by Spud1950 » Thu Aug 27, 2009 10:27 pm
Pretty obscure brand, but from what info I gathered, very well made and fine sounding guitars. They were designed for Harptone by Sam Koontz, a very well respected luthier.
"Koontz designed some large flat-top acoustic and archtop electrics, and some basses, for Standel. These were manufactured in the Harptone factory in Brooklyn, a company best known for its guitar cases, but which had made guitars on and off beginning in the 1920s. The Koontz models are easily recognizable by their architectural headstocks with a big circle cutout at the top. Reportedly, only a few hundred of these Standels were ever produced. Following the end of the Standel-brand, Koontz continued making archtops and flat-tops for Harptone, basically the same guitars carrying their brand name. These were made until the mid '70s, when the trade name passed to the Diamond S company, which also owned Micro-Frets."
Here's some Harptone pics for those who are interested.Nice looking instruments.