The Sovereign's Secrets

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  • Опубликовано: 29 янв 2025

Комментарии • 339

  • @garywhitt98
    @garywhitt98 3 года назад +194

    Your mold commentary is the best of its kind on any luthier channel. You just can't get good mold talk anymore.

  • @ambiention
    @ambiention 3 года назад +58

    I don't begrudge anyone for spending 'more than it's worth' to get a guitar like this into shape. They've got some character to them, you're saving an instrument from the scrapheap, and you can probably be fairly confident in the final product.
    I'd love to have Woodford-refurbed pawnshop special

    • @panameadeplm
      @panameadeplm 2 года назад +4

      I don't know, I try not to be one of those 'tone wood'' types, and maybe it's just my lack of experience talking, but to my mind no two acoustics are going to sound the same, compounded with the fact that you know the guitar you have is already used to the conditions you live in. I really don't find it odd at all that people would prefer to spend a little more money on an old guitar they've had for a long time vs. a little less money on a new one. It's not really so much about emotional attachment as it is about consistency. It's really a no-brainer to me, as far as acoustics are concerned anyway.

  • @peterroyle7082
    @peterroyle7082 3 года назад +37

    Had one of these guitars in 1969 . In 1972 I was mugged in Manchester UK and the Muggers put me in hospital for a few days . They also kicked in the the side and the top of the guitar , beyond making it worth while repairing it ,at the time . In 69 it cost about 35 UK pounds . All this I had fogotten about untill this post reminded me of it . Not to worry though it was almost 50 years ago . Love your work . I am a retired Cabinet Maker and have repaired quite a few guitars in the past few years .

  • @f1s2hg3
    @f1s2hg3 3 года назад +3

    When a man can take a old beat up harmony guitar and make it like new is a good man in my book! Thanks 😊

  • @that_thing_I_do
    @that_thing_I_do 3 года назад +43

    I think now that we belong to a gang that we should get black leather jackets emblazoned with either "Woodford's Warriors " or Ted's Terrors".Can we vote on this? Hands?

  • @DerangedTechnologist
    @DerangedTechnologist 3 года назад +21

    Fine work, a joy to watch. Lucid explanations of your criteria and rationales for decisions, and actions as you were taking them. As always, many thanks.

  • @TheGuitologist
    @TheGuitologist 3 года назад +16

    Nice job! I've owned a couple of these Sovereigns. I believe they, like most of the Harmony guitars of the time, had bad neck sets from the factory. But they do sound good.

    • @SMITHII_
      @SMITHII_ 3 года назад +2

      Long live the guitologist

  • @pauljenkins2501
    @pauljenkins2501 3 года назад +1

    Thank you for bringing a lovely old guitar back from the dead!

  • @blindjohnharrison8026
    @blindjohnharrison8026 3 года назад +2

    People aren’t good at things anymore. You a shining exception sir!

  • @ryanjetton
    @ryanjetton 3 года назад +3

    For some reason that guitars tone is perfect to my ears. I’ve watched almost all your videos, and even though it prob doesn’t have the value of some of the Martins and gibsons you work on, I get why the owner wanted this one taken care of. Great repair.

  • @jimduffy9773
    @jimduffy9773 3 года назад +4

    Your wonderful sarcasm was really diverse this episode. As well as the technical details and choices you made. A great episode.

  • @scottmulrooney3130
    @scottmulrooney3130 3 года назад +5

    The repair work was awesome as usual. The Latin binomial mold identification was just off the hook. Best channel for guitar repair and mycology on RUclips.

  • @markholden1662
    @markholden1662 3 года назад +1

    My father's main guitar for many years was a Sovereign this vintage. Wish I could find a salvageable one now

    • @markholden1662
      @markholden1662 3 года назад +1

      Listening to the guitar at the end, that tone is so familiar. Brought a tear to my eye.

  • @Three_Eyed_Willy
    @Three_Eyed_Willy 3 года назад +9

    The late Guy Clark was a fairly close friend of mine during the early part of his career as a singer and songwriter. He was also a very capable luthier. He supplemented his income by doing modifications of various guitars. One of his favorite mods was to remove the back of a Harmony Sovereign Jumbo and rebrace it, providing X-bracing with scalloping. He did some very nice work.
    I should also mention that Mance Lipscomb played a Sovereign that was given to him by Mack McCormick and Chris Strachwitz. He wanted to play an electric guitar, but they felt that the Sovereign fit with the image they wanted him to convey on his tours.

    • @dooleyfussle8634
      @dooleyfussle8634 3 года назад +1

      Yeah, Mance's was part of a set that they had taken with them to provide as 'appropriate' guitars to the old blues guys they were recording and documenting. I have done the same mod to two Sovereign guitars I have had the good fortune to own. One is still my go to guitar, although it now needs another neck reset and probably a bridge doctor!

  • @jackiet4575
    @jackiet4575 3 года назад +6

    Luv the mold info!! Part luthier, part scientist! It is amazing the vast amount of knowledge you have!! Breedlove guitars have the string thru bridge also! They are a pain in the butt to restring!

  • @SeanKerns
    @SeanKerns 3 года назад +3

    I have a '68. The action was trestle-like when I got it, but I actually performed my first neck reset on it. Jimmy Page still has his Sovereign, and was on the cover of one of the guitar mags with it, within the past year.
    Another famous Harmony user was Pete Townshend. He had a six string H1260, and a 12-string H-1270, which can be see on his studio wall, before he switched to Gibsons.

  • @SkunkBearTK
    @SkunkBearTK 3 года назад +1

    Through RUclips compression that sounds better than many of the higher dollar guitars you've done. These videos are my therapy.

  • @gordon5004
    @gordon5004 3 года назад +3

    It's a beautiful guitar.

  • @nicolen.9642
    @nicolen.9642 3 года назад +2

    Always interesting and enjoyable too. Thank you Ted for making learning pleasant 👌🎶🎶🎶

  • @franklinsteen4721
    @franklinsteen4721 2 года назад

    Have a '63 12string. Huge voice. Bought in 1965. Re-glued some braces at Hoffman in Minneapolis 2005. Never a neck problem. Trapeze solves the warped bridge tendency. Takes a big case!

  • @OldJong
    @OldJong Год назад

    A good friend of mine had one just like that one and I had a 59 Monterey. We played as a folk duo in the end of the 60's. It sounded great! I still have and play that Harmony Monterey by the way!

  • @mwilsington
    @mwilsington 3 года назад +2

    It makes me wonder, am I broken beyond salvation?! Way to send your viewers into existential crises.
    Love your work. Thanks for sharing it.

  • @blindsidedka
    @blindsidedka 2 года назад

    I keep coming back just for the mold observations. Humor right up my alley!

  • @dwebster50
    @dwebster50 3 года назад

    It’s great to watch, such clever work. So much was done & enjoyed the humour . Knowledge of yours is golden. I got thinking about your evaluation . So much clever experience….it’s the sign of a great luthier. So cool and Canadian my friend 🇨🇦😊🇨🇦😊🇨🇦😊

  • @matthewbartolone7036
    @matthewbartolone7036 2 года назад

    Yep been thru this same exaggerated series of add-on repairs from a simple neck reset. Harmony Sovereign 1260 is what it is. You made it look easy, thank you for walking us thru this.

  • @mikeg3660
    @mikeg3660 3 года назад +1

    Greta stuff as always… love the intro music.

  • @jenswinther8601
    @jenswinther8601 Год назад

    Impressive work. Always inspired…. And the chese references was unparalelled…

  • @BluegillGreg
    @BluegillGreg 3 года назад

    I picked up one of these in Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands during a salmon gill-netting trip. The action was high but just playable, it did sound good, and it was fun to have a guitar in that funky little town. Rather than getting it fixed I gave it away when I got home.
    Recently the 1967 Gibson C-1 that's been with me for 44 years has come apart at the neck-body joint. It will be repaired. Different guitars mean different things to different people at different times.
    All the best to you and to the owner of this revitalized instrument.

  • @michaelrice500
    @michaelrice500 3 года назад

    19:35. Yup, Those guys really do play rough. You made my day, sir.

  • @davidshaw5979
    @davidshaw5979 3 года назад +1

    A true craftsman at work. great video. kind regards.

  • @michaelbondick575
    @michaelbondick575 3 года назад

    Great education and watching 👍💪♥️🥇⭐️. One great technician.🥇

  • @Goomer
    @Goomer 3 года назад +2

    Another good one. I have a slightly older Sovereign that is beat up and needs a neck reset, might get up the nerve to try it myself one of these days.

  • @patriottothecore6215
    @patriottothecore6215 3 года назад +2

    George Lowden does top loading bridges on his guitars. I have 2 - a 6 and a 12 string, both 12 years old. So far so good.

    • @customfreak81
      @customfreak81 3 года назад

      Dermot Mcilroy also uses these style of bridges, not surprising considering he worked at Lowden, my Mcilroy AS25 is 13 years old and just getting better every year

  • @mikenixon4637
    @mikenixon4637 3 года назад

    I'll say it again. Your integrity and professionalism is over the top. Kudos.

  • @whatposterman1222
    @whatposterman1222 3 года назад

    Had two of those through the years, the older ones without soundhole purfling. You get upside down on any harmony unless you’re going to keep or sentimental.

  • @johngardner545
    @johngardner545 3 года назад

    Love ya sense of humor, the dryness is next level stuff

  • @izzynutz2000
    @izzynutz2000 3 года назад +1

    I've had a couple of Harmony 12 strings over the years and I got to say when they're set up properly they do play well and they have a nice sound

  • @WillyKidd
    @WillyKidd 2 года назад

    Great video. I've got an early 60s one of these that I quite enjoy. As for other players.. Pete Townshend also had a Harmony Sovereign 6 string, as well as a 12 string in around 1966-67.

  • @honkytonkinson9787
    @honkytonkinson9787 3 года назад +2

    Phenolic: I’ve only ever heard that word used to describe the taste of certain scotch whiskeys, in regards to the phenols that exist in the peat used to dry out the malted barley used to produce the product.
    What is this with regard to a reliably flat surface?
    I’m very impressed with this repair! Great job!

    • @gramursowanfaborden5820
      @gramursowanfaborden5820 3 года назад

      phenolic resin, it's a hard plastic basically, used for stuff like counter tops because it's hard wearing and chemical resistant.

    • @honkytonkinson9787
      @honkytonkinson9787 3 года назад

      @@gramursowanfaborden5820 so like Formica?

    • @gramursowanfaborden5820
      @gramursowanfaborden5820 3 года назад +1

      @@honkytonkinson9787 never heard of it. phenolic is very similar to perspex/"plexiglass" but much stronger and i don't think it is transparent.

    • @honkytonkinson9787
      @honkytonkinson9787 3 года назад

      @@gramursowanfaborden5820 Formica is a laminate plastic that is applied to fiberboard to create inexpensive kitchen and bathroom countertops. It seems to have been replaced with cultured marble and synthetic granite in the last 20 years. Was very common in the 70s and 80s. Sounds like phenolic is just a kind of opaque plastic that is very hard/stiff and is manufactured with strict tolerance so it can be used to construct other things with strict tolerance. I’m kinda surprised I’ve never heard of it before but I probably shouldn’t be since I work a desk job

    • @honkytonkinson9787
      @honkytonkinson9787 3 года назад

      @@gramursowanfaborden5820 phenol is also the active ingredient in certain over the counter medications used to relieve pain from certain oral conditions, like sore throat and mouth ulcers

  • @petedazer3381
    @petedazer3381 3 года назад

    I enjoy your videos of repairs to non Martin or Gibson guitars! Harmony guitars are a part of American history. You treat every instrument with reverence regardless of where it came from, and I appreciate that!

  • @drewstaudenmaier2583
    @drewstaudenmaier2583 3 года назад

    That bridge is beautiful, I love the shape of it.

  • @kevinmorris7722
    @kevinmorris7722 3 года назад +1

    Love watching you. Learned so much. The mending plate may get touched while playing but it's awesome. I'd keep it too.

  • @joshuataft5541
    @joshuataft5541 3 года назад

    Makes me wish I had tools..I did woodworking in high-school and young adulthood..was a carpenter for10 years too..and I love to play guitar..I wish I was right there with ya..do cool to save an instrument..I wish I kept my harmony strat copy. As a kid I thought it was junk because it wasn't well known to me as a 11 year old

  • @jabbalechat7910
    @jabbalechat7910 3 года назад

    Pleasure as always... 👍

  • @donaldholman9070
    @donaldholman9070 3 года назад

    Cool old guitar! Great video. Thank you.

  • @milugardiy2110
    @milugardiy2110 3 года назад

    I love your channel ! As soon as Adam Savage mentioned you I watched your work and I love it!

  • @quad1000
    @quad1000 3 года назад +1

    Pete Townshend also used 6 and 12-string Sovereigns when writing many of The Who's hits of the '60s...you can count Substitute and Behind Blue Eyes (1970), among others just as notable.

  • @joshuataft5541
    @joshuataft5541 3 года назад +1

    Sounds great..I need an acustic..as a kid it wasn't cool but I crave that warm clean tone .more and more

  • @rankenfile
    @rankenfile 3 года назад

    A cultured commentary in harmony with candid worm cannery. Quite nice show-n-tell, and results sound great!

  • @WansbeckBikecam
    @WansbeckBikecam 3 года назад

    I just got one of these in for repair. Guess what? It needs a neck reset. Thanks for the vid. Very helpful. 🙂👍👍👍

  • @mC_DiDiDiDiDi
    @mC_DiDiDiDiDi 3 года назад

    Always humbled by your work. Thanks.

  • @brentbergeson9887
    @brentbergeson9887 Год назад

    Really enjoyed this one

  • @elicarlton-pearson8945
    @elicarlton-pearson8945 Год назад

    You’re awesome. Thanks!

  • @ragnarironspear1791
    @ragnarironspear1791 3 года назад

    Only found your channel a few days ago and I'm loving it . From the Emerald Isle

  • @dougkennedy4906
    @dougkennedy4906 3 года назад

    Really enjoy your vids.
    Informative, and entertaining and calming.
    You sir are the Bob Ross of luthiers.

  • @dennisyounkin644
    @dennisyounkin644 3 года назад

    Another Great video, Im glad to see someone spending the money to save a guitar most wouldn’t

  • @akfisher7138
    @akfisher7138 2 года назад

    love your wit as much as your skills.

  • @markcarson8566
    @markcarson8566 2 года назад

    I love your since of humor

  • @jtgordon100
    @jtgordon100 3 года назад

    I look forward to your videos every Saturday. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

  • @michaelnicholas8081
    @michaelnicholas8081 3 года назад

    You are just one of the most interesting and knowledgeable. Always enjoy your videos!

  • @Sammywhat
    @Sammywhat 3 года назад

    I so appreciate how you respect each instrument, regardless of it's value in the world. That's a true sign of craftsmanship. You have this in spades, sir!!

  • @doctoribanez
    @doctoribanez 3 года назад

    Better than new. This didn't show up in my feed until it said 7 days ago.

  • @anguslove3327
    @anguslove3327 3 года назад

    Been a subscriber for a long while and respect your attention to detail given each and every time!!! Regret not finding your talent before bringing my bass to some other wise guy on youtube.....

  • @steviiiii
    @steviiiii 3 года назад

    Great tutorial... your acumen des fromage is magnifique..!!

  • @glen.d6435
    @glen.d6435 3 года назад

    Love watching your videos, you are a true craftsman.

  • @thomastommy1192
    @thomastommy1192 3 года назад

    Awesome video thanks for sharing. I truly hope everything works out for you and the new owner.Stay well and safe.

  • @DankestWizard
    @DankestWizard 3 года назад

    Incredible work man, love your videos!

  • @siscoismyhomey
    @siscoismyhomey 3 года назад

    That conclusion at 3:12 was such a great answer

  • @thehowlingterror
    @thehowlingterror 3 года назад

    Excellent job.

  • @josephpedroza632
    @josephpedroza632 3 года назад

    Great job! Sounds great!

  • @jp2246
    @jp2246 3 года назад

    To my ear, sounds very nice!

  • @alexbozas887
    @alexbozas887 3 года назад

    Great work as always, wish i could send my guitars to you.

  • @telecasterbear
    @telecasterbear 3 года назад

    Those open back tuners are most handsome. I love the waverly style buttons.

  • @icebankmicelf
    @icebankmicelf 3 года назад +1

    I popped three Sovereign necks off recently and I noticed an usual amount of hide glue. I suspect they globbed more glue on their higher end models to ensure the neck stayed on

  • @guitfidle
    @guitfidle 3 года назад

    Welcome to Woodford's Cheesemaker Channel. 😆😆 I have one of these from '67 on the back burner. Does have a snapped headstock, original tuners seem to work, nut is also garbage, the frets are horrible and will get replaced, and that skinny bridge saddle is awful. Surprisingly doesn't look like it needs a neck reset.
    Oh, and besides Jimmy Page, Pete Townsend also got one of these in the 60s, looks like both of them still have these.

  • @Andalew
    @Andalew 2 года назад

    I was really into Harmony guitars 15 years ago. I read much about them and the best explanation of the date stamps' "F" and "S" is "F" indicates "first shift" and the "S" indicates "second shift", this is from someone who researched Harmony and learned that their factory operated two shifts per day. Why there was differentiation between the two shifts' production is an interesting question.

  • @nascargas
    @nascargas 3 года назад

    Gotta be careful with those pesky Cheese Consortium folks. You had me chucking. Ditch the food channel idea. Maybe a comedy channel with this kind of humor! 😄😄😄

  • @vltjd
    @vltjd 3 года назад

    Great stuff, and never cheesy.

  • @testing1two547
    @testing1two547 3 года назад +2

    Wonderful work to watch, as always. Personally, I think it's insane that manufacturers make press in tuner bushings with 'faux' hex nuts on top, just waiting for the [next] owner to put a wrench on them and twist.

  • @picksalot1
    @picksalot1 3 года назад +1

    I have a Lowden with a top-loader bridge like in the video. I also had to plug a number of the string holes and re-drill them by hand. How did you re-drill the holes? Pin bridges from now on for me.

  • @beytone
    @beytone 3 года назад

    Page on stairway? I'm not going to check it but I think this is one of your funny provocations! Thanks again for a great repair!!!

  • @adobedoug2564
    @adobedoug2564 3 года назад

    Thanks for playing them for us Ted.

  • @dillavou444
    @dillavou444 3 года назад

    Excellent work, per usual!

  • @kylem9901
    @kylem9901 3 года назад

    Sounds great!

  • @younkinjames8571
    @younkinjames8571 3 года назад +1

    Thank you for explaining why all my Breedlove guitars have bridge doctors.

    • @walterw2
      @walterw2 3 года назад

      i think that's different! higher end breedloves were designed _around_ those bridge doctors; they built the tops and bracing extra thin for increased volume and bass and used the bridge doctors to keep them from collapsing.
      in practice that resulted in guitars that would "squash" with hard bluegrass picking or strumming but were wonderfully loud and responsive to gentle fingerpicking

  • @THEQueeferSutherland
    @THEQueeferSutherland 3 года назад

    You're very good for the little man that lives in the city and can't have a giant machine shop, you do so much in such a small space without having all kinds of bullshit fancy tools. Much respect

  • @EmoryBall32
    @EmoryBall32 3 года назад

    Love this!

  • @CygnusXII
    @CygnusXII 3 года назад +1

    I love these guitars. I've owned two of them in my life. One from the 60's and one from the 70's and also owned a soprano. Those sovereigns have a very nice sound for their price point. Too bad they are getting so expensive. You used to be able to pick them up, a dime a dozen, but now they are going for 700 to 1200 in good shape.

  • @lumpyguitar5169
    @lumpyguitar5169 3 года назад

    😎🎸👍🏽 BRAVO! Educational and entertaining as usual. I thought the mold under the extension was famunda. My mistake . 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

  • @bigbasil1908
    @bigbasil1908 10 месяцев назад

    The fretboard looks in really good condition. My dad has only ever got his guitar out once in a while to play the four chords he has known all the time I have been alive (C, Am, F, G). Of course his fret board shows no sign of wear.

  • @Arfonfree
    @Arfonfree 3 года назад

    I've got a Sovereign that I bought new in 1965. It's still in good shape.

  • @stevenfolino405
    @stevenfolino405 3 года назад

    Awesome, just AWESOME!

  • @anthonydevito1298
    @anthonydevito1298 3 года назад

    What an incredible niche reference at @11:37 haha. If you say "Grana Padano" three times in front of a mirror and spin around, do they appear?

  • @simonthompson789
    @simonthompson789 3 года назад +12

    Watch out for those European cheesemakers! I, personally, have fallen victim to their cheesemaking sweet-talking. My guitars have been colonized by lactobacillus, and now I have Europeans dropping by nearly everyday claiming to be checking on their cheese. I have no privacy, and my house is routinely full of European cheesemakers. Very frustrating when I want to practise my guitar. I suspect these European cheesemakers and their claims of ownership of various strains of lactobacillus are nothing but gaslighting to distract from the fact these same European cheesemakers are, collectively, digging an enormous hole in my backyard. They tell me not to worry about this hole, but the entrance to the hole has signage: "Eurocheese Domination or Bust." Do you think I should be concerned about this?

    • @JeanMarceaux
      @JeanMarceaux 2 года назад

      Wait until the European cheese makers congregate inside the hole, then simply refill it on top of them. Introduce them to a bit of an Eskimo copalheim making tradition.

  • @amylendian3721
    @amylendian3721 3 года назад

    Every time you say flush cutting saw my brain hears "flesh" cutting saw and I cringe😆
    Anyway, I love your channel, your talent, and your soothing informative delivery.

  • @pauleandersonmusic
    @pauleandersonmusic 3 года назад +1

    Yes, it was worth it. I am glad to see the guitar being given a second life.

  • @margaretanncarno4014
    @margaretanncarno4014 3 месяца назад

    Loved the jokes about the mold and cheese!

  • @kingstumble
    @kingstumble 3 года назад

    A former bandmate had a Sovereign which he bought new in the 60s(this was in the UK where you didn't see many Harmony's)and which he was going to use in his "second career" in folk clubs. But he went on to play it on a couple of successful albums with a quite well known English singer/songwriter. It was a great sounding guitar and so much easier to play than my Yamaha FG140 which I had just bought!

  • @ignacioarbanil4964
    @ignacioarbanil4964 3 года назад

    Marvelous!

  • @railroader555
    @railroader555 3 года назад +2

    I don't think anyone mentioned Pete Townsend. I've seen photos of him playing one in a recording studio. I believe the intro to "pinball wizard " is on a Harmony 12 string. Can anyone corroborate that?