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.
















Comments

McComber said…
What a 12th fret birch beaut! Sounds good.