Oscar Schmidt "Stella" c 1920 | SOLD | (v2139) This is another 'left for dead' guitar that we've resurrected in our shop recently. It came to us from the family of the original owner with a litany of repair needs, but the original parts were all there and we couldn't pass it up. This example dates to the 'golden era' of the Stella production, roughly from 1912 through the 1920s, the pre-depression era when quality materials and appointments were the norm. It is very similar to the No. 400 Standard Size (without the tailpiece) featured in the 1912-13 C. Bruno & Son catalog.
The back and sides are made from solid mahogany. The ladder-braced top is spruce, trimmed in the so-called 'Leadbelly' purfling and bound in white celluloid. The back features that same marquetry strip down the middle. The neck is mahogany, carved in a 'soft' V, and featues an ebony heel cap. The original fingerboard was rosewood with four pearl dot position markers. The pyramid-style bridge is rosewood. The bridge pins are dyed maple with pearl dots. Inside the sound hole is the early 'Stella' label.
The body measures 13 7/16" across at the lower bout. The scale length is 24 7/8". The fingerboard measures 1 3/4" across at the nut, and string spacing is 2 1/4" across at the saddle. The guitar is very light weight.
When we received the guitar there were some crudely done repairs around the upper bout and neck joint where some type of synthetic bonding agent was used. We carefully scraped the bulk of this away and commenced to correctly repair the guitar with hot hide glue. The long crack through the upper bout was re-glued and cleated. There were five back cracks that were glued and cleated. Several braces were glued. The likely original bridge was removed, cleaned up, re-glued and re-slotted for accurate intonation. The original fingerboard was severely damaged, so it was replaced with a new rosewood board, and carbon fiber rods inlaid underneath. The neck was reset. A new nut and saddle were fashioned, and one bridge pin replacement was sourced and installed. The top, miraculously, is crack free! The original finish remains, is very dry with lots of finish wear on the body and back of the neck. Action is set at ~ 5/64".
The end result is a super-playing and super-sounding early Stella blues machine with mojo to spare, solid as a rock and ready for another hundred years of work! The tone is smooth, woody and warm, thanks to the mahogany.
Check out the pictures and the sound clip!
The back and sides are made from solid mahogany. The ladder-braced top is spruce, trimmed in the so-called 'Leadbelly' purfling and bound in white celluloid. The back features that same marquetry strip down the middle. The neck is mahogany, carved in a 'soft' V, and featues an ebony heel cap. The original fingerboard was rosewood with four pearl dot position markers. The pyramid-style bridge is rosewood. The bridge pins are dyed maple with pearl dots. Inside the sound hole is the early 'Stella' label.
The body measures 13 7/16" across at the lower bout. The scale length is 24 7/8". The fingerboard measures 1 3/4" across at the nut, and string spacing is 2 1/4" across at the saddle. The guitar is very light weight.
When we received the guitar there were some crudely done repairs around the upper bout and neck joint where some type of synthetic bonding agent was used. We carefully scraped the bulk of this away and commenced to correctly repair the guitar with hot hide glue. The long crack through the upper bout was re-glued and cleated. There were five back cracks that were glued and cleated. Several braces were glued. The likely original bridge was removed, cleaned up, re-glued and re-slotted for accurate intonation. The original fingerboard was severely damaged, so it was replaced with a new rosewood board, and carbon fiber rods inlaid underneath. The neck was reset. A new nut and saddle were fashioned, and one bridge pin replacement was sourced and installed. The top, miraculously, is crack free! The original finish remains, is very dry with lots of finish wear on the body and back of the neck. Action is set at ~ 5/64".
The end result is a super-playing and super-sounding early Stella blues machine with mojo to spare, solid as a rock and ready for another hundred years of work! The tone is smooth, woody and warm, thanks to the mahogany.
Check out the pictures and the sound clip!