daddymack

nooooooooo!!! he could wind up with this...

It has to be the whole package...at least for me. As much as I like seeing virtuosos play, there comes a point in the show where I want them to step outside of all that...some do, most do not. I'm certainly not a virtuoso, but I play a fairly eclectic mix of music, but I also [try to] incorporate some humor into the proceedings, be it a joke or two, a novelty/funny song, an anecdote that leads to a song...because I don't think being a serious musician means you have to be humorless...the job, as noted, is to entertain people.

^ but all moot since he had single coils in a hb housing....

without knowing what the actual finish is now, I can't suggest a solvent, so sanding with successively finer sand paper is the way to go, as long as the wood isn't very porous, that should get you to a reasonably clean surface. You can have stains tinted pretty much any color you want, and if you have a spray gun [like a Wagner] you can get great results out doors on a still day. If you have a spray booth, then just have at it! Consider also sanding down the back of the neck and the head stock face and staining them to match! Forget 'about how finishes do, or do not, affect sound, and/or how the wood breathes', it is 99.999% hog wash...and the remainder is nonsense, on solid body electrics. To clarify: [thanks mikeo!]

please come back so we can see it put back together

wider strap you could shave the back of the body, increase the 'comfort carve', rout narrow/shallow channels in a checkerboard pattern...but you ain't gonna knock two pounds off... or you could steam the cap off...and then channel it out to your hearts content. But this will likely change the 'feel' of the guitar drastically....

beat me to it....

do the p-ups look like this?

This is the early 70's 'hockey stick' head bass, right? Could you show us a pic of the pickguard?

are you referring to a Bose L1? Certainly a solution, if the OP has the budget for it...but since the OP has not returned since February, I doubt it matters anymore.

you could used solar powered [pre-charged] for a night parade, or battery powered led string lights, but how do you plan to attach them...?

As I guessed, the OP has been looking around for help in other places as well as here. I'm sorry to say that these basses were never particularly 'popular', and Harmony now is not Harmony then, so copies of wiring diagrams from ~50 years ago are going to be challenging [if not impossible] to find. Based on the date, this was likely built in Japan, and not Taiwan, but it was still an inexpensive 'starter' bass. On the plus side, the p-ups are likely DeArmonds [often marked as 'Rowe' on Harmony instruments up to 1975], and they are probably worth more than the bass. Have you tried contacting the new owners? https://www.harmony.co/pages/contact Not that I would expect them to have the diagrams, but 'one never knows, do one'? Without knowing what the final wiring 'goal' is [as bp asked above] there isn't much to be done. Are you returning this to 'original' wiring? I have to think not, with the push/pull pot you mentioned...but that makes at least one of the switches redundant. With an instrument this old and of little monetary value, why not ditch the original faceplate? Then you are no longer married to the on/off switches and 1V/1T arrangement.

Welcome...you are in the right place to discuss this, but absent a complete circuit diagram/schematic it will be difficult to answer your specific question.

***puts on turban and places crystal ball in front of monitor*** ***mentally intones: you will leave the black L6S to daddymack in your will...***

looks pretty good... I'm guessing the screw position aligns with keeping the bridge 'centered' on the f-hole center points? That would traditionally be where the intonation should be more or less correct....like on cellos and violins*. Too bad the incompetent fool felt the need to ruin the face of the guitar with an amateurish attempt, rather than the more acceptable 'drill and pin' the bridge approach. Not to knock your latest acquisition, but I have played literally hundreds of Ibanez guitars [acoustic, solid, semi and hollow] since I first came across one around late 1974, and have never felt like taking one home, although one Artist model [yes, teh yare fnckiug hevvy] spoke to me once and told me to go try an SG...😉 However, saying, "And anytime I think, "I could love this", I walk away. I NEVER fall in love. Then Mrs. Penguin "...is likely going to get you in deep guano at home😉 *unfortunately, many modern guitar builders have no clue as to why the f-holes are positioned as such and just place them willynilly with no regard to classical dogma.

Yeah, to non-guitarists, if you can play two chords, they are mystified and amazed...

USPS is typically cheaper...but slower. Put some FRAGILE stickers on there if you want it to arrive in one piece.

I liked his pulling the switcheroo...I have argued this point with other blues 'purists' and rock-a-billy fanatics....you know, the 'tone nazis'. It is not the gear, it is the player. The big hollow-body jazz guitar is more for the 'authentic look', and only other guitarists will look to see what amp you re using. My old band covered material from the 1920s up through the 70s, and it never mattered to me which guitar or amp I used, I knew how to get the right tone. I used everything from a Stratocaster, a Les Paul, a Melody Maker, an Epi Alley Kat, a thinline Tele with P-90s, an ES-135 and so on. Most of that time I used one of two slightly modded Blues Juniors, but for bigger stages a BF Vibrolux Reverb, or just 'to do it', a Vox Nighttrain, a Black Star HT-20, a Crate V20 [no reverb], a Quilter Aviator head, even an old Harmony 3000 [solid state]. The sounds are in there because the sound is so basic, pretty much any combination will yield the right tone if you have the patience, knowledge and skill to find it. I also agree about not needing slap-back echo. To me it is a 'nice addition', but not crucial, much like reverb. It adds to the overall 'sonic image', but is not necessarily authentic. I practice acoustically, even on the electrics, just to keep myself 'honest', and like Richter, for band work, I typically go straight into the amp [with reverb]; I do however, have a slew of delay/echo pedals* at my disposal for slap-back, but generally they are left on my 'sideman pedal-boards', and not for my band's gigs. *ever since my first EchoPlex in the mid-70s, I've been fascinated by the almost unlimited potential to generate sounds that are not in the guitar itself using delay and repeat.

except plenty of terrible musicians are self-deluded as to their competency....and lots of great musicians are overly humble.

had not run across Randy before...European players doing rockabilly is pretty cool....

Just know that you are doing everything right...the process is the process, and there are no shortcuts to a quality product

First, ask her what she wants for xmas...trust me on this one!

okay... 1) just to save you from some mild embarrassment later, 'strings close to the fret bars' is referred to as 'low action'. 2) a nut width of 1.8" is wider than most. Average/nominal nut width is usually ~ 1.69 [1 and 11/16ths]...but widths up to 1 and15/16ths do exist. Do they exist on a steel string acoustic with low action for under $200? Off the top of my head, I can't name a specific one that meets your requirements...mainly because a sub-$200 guitar is not something I would be interested in. Maybe someone else here can point you toward something. I can say that at that price, new, you are likely going to be looking at Washburn, Fender, Epiphone, Mitchell or Yamaha in order to get decent quality in that price range. I would suggest contacting a sales person at Sweetwater, Musicians Friend, American Music Supply and zZounds. They should be able to look up specs in their systems. Then, if they have something that meets your criteria, you can compare other factors, like how good the tuners are, what woods it is made from, how it sounds...

coming along nicely! Just be careful! plus this is the first time I think I've heard of someone actually getting something accomplished while quarantined

Let me get this right.... This is a 4x12 cab? You want to have the top speakers on one line, the bottom speakers on a different line, and the ability to run it like a normal 4x12? What is/are the ohms of the speakers? [4/8/16 ohm] What amp[s] are you driving this with, and do they have switchable loads? [4/8/16 ohm] You want to have the top speakers on one line, the bottom speakers on a different line, and the ability to run it like a normal 4x12? Why do you think this would be a good way to set up your cab? You can split the top/bottom speakers, but now you have changed the value of the resistance. You would treat them as if they were 2 separate 2x12 cabs stuck together that you can daisy chain or feed separately. Why not have 2 2x12 cabs you can stack or separate?