Stella H-922 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Harmony (1961), ser. #2789H922, original brown chipboard case.

Stella H-922 Model 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Harmony (1961), made in Chicago, serial # 2789H922, sunburst lacquer finish, birch back and sides, poplar neck with ebonized fingerboard, original brown chipboard case.

This folk-era Harmony-made Stella is a surprisingly nice guitar considering its distinctly budget origins, and something of a classic in its own right. In production since 1940, the H-922 was the only production 12-string guitar available through the 1950's, and one of the few "Stella" products that still carried a stylistic link to the brand's pre-war origins. This 1962 example has a HUGE V-profile neck, traditional tailpiece and bridge setup and less than deluxe painted-on binding and trim on the all-birch, 15" wide ladder braced body.

1964 was the last year for this older style round-body Harmony-Stella Model 922, re-born the next year as the slimmer-waisted H-912. This older version has a big powerful sound, and when it was built was still the only mass-market choice for an auditorium sized 12-string. At this point Gibson, Martin and Guild were not yet bringing higher-grade 12-string flattop instruments to market so in 1961 the venerable 922 was pretty much your only choice for Piedmont blues and Leadbelly songs! Humble perhaps, the H-922 is still in its own way a very cool and fairly unique instrument.

Overall length is 39 1/2 in. (100.3 cm.), 15 in. (38.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/16 in. (52 mm.).

This guitar remains overall relatively clean with some typical light wear. There are a few dings and scuffs on the top, and chipping to the body edges; the top's "binding" is actually painted on! This is heavier on the "unbound" back edge than the front; there a couple of deeper scrapes to the sides from contact with the case. The ladder-braced top is very solid and the entire guitar is crack-free. There are DeArmond bites (small screw holes and some scarring from the bracket) to top on either side of soundhole; these could be patched if desired or a period DeArmond pickup re-installed.

The neck has been neatly reset, straightened and the frets crowned so this is easily one of the best sounding and playing examples of this venerable Stella/Harmony we have had; they don't come much better anyway. While obviously a fairly low-budget model, this is a very nice solid-wood 12 string with its own distinctive sound still in the original chipboard case. Overall Excellent - Condition.