1964 Stella (Harmony) H922 12-String 000-Size Guitar
I've worked on a bunch of these and they all start-off as unplayable messes (even if they look great) but after repairs wind-up solid, woody-sounding, chunky-sounding, Leadbelly-style guitars. The necks are something you'll have to bond with (2" nut, flat board, and bigger D-profile to the rear), but if that can be massaged into your life, what you gain is a retro sound you won't find many other places outside of egads-expensive 1920s Oscar Schmidt Stellas -- which have similar necks, anyhow.
These are roughly "000" in size, have 12-fret neck joints, solid birch throughout the body, ladder braces, and undeniable low-brow charm. Painted binding? Check. Ebonized mysterywood fretboard and bridge? Check. Interestingly, the nut and saddle on this guy are still bone and I did manage to reuse the original saddle -- something I can't always do with these. Shortly after this was built, Harmony switched to plastic nuts and saddles for these instruments.
Repairs included: a neck reset, fret level/dress, tuner lube, minor seam and brace repairs, extra compensation added to the saddle, cleaning, setup.
Top wood: solid birch
Back & sides wood: solid birch
Bracing type: ladder
Bridge: ebonized mysterywood
Fretboard: ebonized mysterywood
Neck wood: poplar
Action height at 12th fret: hair-under 3/32” bass to 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
String gauges: 46w-10 extra lights
Neck shape: medium-big D
Board radius: flat
Truss rod: non-adjustable
Neck relief: straight
Fret style: medium/lower
Scale length: 25 1/8"
Nut width: 2"
Body width: 15 1/8"
Body depth: 3 7/8"
Weight: 4 lbs 14 oz
Condition notes: structurally, it's in good spec -- no cracks and all repairs done. Visually, it's also in pretty good order. It does show a ton of playwear on the back of the neck and the usual assortment of nicks, dings, scratches, etc. throughout the body that goes with a budget guitar and years of play. It's all-original except for its endpin. I did shim the bottom of the bridge up with a 1/16" spacer after the neck reset. I can include extra shims in case you want action higher down the line.
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