re: So the newer Harmony guitars kinda rule

I have a friend who has 36 electric guitars. vintage fenders, gibsons, rickenbackers, ibanez's etc. he has a problem and he knows it. he's now trying to unload some of the ones he doesn't play.

I haven't had any of these new Harmony guitars cross my bench yet to have a hands-on or ears-on opinion.

They are cool looking but I have zero use for gold foils and/or any pickup that is not a Fender-style single or a Gibson-style humbucker or P-90. And most players share my opinion, considering I can't remember the last time I had a guitar come in with foils, even retro reissues. It's been a few years and two or three thousand guitar repairs ago.

Because foils, while cute and artsy, are one-trick ponies that don't do their sole trick too well. At least for the masses.

Between the foils and the non-familiar looks, the street prices, and the HORRID choice in names from a marketing perspective ... this chapter of Harmony better hope they can land some high profile users if they expect to stay afloat. I predict they will not.

Segue to sharing a photo of a "real" Harmony ... my 70-plus year old "Archtone" jazz box strung with flats.

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They are cool looking but I have zero use for gold foils and/or any pickup that is not a Fender-style single or a Gibson-style humbucker or P-90.

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Because foils, while cute and artsy, are one-trick ponies that don't do their sole trick too well. At least for the masses

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They're not using real foil pickups, those are regular mini-humbuckers, humbuckers and P90s with covers made to look like old style foils.

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You could get one for around that but what if you wanted a different sounding and playing guitar?

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then I would get one that isn't a blatant copy

I was working this morning and was looking at pics on a tiny phone screen, then I didn't check out their website before I posted. That being said, I have about as much a use for mini-hums as I do for foils haha. Minis are an anomaly that few folks like or use and subsequently another rarity in the shop, Firebirds and LP Deluxes just aren't that prevalent.

But hey, if what new Harmony say they have does it for people, looks-wise, tones-wise, whatever, by all means have at it.

I looked at Guitar center's website a while ago, and they had a crapload of used ones nationwide at discounted prices.
That doesn't bode well for the brand. I hate that, because any new U.S. made guitar company seems like a good thing to me. It's a shame that they kind of shot themselves in the foot from the get-go.