Stella guitar ~1980 made in Russia/USSR - ultra rare

Ok, we are getting serious now. This, ladies and gentlemen, is from the heart of the cold war itself. It is an Eastern bloc beauty from the very core. 

This funky guitar was made around 1980 in the USSR, or as you might call it today (and it always was), Russia. 

Does it look weird with all the knobs? Yes it does. And wherever you google about the guitar, you will always find that the knobs and switches are incomprehensible to say the least. At least two of the pickups were split into some weird out of phase wiring with the upper bobbins going to one switch and the lower ones to another.

Anyhow, this is a piece of nostalgia and if you accept that you might only be able to dial in one good sound (and stick with it without touching the controls again), then you have a secret weapon that will get heads turned. Maybe also because the tuners are... not the best.

Condition:

The guitar is in a very good condition for its age. The neck is straight and not overly chunky, quite playable actually. The frets show some neglectable wear. The tuners do their job so-so, and turn the other way round (as with all old Russian guitars). 

I can't really tell if all the wiring and switching works as it was intended - two of the pickups sound loud and clear, two others only have a very low output (or I haven't found the right switching combination to turn them on). It might be that there is something not right, but I can't tell. Anyway, two of the pickups sound loud and you can dial in a chunky single coild sound that gives twang- and vintage lovers a smile.

Sound and Playability:

The guitar plays easily with a very low string action of about 1 mm - 2mm  at the 12th fret. The tremolo works ok-ish, it's not overly effective.

There is a dampening device below the bridge which can be used to get a percussive chopping sound.

Frets, Repairs, Service:

Guitar cleaned, frets polished, new strings (10 gauge), set up as good as possible.