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 HARPTONE | | Guitars previously built in Newark, NJ between 1966 and the mid-1970s. | The Harptone company was a commercial successor to the Felsberg Company (circa 1893). During the 1930s, Harptone was more known for musical instrument accessories, although a few guitars were built between 1924 and 1942.
In the 1960s, The Harptone Manufacturing Corporation was located at 127 South 15th Street in Newark, NJ (07107) and Harptone's main guitar designer at the time was Stan Koontz (who also designed Standel and his own signature guitars). Harptone's guitar product line consisted of mainly flattop acoustics, electric archtops, and electric basses. Harptone instruments were built between 1966 and the mid-1970s when the company went out of business.
When Micro-Frets closed operations in Maryland in either 1974 or 1975, the company assets were purchased by David Sturgill. Sturgill, who served as the company president of Grammer Guitars for three years, let his sons John and Danny gain access to leftover Micro-Frets parts. In addition to those parts, they had also purchased the remains of the Harptone guitar company. The two assembled a number of solid body guitars which were then sold under the Diamond-S trademark. Unfortunately, that business venture did not catch on, and dissolved sometime in 1976. For further information regarding Harptone electric models, please refer to the Blue Book of Electric Guitars. Company history courtesy Tom Wheeler, American Guitars. | | | ACOUSTIC |
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