Information on these Armstrong archtops is very scant, but from what I have been able to find out, they were made by Harmony. Assuming that, this is clearly a top of the line model with a solid, carved, graduated spruce top and detailed wood marquetry purfling. This guitar also has mahogany back and sides, a mahogany neck, and a rosewood fingerboard.
The top has solid parallel braces and the guitar really has the classic punch of a well made 16" archtop. The tone compares very nicely with the pre-war guitars made by Gibson and Epiphone and the build quality is comparable, making a guitar like this one an amazing bargain. The neck angle is great with perfect action for an acoustic guitar. The playability is great with a straight neck and level frets. The neck has a full C-shape, comparable to a typical mid-1950s Gibson.
The hardware all appears original, except for the pickguard which is a vintage replacement. The finish appears all original. The frets appear to have been replaced fairly recently and look to be Jescar EVO Gold wire.
Weight - 4.0 pounds
Nut width - 1.73 inches
1st fret depth - 0.95 inches
9th fret depth - 1.11 inches
Lower bout width - 16 1/8 inches
This guitar comes with a nicely fitting modern hardshell case.
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$1,449.00Price
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