1933 Oscar Schmidt Stella Decalcomania Tailpiece Parlor Guitar (A)

Yep, "Stella Birch Brown" number 2. Compared to the other one I just posted, this one is more original (only nut and bridge are replacements) and much cleaner overall. As per the last post, this was made by Oscar Schmidt in New Jersey and its Stella branding marks it as a down-market instrument when made. These old Stellas are treasured in the country-blues, old-time, and folksie scene as they make killer fingerpickers as well as hot-to-trot flatpickers.

They've got an addictive, woody, warm sound to them that most other period parlor/small-body guitars tend to lack. You can attack them a little harder because of that, too, without the sound getting compressed/zippy.

This particular guitar has some nice figure to its birch back and sides -- it has a bit of a curly/splotched pattern in it that I don't see too often and stands-out when light hits it. Its kick-butt decals are also in good shape, too, and the finish is quite clean for its age. Many of these old Stellas get pretty dull finish by this point in time but this one has a good glow to it.

Repairs included: a neck reset, brace reglues to the top and back, fret level/dress, side dots install, new compensated rosewood bridge, new bone nut, and general cleaning and setup.

Setup notes: it plays bang-on fast with 3/32" low and 1/16" high action at the 12th fret. The neck is straight and it's strung with 50w-11 gauges. That's the max I'd use for E-to-E standard tuning, but 12s would be fine for lower-pitched open/slack tunings. The original frets still have some height left but are a little lower near the body joint and 1st/2nd frets after the level/dress work.

Scale length: 25"

Nut width: 1 7/8"

String spacing at nut: 1 5/8"

String spacing at bridge: 2 1/8"

Body length: 17 3/4"

Lower bout width: 13 3/8"

Waist width: 7 3/4"

Upper bout width: 9 3/4"
Side depth at endpin: 3 1/2"

Top wood: solid birch

Back/sides wood: solid birch

Bracing type: ladder (two & bridge-plate-brace on lower bout)

Fretboard: ebonized maple

Bridge: new rosewood, compensated

Neck feel: big soft V, flat board

Condition notes: nut and bridge are replacements, there are two (tight) repaired hairline cracks on the lower-bout-bass-edge of the top (more like "crinkles" as that area had been bumped in the past), and average usewear to the body throughout -- small scratches, nicks, and dings as you'd expect. Overall it's in pretty good shape, though!