double 8, I would probably retire the Stringmaster and play it exclusively.

I would like to hear what a Harmos Pedal Steel sounds like. Can someone direct me to a video of one of YouTube?

I was Robert's guitar tech when he had his Harmos around. Although there are some unique structural features to it, the look never really grew on me. Or the sound. Maybe not enough body.
When Buddy went back to playing a keyed Sierra. I remember him saying that the look was a big factor. The way the strings are changed might have played into it too.
Ned Steinberger, with his headless guitars and basses, is the only person that I can think of who has successfully made a radical design of an instrument "stick", in recent times.

I do play my Harmos live from time to time. It is a great playing and sounding lap, with the Chicago pup. Still glad I have mine.

I do wish I had one of the Harmos Ultimate Support stands tho...does anyone have one of those stuck back?

For those that own a Harmos with the cantilever levers: the easiest technique that I have discovered to put strings on is to stand the instrument up on its end. Use a screwdriver to tighten the strings. This helped me to no longer struggle with the technique. I learned this from my friend Jake Wildwood.

I had one of those once, I was really looking forward to owning one. But the tuning mechanism didn't work properly and I had to return it. A shame. They were so cool looking.

Some Harmos owners posted some neat pics here...
https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtop ... highlight=