|
h |
manufactured |
info
updated 8/10/2008...please email
corrections/info |
|
Hagstrom
 |
1958-1983 |
Biggest Hagstrom Guitar resource site
http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/index.html
http://www.hagstromusa.com/John/index.php3?website=haskinshagstroms
http://goyaguitars.tripod.com/goya_serial_no.htm
http://www.albinhagstrom.se/
http://www.balgdraget.com/write/hagstrom.asp
http://perso.orange.fr/hagstrom/redirect/index.html
http://www.algonet.se/~barke/hagstrom.htm
http://www.rru.com/~meo/Guitar/UD/
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/charlottecooper/guitarsite/docs/Sweetone.html
http://hem.passagen.se/awe/hagstromenindex.htm
http://fly.to/hagstromscandi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagstr%C3%B6m
1965 Hagstrom Jimmy D'Aquisto Search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
Hagstrom guitar catalogs
1966
http://www.haskinshagstroms.com/John/index.php3?web_site=haskinshagstroms&page=gallery§ion=22
1952, 1966, 1967,
1971, 1977 and more
http://www.hagstrom.org.uk/catalogues.htm
1968
http://www.carvinmuseum.com/guitarads.html
1966,68, 72, 75
http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/hagstrom66.php
1966, 1975
http://www.21frets.com/catalogs.html
Hagstrom
guitar advertisements
http://www.vintageguitars.org.uk/advertisements/hagstrom
see also Futurama
http://www.steverussell.freeserve.co.uk/hofner/futurama/gal20.html
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hagstrom |
|
Hahl
 |
1988 to present |
"I started 1988 with my education
at the workshop from a German master
luthier. In 1989 I
built my first own model . An acoustic
Archtop witch now is called the
"Jazz Supreme". I run my
workshop in a small village called Mudershausen in Germany.
I have a number code at the label
inside of my guitars where you can find the year of building."
[Source: Stefan Hahl, email 12/8/2008 ]
Images courtesy
of Stefan Hahl:
 |
|
Henner Hagenlocher |
1996 to present |
Granada, Spain |
|
Hahl |
|
Stefan Hahl,
|
|
Hahn Guitars |
2007 to present |
Made since "2007,
Garnerville, NY,
Serial number code: Year, Month, #built that month."
[Source: Chihoe Hahn,
email 22/7/2008]
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hahn+Guitars |
|
Haida Gwaii |
1998 to 2002 |
Established by
Greg Williams, (president)
,his brother Chris, Mark Vantaa, and Robert Bustos
in 1998.
http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/ecd/ssd/col25_e.html
see Paragon |
|
Haight
 |
1990 to present |
Norman D Haight, "
has been building since 1989. Our showroom and shop are at our
home in Scottsdale, Arizona. His label in each guitar includes
the year the guitar was finished, a brief description of wood
used, etc. and his signature. Serial numbers are sequential by
year." [Source and images courtesy of Sharon Haight, email 18/7/2008 ]
Haight guitars at
myspace
 |
|
Halfling |
|
see Ribbecke |
|
Hallgren Guitars |
1992
to present |
"I started to build
instruments on a hobby basis in 1986 but since 1992 I build on
fulltime professional basis. While my early production was
splitted between lutes, acoustic guitars and classical guitars,
since 1990 I build only classical and flamenco guitars. The
instruments are always signed on the inside with my name,
number, location and year. Three different labels has been used.
The first 1987 - 1992, the second 1992 - 2001 and the third
since 2001. Every instrument is numbered on every label and on
the present label I sign also with my name." [source: Per
Hallgren, email 30/3/2008] |
|
Hallmark
 |
1960s again in 1995 |
California,
USA
http://www.hallmarkguitars.com/about/history/default.htm
Search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hallmark |
|
Hamblin Guitars |
1993 to
present |
"I started building
guitars in 1993. I only produced 2 or 3 instruments a year until
2001 when I started making guitars full time. You can find the
year the guitar was made by looking at the label on the inside
of the guitar. the first 2 numbers are the year and the second
set is the number of guitars made up to that point. So a serial
# reading 0241 means that it was built in 2002 and is the 41st
guitar made." [Source: Kent Hamblin, email 22/3/2008] |
|
Hamer
 |
1974 to present |
https://store.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Eguitar/ElectricSerialization.pdf
http://www.hamerguitars.com/?fa=faq#serial
http://www.tokairegistry.com/tokai-info/guitar-dating.html#hamer
http://www.hamerfanclub.com/serial.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamer_Guitars
Rick Nielson
article
http://www.flyingvintage.com/gcmag/rnielsen.html
History of Hamer guitars 4 part - search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
Hamer
catalogs
2003 Hamer Catalog
2005 Hamer Catalog
2007 Hamer XT Catalog
Hamer
pricelists
2006 Hamer Pricelist
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hamer |
|
Hancock
Guitars |
1992 to present |
Mt
Tamborine, Queensland, Australia.
"We have been building guitars since 1992. Our instruments have
a paper label which is dated and signed.
We have records of every guitar we have build so encourage
potential buyers of second hand Hancock guitars to contact us by
email with a photo for verification." [Source: Sean Hancock,
email 31/3/2008]
Image:
Guitar Salon
 |
|
Harana
Guitars |
1999 to
present |
Handmade guitars from the
Philipines
"I started building guitars here in my shop in Cebu City,
Philippines in October of 1999. the date handwritten in the
paper label glued to the inside back (visible through the
soundhole) actually indicates when the guitar was finished /set
up and not necessarily the date of manufacture.
Other information on the label includes Model: this is usually
composed of two letters to indicate body style, (i.e. GC for
grand concert) followed by a 3 digit number to indicate model
specs with regard to woods, decoration etc. (i.e. 100 indicates
a very basic model while a 300 is a more ornate model using
spruce and rosewood) a combination of letters and numbers at the
end of the model series indicate additional info ( a C at the
end indicates it is a cutaway a 12s means its a twelve string,
an LH means its left handed etc.)
A guitar with a model GC-100C would mean it is a basic grand
concert with a cutaway. top is usually Agathis or kalantas while
back and sides is mahogany, fret board bridge is merbau and
finish is satin lacquer.
Because of the custom order nature of my shop I do not
necessarily follow the spec number coding and just put 100
series although it is a much more ornate instrument.
The serial number is quite straight forward and is similar to
martin, just a four digit number in sequence regardless of date
of manufacture or model (i.e. a 0025 means its guitar number 25
that came out of the shop). an exception is my line of travel
guitar which has a separate number series models included in
this category are: BP, TG, TG-CL and TG-FL. Guitar number 0001
is not necessarily the first guitar because I had already made
about 10 guitars before adopting a numbering system.
All in all I have already built 90 full sized guitar, about 70
travel guitars and about 10 assorted instruments (ukuleles,
mandolins etc.) which is about
21 instruments a year.
Although we certainly can make ornate instruments with all those
fancy shell inlays my design philosophy leans more toward simple
elegant instrument with excellent tone and playability.'
[Source: Efren Muana, Harana Guitars, email 28/3/2008]
http://indiecultureonline.com/more.php?id=229_0_1_0_M11
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Harana |
|
Harmony
|
1892-1974
and current rebirth |
In Chicago, 1892 Wilhelm J.
F. Schultz and four employees began production on a modest
scale. By 1915 Harmony had 125 employees. In 1916 Sears, Roebuck
acquired Harmony in order to gain its substantial ukulele
production. Harmony also made mandolins, banjo ukes, tenor
banjos, and other instruments.
In February 1928 Harmony introduced its Roy Smeck Vita
series-Standard, tenor, and plectrum guitars. In January 1930
the Roy Smeck Grand Concert and Hawaiian models were unveiled.
In March 1931 the Vagabond guitar line was first produced, and
in the following September the Cremona professional guitar
appeared. In May 1939 Harmony bought several brand names from
the bankrupt Oscar Schmidt Company including La Scala, Stella
and Sovereign. During this period Harmony substantially
increased its trade names to include Valencia, Monterey, Harmony
Deluxe, Johnny Marvin, Vogue, and many more.
From 1961through 1969 Harmony continued to grow and as imported
instruments began taking a larger share of the American market,
the company was purchased by a conglomerate along with some
other companies. There was heavy indebtedness, and the factory
equipment and other assets were sold at auction to satisfy the
creditors and they finally liquidated.
The current day Harmony is owned by Charlie Subecz. [Source:
Harmony]
The best resources for vintage Harmony are
http://members.aol.com/Rothguitar/Rothguita30.html
or
http://members.aol.com/Rothguitar/Rothguita30.html
and
http://www.broadwaymusicco.com/Harmony25.htm
http://members.aol.com/warnold910/harmonythumb.html
http://www.geocities.com/harmonyvintageguitars/
http://www.angelfire.com/trek/hillmans3/hillgt01.html
Harmony guitar catalogs
1959, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1973, 1974, and more
awesome site!!
http://harmony.demont.net/catalogs.php
This guy will email you a photo
http://members.aol.com/warnold909/harmony.html
Examples
http://www.wietsesguitars.nl/pagina9a.html
http://www.vintagesilvertones.com/gallery.html
1962 Harmony Silvertone 1423L Jupiter
http://www.myrareguitars.com/robergemay2007.html
Harmony Stratotone
http://216.219.212.85/Harmony/Holygrail.htm
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Harmony
see Silvertone |
|
Harptone |
|
http://www.acousticguitar.com/article/default.aspx?articleid=6038
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Harptone |
|
Harrison |
|
Douglas Harrison, Toronto Canada |
|
Paul Hathway |
1987 to
present |
Wanstead, East London |
|
T Hauro |
1970s to 1980s |
http://www.smctek.com/THaruoGuitarPage.html
http://www.kritmon.com/T_Haruo_guitars.html
 |
|
Hauser Guitars
Jospeh
Hauser
Herman
Hauser I, II, III |
1910s to present |
The Hauser tradition commenced
with Josef Hauser (1854 - 1939). Herman Hasuer I (1882 - 1952),
son of Josef, became a legendary luthier.
Biography of Herman Hauser I
Historical documents
Labels as far back as 1913 have
dates on them.
Image of Herman Hauser I
courtesy of
Guitar
Salon International
 |
|
Hawkes Guitars |
1994 to present |
Made since 1994 in Woodbridge, Western Australia. Date is on
label inside." [Source: Graham Hawkes & Maggie Aggett, email
5/4/2008]
Image courtesy: Graham
Hawkes
 |
|
David
Haxton |
1994 to present |
Seattle Washington |
|
Hayman |
|
Search at
http://www.vintageguitar.com
http://www.shergold.co.uk/hayman.html
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hayman
see Shergold |
|
Hayotuk |
|
Bernard Vachon,
Montreal Canada |
|
Haywire |
|
http://www.haywirecustomguitars.com/28.html |
|
Headway
 |
1977 to 2000s
? current |
Key dates sourced from
Deviser website 2002 on internet archive.
1977 Headway started making
acoustic guitars in Matsumotu, Japan
1981 Headway changed main
products from acoustic to electric.
1991 Deviser founded in Matsumotu
2000 Headway starts making
acoustics again
2001 Headway started Bacchus
handmade series.
It appears that Deviser is the
name of the sales and distrbution company and Headway is the
name of the factory.
Brand names include. Headway,
Deviser, River Head basses, Bacchus electrics, Brian electric
guitars and basses, Rider acoustics,
Other info
http://www.gakki.com/shop3/acouguit_headway.html
http://www.guitarsjapan.com/deviserinfopage.html
Headway catalog
http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_japanese_headway.htm
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Headway
Gakki |
|
Heartfield |
1988
-
1993 |
Heartfield History
Heartfield guitars were introduced in 1989 and were produced up
to 1993 (approximately) in the Fujigen Gakki factory in Japan.
Fender used the Heartfield brand name and started producing
guitars for the Japanese market there. This resulted in guitars
labelled "Heartfield", "Heartfield by Fender" and even "Fender".
[Source:
Heartfield Central ]
Dating Heartfield Guitars
http://www.heartfield-central.com/html/dating.htm
https://store.bluebookinc.com/Info/PDF/Eguitar/ElectricSerialization.pdf
1989 Owners Manual
http://www.fender.com/support/manuals/pdfs/instr_owners/Heartfield_Guitars_and_Basses_Japan_1989.pdf
Heartfield catalogs
http://www.vintaxe.com/catalogs_japanese_heartfield.htm
http://web.wt.net/~jsilva/hrtfld.html
http://www.heartfield-central.com/
includes forum
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Heartfield |
|
Heath ,
Heathkit |
|
A Harmony Brand
http://harmony.demont.net/brands.php |
|
Heatley Guitars |
1997 to present |
Scott Heatley, British Columbia,
Canada |
|
Heerby |
|
http://homepage1.nifty.com/strato_sunburst/guitar2.html
made by Kasuga
Heerby guitar 1979 catalog
http://brochures.yokochou.com/guitar-and-amp/heerby/197x/en_cover.html |
|
Heiden |
1970s to
present |
Michael Heiden,
Vancouver, British Columbia, USA
http://www.mandozine.com/resources/CGOW/heiden.php
http://www.mandolins.net/heiden.htm |
|
Heit Deluxe |
1967-1970 |
Heit was a brand name used by G&H importers of Lodi, New Jersey.
[Source: Vintaxe] Made by Teisco [Source:
Vintage
Guitar Pro ]
The Heit Deluxe was only built from 1967-1970 [Source:
Guitar for beginners]
Example
http://www.theguitarcollection.org.uk/gallery4/heit.html
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Heit+Deluxe |
|
Hemken |
1976 to presen |
I began making instruments in 1976
and at my current location since 1989. Zygmunt Drive, Saint
Helena, California, USA. I make
mainly carved instruments; archtop guitars and violins. There
are dates on the label inside them and also there number."
[Source: Michael Hemken, email 13/9/2008 ] |
|
Henkes & Blazer |
|
Wilhelm Henkes & Rudolph Blazer,
Tuebingen, Germany |
|
Heritage
 |
1985 to present |
Heritage
Guitar Company was formed by Gibson employees of the former
Kalamazoo plant who chose not to go to Nashville when Gibson
moved it's plant there in the mid 80's. [Source:
Heritage]
Dating
Heritage Guitars
http://www.heritageguitar.com/DateHeritage.htm
http://www.ducksdeluxe.com/heritage.html
http://www.kellyindustries.com/guitars/heritage_guitars.html
Heritage guitar catalogs
1989,93, 2006
http://www.heritageguitar.com/
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Heritage |
|
Hernandes y Aguado |
1941 to present |
Manuel Henandez (1895 - 1975) and
Victoria Aguado (b 1897-1982) became friends at a piano factory in
Madrid. In 1941 after the factory closed they established their
own business restoring antique furniture and pianos and started
to dabble in guitar making. Aguado retired from guitar
making in 1970. By 1975 when Hernandez died around 400
guitars had been produced. Marcelino Lopez started to make
guitars (30 all up) for Hernandez from 1971 to 1975. [Source:
Acoustic Guitar ]
Image:
Kent Guitar Classics
 |
|
Santos
Hernandez |
|
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/commerce/zavaletas/greene/inedita.htm
Image:
Kent Guitar Classics
|
|
Herold |
|
http://www.fetishguitars.com/index/misc_de.html
http://www.blackguitars.com/gallery.htm |
|
Herrnsdorf |
|
Made in Germany
http://jazzgitarren.k-server.org/herrnsdorf.html |
|
T.D. Hibbs |
2003 to present |
Cambridge, Ontario, Canada |
|
High Desert |
|
High Desert, guitars and mandolins
by Jason
Chinchen. Jason started
working with Breedlove in Canada. Now based in Bend, Oregon, USA |
|
Highland Strings |
2005 to present |
Maker of guitars and mandolins.
Jason Harshbarger
studied at
Roberto-Venn, Arizona in 1997.
"I
started making instruments under this name in 2005. I build them
in Cincinnati, Ohio US The first four digits of the serial
number are the month and year the label was placed in the
instrument and the last three digits are the number manufacture
starting with 001 and continuing. If i ever manage to build more
than 999 in my lifetime that will become the second four digits
in the serial number."
[Source:
Jason Harshbarger,
email 27/8/2008] |
|
Hilhorst Guitars |
1990 to
present |
"I
finished my first guitar in 1990.
All my guitars have a number and the year that they are finished
on the sticker that is visible through the soundhole.
I started with #1 in 1990 and am now working on the numbers 80
and 81. Once or twice I have made an instrument that was not a
classical concert guitar, but I just gave them the next number.
So the numbers are opus numbers.
In the beginning I made 1 or 2 guitars in a year, but now I am
making 6 guitars in a year." [Source: Jeroen Hilhorst, Concert
guitar maker, email 2/4/2008] |
|
Hill
 |
1990 to present |
Kenny Hill began building guitars
in the mid 1970's, first in Santa Barbara, CA, then later in the
Santa Cruz area. He took a hiatus from guitar building in the
1980s. In 1990 Mr. Hill returned to professional guitar
building. Since 2002 guitars are being produced in China.
[Source: Hill ]
Image courtesy of
Guitar Salon International
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hill+Custom+Guitars
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hill+Guitars |
|
Stephen Hill Guitars |
1986 to
present |
"I started in 1986.
All my guitars are dated on the label
I make in Granada Spain but worked for many years in Lewes,
England" [Source: Stephen Hill, Spain, email 4/4/2008] |
|
Hinnenkamp Guitars |
|
Brian Hinnenkamp,
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Hinnenkamp
Forum
http://www.luthierforum.com/ |
|
Hippner |
1994 to present |
Darren Hippner,
Point Roberts, WA, USA
Reviews
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/brand/Darren+Hippner+Guitars |
|
Hodges |
2005 to present |
|
