Scott Baxendale’s journey in guitar repair is nothing short of remarkable. From his early days at Mossman Guitars to establishing himself as a renowned luthier in Athens, Georgia, Baxendale has carved a unique path. While he builds custom guitars and plays music, a significant part of his work centers around breathing new life into vintage instruments, particularly Harmony Guitars and Kays. His innovative conversion process, which replaces ladder bracing with his custom scalloped X-bracing, and his luthier academy, where vintage instrument restoration is key, have placed him at the forefront of guitar remanufacturing.
What sparked your passion for remanufacturing old guitars, especially Harmony guitars?
It began in the early 2000s when my son showed interest in learning guitar repair. I had a collection of harmony guitars in various states of disrepair at the time. I realized that rebuilding one would provide him with a comprehensive learning experience. A single harmony guitar restoration would cover neck resets, refrets, nut and bridge work, neck angle geometry, and intonation – essentially 80 percent of essential guitar repair skills. Once we disassembled the first harmony guitar, I decided to incorporate the bracing technique I used on my custom builds. The result was astounding; the harmony guitar sounded exceptional. That success led me to restore more harmony guitars, and they practically sold themselves. The inherent quality hidden within these vintage harmony guitars was undeniable, just waiting to be unlocked.
Could you elaborate on the curriculum at your luthier academy and how it involves harmony guitars?
Our luthier academy offers an intensive six-month, full-day program, three days a week, though most students are so engaged they attend all five. We often use Stella guitars, similar in construction to harmony guitars, for instructional purposes. I demonstrate a technique on one Stella, and the students replicate it on another. By the end of the course, each student has performed 15–20 neck resets, refrets, and bridge and saddle replacements. Many schools mystify neck resetting, but we tackle dovetail refitting from day one. After completing my program and gaining a year of practical experience, graduates can confidently work on Martins or Gibsons. By the time they construct their first acoustic guitar, the only skills they haven’t fully mastered are side bending and neck carving. Working with instruments akin to harmony guitars provides a solid foundation in fundamental lutherie skills applicable to any guitar.
Where do you source your inventory of old guitars, particularly Harmony guitars, for these rebuilds?
I’ve developed a unique six-for-one trade system that benefits musicians who may be on a budget. They bring in six old, inexpensive guitars, often easily found for under $50 each – many of which are harmony guitars and similar brands – and in exchange, I rebuild the best one for them. The remaining five become part of my inventory, eliminating the need for constant eBay searches. This system not only provides me with a steady supply of vintage harmony guitars and other instruments but also gives musicians access to a professionally rebuilt guitar at an affordable price.
Do your students get to work on customer guitars, including rebuilt harmony guitars, after graduation?
Absolutely. Once they reach a proficient skill level, graduates begin working on customer instruments under supervision. Initially, they handled basic repairs and occasional rebuilds. However, I soon recognized the rebuilds, especially of harmony guitars, as something truly special. The tone we were achieving with these remanufactured harmony guitars was comparable to the finest Larson Brothers guitars, which are legendary for their sound and craftsmanship.
Deconstructing a vintage Harmony guitar for rebuild
Rebuilt Harmony guitars achieving Larson-level tone is impressive. Are they also more affordable?
Significantly more affordable. Many of these rebuilt instruments, especially those originally made between the late 1930s and early 1950s, sound as good as, or even better than, Martins that can cost $30,000 to $40,000. When you consider the mahogany Figure 8 body style with spruce tops common in vintage harmony guitars, once rebuilt, they easily rival a 1934 000-18 or an OM-18 in terms of tone and responsiveness. Yet, I sell these rebuilt harmony guitars for around $2,000. You get a guitar with 80-year-old wood, possessing that coveted mojo, patina, and sound that excites players about vintage ’30s Martins or Gibsons, but at a fraction of the cost. For players seeking vintage tone without the premium price tag, a rebuilt harmony guitar is an exceptional option.
Who are typically your customers for these remanufactured harmony guitars?
Primarily touring musicians. The remanufactured harmony guitars have a unique aesthetic and a fantastic sound. They stand out from the crowd of standard instruments. Furthermore, their robustness makes them ideal for touring; if something happens on the road, replacing a rebuilt harmony guitar is much easier than a rare vintage piece. The wood in these old harmony guitars is incredibly stable, exhibiting minimal issues with environmental changes, temperature, and humidity. After decades, the necks have already undergone their warping and twisting; once straightened and reset, they remain stable. Young musicians appreciate their unique character, moving away from mass-produced instruments, while professional musicians value the lifetime warranty I offer on structural and playability issues. If a customer buys a rebuilt harmony guitar and it needs a neck reset a year later, we’ll handle it, with the customer only covering shipping.
Remanufacturing harmony guitars sounds like a sustainable approach to high-end instruments.
It truly is upcycling for instruments. I consider it the greenest tech in high-end guitars. We are repurposing vintage, often endangered mahogany guitars, many with Brazilian rosewood fingerboards found on older harmony guitars. In the rebuild process, we minimize the use of new endangered woods, typically using just a small piece of non-endangered rosewood for the bridge. I’m increasingly emphasizing this sustainable aspect in my marketing, along with the undeniable “mojo factor” of these vintage harmony guitars.
Do your customers perceive this “mojo” in rebuilt harmony guitars?
Absolutely. In my showroom, surrounded by high-end guitars, it’s often the rebuilt harmony guitars that capture people’s attention and ultimately sell themselves. For instance, I have a ’53 J-200, a fantastic guitar priced at $12,500. However, when you compare it to an early ’50s jumbo Kay, rebuilt in my style, the Kay often makes the J-200 sound comparatively lifeless. Once people overcome any preconceived notions about the harmony guitar brand name, they are blown away by these instruments. We’ve rebuilt nearly 600 harmony guitars and similar instruments to date, and many customers now own five or six of them. The unique charm and sonic character of a rebuilt harmony guitar are truly captivating.
Internal bracing of a rebuilt Harmony guitar
You worked at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville in the ’70s. How did that experience shape your understanding of guitars, including harmony guitars and bracing?
Working at Gruhn Guitars in the ’70s was an invaluable experience. The shop team was incredibly talented, including Steven Gilchrist, Kim Walker, Matthew Klein, and myself. Located in the heart of Nashville’s musical scene, we were surrounded by iconic instruments and musicians. I had the opportunity to work on guitars for legends like Elvis Costello, George Harrison, and Billy Gibbons, and even the herringbone D-28 that Hank Williams used to record his hits, now owned by Neil Young. Beyond celebrity instruments, I worked on countless other exceptional guitars. I also did photography for George Gruhn’s Guitar Player articles, and my photos appeared in Tom Wheeler’s early books, including the famous “Loar quartet.” Being in Nashville meant having access to an astonishing array of instruments, including early harmony guitars and other vintage gems, which significantly broadened my understanding of guitar construction and tone.
What was the most crucial insight you gained at Gruhn’s, particularly regarding bracing and its impact on guitars like harmony guitars?
George Gruhn constantly challenged us to understand the nuances of vintage guitars, questioning why a 1938 Martin might sound superior to a 1939 model. This led me to investigate why Martin altered their bracing patterns. The change in bracing around 1939 was driven by the increasing popularity of medium-gauge strings. Back then, medium gauge strings were considered heavy, and players needed them to achieve sufficient volume to compete with other instruments in ensembles before amplification. However, this heavier string gauge led to warranty issues for Martin.
Upstairs at Gruhn’s, we had a drying room for wood and finished guitars, which became my research lab. In complete darkness, I discovered that by placing a light bulb inside a guitar, I could see through the top like an X-ray. Examining pre-war Martins and Gibsons, and even some high-end harmony guitars of the era, revealed crucial bracing details.
And what did you observe specifically about the bracing?
On pre-1939 Martins, the thinnest points of the braces converged directly beneath the bridge. In 1939, while rear-shifting wasn’t yet implemented, Martin shifted the scallop along the brace’s length. The lowest point of the scallop was no longer under the bridge; the X-brace intersected the very tip of the bridge. On older guitars, the scallop started right at the X, but post-1939, a straight section about an inch beyond the X preceded the scallop, positioning the low point about an inch south of the bridge, not directly under it. This subtle shift in bracing profoundly altered the guitar’s tonal characteristics.
How did this discovery change your approach to bracing, especially in remanufacturing harmony guitars?
While scallops are often discussed in bracing, I realized that the critical factor is the relationship between the brace peaks and the bridge. These peaks function somewhat like inertia capacitors, absorbing energy and allowing the top to vibrate longer. Many builders place side braces – the small braces extending from the X-brace – directly under the bridge. However, on those ’30s Martins, and in my rebuilt harmony guitars, these braces are spaced about 1.5 inches on either side of the bridge. Placing braces directly under the bridge immediately dissipates energy from the bridge to the sides, creating tonal “holes” – scoops in the EQ, particularly in the mids. This also significantly reduces headroom and sustain. The bridge and saddle initiate top movement, and the goal is to maximize energy retention and inertia in the top.
How does your proprietary bracing system, used in rebuilt harmony guitars, address this?
I began to view these bracing peaks as inertia capacitors, and their positioning relative to the bridge became paramount. In my guitars and these rebuilt harmony guitars, the center of these side braces acts as peaks. An ellipse encompasses the bridge end, where the bridge drives these peaks, enabling them to hold inertia for an extended period before decay. On the bass side, a larger semicircle with the bridge at its geometric center is used, while on the treble side, a tighter circle of peaks is employed. This refined bracing pattern, especially when applied to vintage harmony guitars, optimizes tonal response and sustain.
Has your experience since Gruhn’s validated your bracing hypothesis over time, particularly in the context of harmony guitars?
For the past 40 years, I’ve scrutinized every guitar that has come through my shop, applying these bracing principles. I gradually incorporated these refinements into my guitar builds and rebuilds, including harmony guitars. Since then, I’ve continually refined my design across hundreds of guitars. The most significant evolution has been in the neck support brace, focusing on managing neck torque. We’ve used harmony guitars extensively to refine brace positioning, peak height, and overall brace dimensions. Remanufacturing harmony guitars has become a practical testing ground for advancing bracing techniques.
What aspects of remanufacturing these instruments, particularly harmony guitars, do you find most rewarding?
The “green factor” is immensely rewarding. I believe these harmony guitars, bearing my label, will become collectible in the future. Remanufacturing achieves several important goals: it makes high-quality vintage guitars accessible at reasonable prices, it repurposes inexpensive old guitars – like harmony guitars – into professional-grade instruments with renewed life, and it produces guitars that are visually appealing and sound exceptional. Giving a forgotten harmony guitar a new voice and purpose is incredibly satisfying.
What made guitars from the ’30s, including harmony guitars and their contemporaries, so special?
Craftsmanship was paramount in every aspect of guitar making during the 1930s. From Orville Gibson’s era through Lloyd Loar, instrument quality consistently improved, culminating in the exceptional guitars of the Larson Brothers, who were arguably the best. Craftsmen of that era dedicated their lives to honing their skills and achieving superior quality. Today, companies often prioritize cost reduction, but back then, the focus was on surpassing competitors in quality, not production speed or minimizing labor costs. This dedication to craftsmanship is evident in the enduring quality and tone of vintage instruments, including harmony guitars from that golden era.
How do you divide your time now between building custom guitars and remanufacturing vintage ones, especially harmony guitars?
Over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly drawn to remanufacturing vintage guitars, especially harmony guitars, and less focused on building custom instruments from scratch. There’s a profound satisfaction in taking a neglected vintage harmony guitar and transforming it into an instrument that inspires creativity. I want these guitars to empower musicians to create art they might not have conceived without experiencing the unique voice of a rebuilt harmony guitar. If a guitar immediately sparks inspiration and encourages new musical ideas, that, to me, defines a truly exceptional instrument. And often, a revitalized harmony guitar achieves just that.
This article is inspired by an interview originally published in the October 2018 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
