Harp Guitar Accessories/Hardware

1915 & 1917 Gibson Style U Harp Guitars

Featured are two of my Gibson Style U Harp Guitars. The majority of their information can be found by viewing 1915 Gibson Style U Harp Guitar and 1917 Gibson Style U Harp Guitar. There are many more tabs on this site that have fantastic 1900's ads with Harp Guitars as well, The Cadenza and Crescendo Catalogs.

This page will briefly touch on seldom seen, dismantled harp guitar items that are rarely seen in their whole. Enjoy.

The pieces, as found in most of the early Gibson Catalogs, display items that could be purchased individually from Gibson for most commonly, the Style U Harp Guitar and Style O Guitar.

Tail-piece for Harp-guitar and Six-string guitar (Style O) can be found elsewhere on this site. The Sub-bass Tuning Key is usually rarely seen.

Sub-bass Tuning Key

I have two very similar Sub-bass tuning keys. The top is brass and bottom has nickle-plating. Each key has a squared inside to insert into the sub-bass tuners.

Harp Guitar sub-bass key inserted onto a sub-bass tuner head.

Note the squared-head of the nickle-plated sub-bass tuner ready to be inserted into the key.

Sub-bass Tuner

Parts of a sub-bass tuner.

The disc settles on the front-side of the laminated mahogany head. The pin (rt) inserts through this into the front-side of the head. Note the hole at top of pin is for the string. The inside of pin is tapped in order to accept the screw in the next step.

A long screw inserts into the 'hat-shaped' square-ended disc. This unit will enter into the back-side of the laminated head.

Both pieces are assembled and ready to insert into the laminated head.

Both pieces are screwed together and assembly is completed. A string will go into the tuners small hole and the key will be inserted on the square-head to tighted the string.

There it is...a sub-bass tuner installed.

Turn-buckle Straining Rod

Nickled turn-buckle straining rod runs from head to laminated head-block beneath sounding board.

Nickle plated straining rod is attached by two screws to the mahogany head and then runs straight into the laminated head-block inside the body.

Early Gibson Catalog quotes.

PickGuard

Note the felt dot on the bridge. The end-pin of the pick-guard pierces this in order to align itself on the instrument.

German Silver Clamps attached to celluloid tortoise pick-guard. Note two sharp pins on either end pierce into the fingerboard and maple bridge respectively to secure and align the pick-guard.