1940 Harmony Round Up X brace conversion (James Burkett) Burst

1940 Harmony Round Up 'Gene Autry' w/hsc X braced conversion by Jim Burkett

Produced in limited quantities by Harmony from 1939-1941 and sold through the Sears & Roebuck catalog, the Harmony Round Up guitar features a 15" lower bout (3 3/4" depth at the tail block) with birch back and sides with faux maple graining and a burst finish and fire stripe pick guard. The neck has a substantial profile, some might call a "V" or "D" shape, and nut width of 1 3/4" with a scale length of 25 1/4". The fret board has "Gene Autry" in lariat lettering stenciled in white paint and the headstock is decorated with a bucking bronco and "Round Up" in stylized lettering that mirrors the fret board lettering. The original Harmony label that would have been inside the guitar opposite the sound hole is gone. A smudged black ink date stamp indicates a 1940 manufacture date (would have been red in '39). Below the neck block the interior also shows #4728 in white (factory order number) and #244 in white (Round Up model number). The guitar is in good condition with numerous dings, scratches and finish checks. The top has several old repaired cracks, the back has one repaired crack as does the bass side near the neck block. The neck block shows evidence of having once had a screw through it into the neck joint that has been removed and the hole plugged (professionally). The original tuning machines have been replaced with StewMac Golden Age strip tuners. The guitar was refretted in 2022 at Kovacik Guitars & Fretted Instrument Repair. Most significantly, this guitar was converted from its original ladder braced top to traditional X pattern top bracing in 2015 by respected Alabama luthier James Burkett, who also reset the neck and replaced the bridge with an appropriate sized replica. The top bracing is scalloped, has two tone bars and a maple bridge plate. All the work was done with hot hide glue. The result is a spectacular sounding guitar that combines percussive bass, clean midrange and crisp/chiming treble, all combined with superb presence and projection. The action is set at 7.5/64" at the low E at the 12th fret and 6/64" at the high E with a little more than 1/16" of saddle showing. The neck is quite straight under tension, only the slightest relief. Intonation is good all over the neck. Current set up is best for rhythm/chord play. Guitar comes with a newer Guardian hard shell case. $3500 + shipping. NYS residents add 8% sales tax.