Everything was rocket, stratospheric, meteor, space-related in the fifties… So I guess Stratotone means nothing more than strato(spheric) tone… However, it’s interesting to note that Harmony invented this name and sold the H44 (1952), – 1 pickup, “Neck-through” construction “Spanish Guitar” (one piece of wood from head to tailpiece, and two added “ears” to form the body), before the Fender Statocaster (1954), so they did not copy the name as we read or hear from time to time. But Fender may have been inspired by the Stratotone… Anyway, because of its thick raw gutsy sound, the H44 has gained a cult status over the years and now, following the next wave of “vintage madness”, experiences a huge revival. My once guitar hero Marc Ribot was spotted using one since some years already and also I’ve been told that all-clean Mr. Waits now frequently noodling on the Stratotone during his recent stage shows… However, it is to point that H44’s rather unhandy small shape and FAT “Baseball Bat” neck makes this otherwise undoubtedly great instrument not everybody’s cup of tea.
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Harmony H44 Stratotone
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