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| | ~ Harden Engineering ~ 
Bill Harden started playing guitar at age 14 in the suburbs of Chicago. At that time you could buy a Supro amplifier at a garage sale for about $15.00. He and his buddies had a band that tried to cover the songs of a local blues guy named Hound Dog Taylor, so the cool raw sound of electric guitar fascinated him from the very beginning, as it still does thirty years later. At age 18, Bill's parents said "Go to business school or get out." Bill opted to leave and get a job as a machinist in a local machine shop and pursue his dreams of rock and roll superstardom at night. While pursuing that dream he generally made his living working with his hands; mechanic, cabinet maker, etc., while playing gigs to help make ends meet.
 | Circa 1990 Bill opened his own guitar store in Chicago doing repairs and lessons, etc. In his spare time he started making guitars, amps and distortion boxes and experimented with his own pickup designs. Thousands of hours later, he came up with "The Switchblade," a cross between a Tele and Les Paul jr. Run through a harmony/supro mojo filter, Bill wanted the great tone of some of those more obscure guitars, but with a playability/dependability that would stand up to many "All Nighters." He wanted to make something different, but with the sensibility that made '50s American guitars so cool and so versatile; craftsmanship, nuance, tone and feel. He's still as captivated by the sound of electric guitar today, and is amazed by what having "a magic sound" can do for your playing, whether a pro, or a guy who comes home from a hard day, plugs in and looks up at the clock to discover an hour has slipped away along with all the cares of the world, 'cause he was "in the groove!" | | |
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Hardden Engineering Switchblade - starting at $2500
Ever wonder why vintage guitars have that special something that motivates players to pay thousands and thousands for them? How come two Les Pauls coming off the assembly line don't sound the same? What gives some guitars that "mojo" that makes you want to play them over and over again?...
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Harden Engineering Broncobuster - $2750
The Broncobuster is a marriage of the best elements of the Telecaster and Les Paul,skirting the line between the two but never really giving in either way, all the twang, all the sustain, all the beef, all the articulation, none of the hum, backache, or mud...
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Harden Engineering Excalibur - $5500
This guitar is heavy (but not necessarily in the sense of weight)! It's like Robert Johnson meeting up with Jimi at the crossroads! The combination of mahogany and aluminum produces a deep growl with pristine highs and harmonics--the feel of an acoustic with the power of an electric, and like having an old Dobro neck on your Les Paul...
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Harden Engineering Meteorite - $3500
From the mind of Bill Harden - the Meteorite. It has a massive, fat, smoky strat-like sound, with his monstrous hand wound single coil pickups...
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Harden Engineering BoDidley - $1350
The “Bo Didley” from Harden Engineering is Harden’s tribute to the legendary pioneer of rock ‘n roll who made the cigar box styled electric guitar an image that folks from all corners of the earth associated with his name...
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Harden Engineering Durango - $2250
A new tradition. The guitar that won the west! 25 1/2 inch scale, 1 11/16 nut, 14" radius, and a bloodwood fretboard which sonically lies between rosewood and maple and has a great feel...
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Harden
