1920s Stella (Oscar Schmidt) Flatback Mandolin

Overview: This is a no-frills, simply-built Stella mandolin made at the Oscar Schmidt factory in the late '20s. It's got a spruce top and birch back and sides and is appointed similarly to their guitars of the same time -- real binding on the top edges but a decal-backstrip on the rear.

Tone: It's got a mellow, sweet sound that would be great for recording, open-chord strumming in folk-style, or old-time/Celtic-style fiddling-about in smaller groups. It doesn't have the volume or carrying-power for "big loud acoustic" work but it has a nice tone for at-home or playing-with-buddies work.

Feel: It's pretty bog-standard for the time, with a medium C/soft V profile and flat board.

Interesting features: I like the original pickguard's shape, the brightly-natural top finish, and the odd grey-brown that the back and sides finish has aged-to. It would originally have been more of a red-brown but the Schmidt finishes fade into strange stuff like this as they age.

Repairs included: Tim gave it a level/dress of the frets, made a new bone nut to replace a funky old one, added some extra compensation at the bridge, and setup work. It's playing spot-on and ready to serve.

• Weight: 1 lb 8 oz
• Scale length: 13 1/8"
• Nut width: 1 1/8"
• Neck shape: medium C/soft V
• Board radius: flat
• Body width: 9 1/8"
• Body depth: 2 5/8"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid birch
• Bracing type: ladder
• Bridge: unsure, bone saddle
• Fretboard: ebonized something-or-other
• Neck wood: poplar
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall(fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 32w-9 (but could do 34w-10 easy)
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: low/small

Condition notes: It appears original throughout but the tailpiece may be later. I didn't take it off to double-check. The tuners are vintage-style so it's best to tune up to the note you want. The string spacing within each course is rather narrow and so an aggressive approach will yield a bit of string-to-string snap, so I'd suggest a lighter-gauge pick on this guy as compared to the usual thick, heavy-duty mandolin pick. There's wear and tear to the fretboard's surface (as evidenced by the eboniation dye leeching in first position). There are scratches here and there throughout and a bit of an alligator/leathering effect to parts of the headstock and rear finish. 

It comes with: It's got an old chip case.

Consignor tag: RI