Vintage Stella 12 String Guitar 1930 Natural finish ORIGINAL

In 1890 Oscar Schmidt began manufacturing musical instruments to go along with the music books he was publishing. It was during this era that Schmidt began using the Stella and Sovereign trade names for his guitars. In 1910 he opened a factory in New Jersey to fulfill the demand from music stores and wholesalers. He was already supplying Sears with the better quality guitars they sold through their catalog. Most of the Oscar Schmidt guitars sold through Sears featured spruce tops and rosewood or mahogany bodies. One unique and consistent feature was the use of ladder bracing. Many of the older guitar manufacturers such as Harwood and Maccaferri used ladder bracing, while Martin and most Gibson guitars have “X” bracing. The more upscale Schmidt guitars were trademarked as Sovereign. These guitars featured pearl inlay and marquetry trim. The bridge was a pyramid style that was similar to the ones on Martin guitars of that era. Oscar Schmidt Guitars also placed a position marker at the tenth fret rather than the ninth fret. This is true also of some older Harmony guitars. Stella was the trademark name associated with the downscale product that Oscar Schmidt was producing. These instruments were made entirely of birch and had faux wood grain . Instead of marquetry these guitars used decals, which at the time were referred to as decal mania. This is primarily due to the use of birch. A second factor would be the ladder bracing. This is not the sound most of us would be seeking from an acoustic instrument in this day and age. The scale was it was 26.5 inches from bridge saddle to the nut. This is longer than most steel string instrument, but similar to a classical guitar scale. Unlike most modern 12-strings, which are designed to be tuned to E like a standard six-string guitar, old Stellas were set up to be tuned down to D or C. The scale length on this guitar is 26 1/2-inches, about an inch longer than most modern guitars, but when they are set up correctly, they just rumble and roar like nothing you’ve ever heard. Old Stellas are extremely rare hard to come by these days, particularly the large bodied ones like this one which is the same model Lead Belly played. After Lead Belly died in 1949 the world sort of forgot that 12-string guitars existed and for a while Stellas were essentially worthless and consequently not many survive in playable condition. The Stella I am selling is in nice physical condition. The neck is huge. It sounds is exactly like the great Bluesman 12 String players you've heard. This guitar could certainly use a set up and to make perfect maybe even a neck set. Or play it like it is. Its extremely rare and one of the best examples I have ever seen and I have been interested for 40 years. Not an easy find and certainly not in original, intact and stable condition. Guitar in in Los Angeles and I welcome anyone to visit to inspect.
FREE SHIPPING TO ANY MAINLAND USA LOCATION. All others pay actually charges. NO RETURNS FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER SORRY