1960s Harmony Roy Smeck H7 Lap Steel Guitar

1960s Harmony Roy Smeck H7 Lap Steel Guitar
Condition: Very Good vintage condition, shows some cosmetic wear. Comes with original case and legs. 

This 1960s Harmony Roy Smeck H7 lap steel is a genuine piece of American guitar history, built in Chicago during Harmony's peak years and named for Roy Smeck, the vaudeville multi-instrumentalist whose showmanship helped put the lap steel in front of American audiences. The pine body wears Harmony's striking gloss black and ivory "Tuxedo" finish — the two-tone look that makes the H7 instantly recognizable on a stage or a wall — with a white fretboard marked out in black bars. Sixty-odd years on, it shows the cosmetic wear you'd expect and hope for on an instrument this age, and it comes complete with its original case and chrome legs so you can play it standing.

The layout is pure vintage lap steel: a 22.75" scale length, a 2" nut, a fixed bridge with 2 1/8" string spacing, and strip tuners with plastic buttons in nickel. There's no neck relief to fuss over and no action to set — you play it flat with a bar, and the wide spacing gives you room to work cleanly between strings. It's an approachable instrument to pick up if you've never played slide on your lap before, and the short scale keeps the string tension comfortable under a bar.

The gold-foil pickup is the heart of this thing. Gold-foils have become one of the most chased sounds in vintage gear, and for good reason — they're bright and articulate with a hollow, midrange-forward character and a compressed, slightly gritty edge that boutique builders spend real money trying to replicate. Through a simple volume and tone, it goes from sweet and vocal to genuinely nasty when you push an amp. Whether you're a country or Western swing player who wants a period-correct instrument, a blues or roots musician after real vintage grit, a producer chasing a sound that doesn't come out of a plugin, or a collector of mid-century Harmony gear, the H7 has more character than anything built today at its price. This Harmony Roy Smeck H7 includes its original case and chrome legs. Order today from Brian's Guitars.

Questions about this guitar? We're happy to help.

Body
Type: Lap Steel
Body Material: Pine
Color: Gloss Black/Ivory "Tuxedo"

Fretboard
Color: White
Inlay: Black Bars
Scale Length: 22.75"
Nut Width: 2"

Hardware
Bridge/Tailpiece: Fixed, 2 1/8" Spaced
Tuners: Strip w/ Plastic Buttons
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome

Electronics
Bridge Pickup: Gold-Foil
Controls: Volume and Tone

Other
Other: Comes with Chrome Legs
Case/Gigbag: Original