1940 Harmony Cremona IV 1304

Nestled in the cozy foothills of the Laurel mountains lies a small town. A town where the church bell rings 33 times; “One for every day he lived”, they say. The inhabitants of thi… wait… This doesn’t need a fairy-tale setup. This is Latrobe people! 

Home of the banana split, Fred Rogers and home to the classic mixed drink, The Arnold Palmer, and now that I think of it, Arnold Palmer’s birthplace. Rolling Rock Beer, St. Vincent College, Take 2 Interactive’s first core dev and creative hub, and a somewhat famous wing joint, where yours truly was scorned for being oblivious to the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Hint, it’s in Latrobe.

So, what’s with the virgin? Well, along with the aforesaid attributes, Latrobe was home to Mr. DeFazio, who, in 1940, purchased a brand-new Harmony Cremona IV 1304. Mr. DeFazio is long gone, but with the help of SLT Vintage, this Cremona IV heirloom gets the spotlight. Never photographed nor heard outside of Mr. DeFazio’s home. Until now.

According to family members, by 1967, the Waverly wartime machine heads crumbled and were replaced with Waverly 3OP tuners. In the same year, Mr. DeFazio went electric, opting for a sweet Rowe DeArmond Model 41 (still reading 8.93k). 

This 1940 Harmony Cremona IV 1304 is a genuinely hand-crafted archtop, grand auditorium in size. Built with select solid woods; A graduated hand-carved spruce top compliments the figured curly maple back and sides, in a high polished Cremona brown. Flamed maple, steel reinforced chunky D neck with a boldly engraved celluloid cap on a Harmony style wide paddle headstock. Fully bound oval 20 fret Brazilian rosewood fretboard with large pearlette inlays, side marker inlays and bone nut. A tortoise celluloid pickguard, height adjustable Brazilian rosewood bridge and a Kluson nickel plated compensating trapezoid tailpiece round it out. This instrument is a real player and a noteworthy hallmark in the history of Harmony manufacturing.

And that mysterious #33, famously printed on Rolling Rock beer containers and tolled by church bells? You tell me.