From the lonely lover serenading his girl, to the huge orchestras bringing forth heavenly music, the guitar has held pride of place in the music world for centuries. A handy, light, and compact musical instrument, the guitar can be used both for a solo instrumental performance, as well as for accompanying a singer. The making of a guitar is an art and Harmony guitars have been known to combine good looks with performance. Created in 1892 in Washington, by Wilhelm Schultz, the company sold its first two guitars to the Chicago Music Company. The products were appreciated, and by 1915, the company was engaged in large scale guitar production, and also became the first manufacturer of the ukulele, a small four-stringed guitar. In the decades following its genesis, Harmony has released many innovative guitars. In 1928, the Roy Smeck Vita range of standard, tenor, and plectrum guitars were launched, followed the next year by the Roy Smeck Grand Concert and Hawaiian models. In 1931, the Vagabond and the Cremona series of guitars were released, the latter becoming the company's most popular arch-tops. In 1939, Harmony bought the brand names Stella, Sovereign, and La Scala from the Oscar Schmidt Company. Today, the company manufactures both acoustic as well as electric guitars. The acoustic guitars are either the F-cut or have a complete box shape, with a built-in pickup. The body has a glossy finish, with a rosewood fingerboard having brass frets. Alongside the normal six-string guitars, models having 12 strings are also available. The electric guitars have a solid hardwood body with a steel reinforced hard maple neck. Volume control and tone control as well as other higher-end adjustments are available. Single coil pickups and a selector switch generate better sound quality.