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I changed the strings on one of my Stella guitars Silverplated wound black nylon the guitar sounds pretty good :)


crustoleum

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Nice collection! I have 4 myself. All of them are strung with D'Addario EXP Coated Phosphor-Bronze Lights tuned down a full note and they all sound fine. Each of those old Stellas has its own voice. Ironically, the newest model which is made of plywood rather than the standard birch has great sustain and a very sweet tone. I never considered using nylons but thanks for the info - maybe I'll give a set a try next time.

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Nice collection! I have 4 myself. All of them are strung with D'Addario EXP Coated Phosphor-Bronze Lights tuned down a full note and they all sound fine. Each of those old Stellas has its own voice. Ironically' date=' the newest model which is made of plywood rather than the standard birch has great sustain and a very sweet tone. I never considered using nylons but thanks for the info - maybe I'll give a set a try next time.[/quote']

I like to use a slide on those things too...they sound perfect , actually to me . . The "newest" Stella I have obtained was a 12 string "reissue" , about 20 years ago was "new" then . I do not believe "MBT International" has/had any plans for making more , maybe...am I wrong ? I see old ones on Ebay, not "new" hmm

This 12 string I did trade it , the frets at the 1st position were "well worn" , too much so :( I obtained a "Stadium" 12 string , which also sounds great , to me :) sorry no pics yet :( . The Stella did have a different sound , hard to explain sound , in words but ." tinny," "boxy" somewhat different . I wore the frets out :)

my grandson liked it too ...he is 12 now , when he visits he liked to play it , a little. I hope he likes the new 12 string :) I believe he will :)

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I wore it out :):(

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"Historic reissue" , I believe 100 were produced :) around year 2000. I got that one at a place in "Buzzards Bay" (Cape Cod) They had 2 of them , I should have obtained both :( It was a nice thing...but I wore the frets out...I liked it so much :) I also believe , around that time, a few other "Stella" guitars were manufactured , maybe for the last time ? :(

Gone , but not forgotten , traded for a couple Epiphone Masterbilt things :) :) these were OK , I like Epiphone guitars , better :)

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I did like that big thing , it was "new" also , around year 2000 or so :) Does anyone know if Stella guitars are still being manufactured ? I don't believe so...

what do you think ?

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Does anyone know if Stella guitars are still being manufactured ? I don't believe so...

what do you think ?

 

When Harmony went belly up - I just looked it up and it was in 1975 - all of the machines, forms, tools, materials got sold off in a way that made it impossible for those actual guitars to be made by someone else. So any guitar since then that carried the Harmony or Stella name was a new guitar that was made to a greater or lesser extent to resemble the old Harmonys. I have seen Korean-made guitars, for instance, with the Harmony logo that only had the name in common with the real deal.

 

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The original Oscar Schmidt Stellas and the Harmony versions are very different guitars. There are several people building modern reproductions, probably some of the nicest (and most authentic) are Todd Cambio at Fraulini Guitars. They have been played by people like Alvan Youngblood Hart and Paul Geremia

 

http://fraulini.com/

 

Here is my take on a long scale ladder braced 12 string, strung with cables and tuned in the cellar

 

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The original Oscar Schmidt Stellas and the Harmony versions are very different guitars. There are several people building modern reproductions, probably some of the nicest (and most authentic) are Todd Cambio at Fraulini Guitars. They have been played by people like Alvan Youngblood Hart and Paul Geremia

 

http://fraulini.com/

 

Here is my take on a long scale ladder braced 12 string, strung with cables and tuned in the cellar

 

IMG_0830-1.jpg

 

I am sure that that beauty you built is a real high-quality guitar and looks it. Likewise, I would guess that the original Oscar Schmidt Stellas were high quality. As for the 4 old Harmonys I have (one is labeled Regal, 2 Harmony and one Stella although they are essentially the same guitars with some minor variations) they were cheaply made and could never be called "high-quality." And that is one of the things that I love about them. I enjoy the hell out of them in large part because of their low quality. Inside of my "Regal" it looks like a crime scene with all the glue on the seams (it was sold that way.) The fret boards are made of some indeterminate wood - possibly birch, stained with the fret markers painted on. The "binding" is just paint as well. The bridges are just a piece of who-knows-what wood on 2 of mine and a piece of plastic surrounded by some indeterminate wood on the other 2. Surprisingly, the plastic bridges produce a very nice sustain. They really don't sound anything like any other guitars I have played, but, if you can find one with a straight neck (and all of mine have nice low action) they do have a unique tone that you can really fall in love with. The fret boards are totally flat so a classical-guitar capo works well on them. The floating bridges were totally intimidating at first but I learned on the internet how to set the intonation and, amazingly enough, the intonation is spot on.

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As you can see, I like the "Harmony built" , early 1960's "Stellas" , As Freeman stated , the "Stella" name has been around for quite some time. I believe a company called "MBT International: owns "Harmony" now. I believe they make some sort of "equipment" for musicians , maybe. That little 12 string was very nice. I did have to take a little off the underside of the bridge to make it playable :) super "high" action, when "new" After I took 1/8-1/4 inch off the bottom of the bridge , it was very comfortable , no "buzz" I didn't take "too much" off when I sanded the bottom surface of the wooden bridge/"saddle" thing The thing was a delight, but had "soft" fret wire :( was a great little guitar. I wish MBT would make more "historic reissues" I'd like a new Harmony Sovereign :) and another 12 string Stella :) oh yes I would :)

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the "Regal" arch top , made in the 1930's that I once had :( another one that I "lament" over , a little , was an unreal thing , it really was. The "figuring" on it was spectacular . I've never seen anything quite so ... well ...unreal very bad photo. This thing was very very nice oh yes it was..traded for an Epiphone , one of the Wildkats , I do believe. But , that thing was wicked , yes it was :)

I have no better photograph , but this thing really was a spectacular looking old thing :) and the "action" was right on , again , very comfortable. A blues machine x1000 :) What do you think ? It originally had a white scratch plate , which I cracked, kept it in the case. I thought the tortise plate looked pretty good too :) What do you think ? Bxn5q4n.jpg

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During the 1930's Regal made a lot of guitars under license from other companies as well as their own brand. They did make spider bridge resonators under license from Dobro. I don't know the whole history of Regal but sometime around the war they disappeared, then resurfaced as a PacRim company, I always associate them with Regal. I've worked on a few Regal/Rogue resonators - felt that with a cone upgrade and some setup they could be pretty nice players.

 

Here is my little collection - 1932 Dobro style 27 on the right, 1980 Dobro Duolian on the left and my little home made tricone. I have never bonded with the Duolian - I simply don't like the 14 fret neck - it isn't wide enough or flat enough. I keep thinking I should sell it and get a Style 0 but I never get around to it.

 

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Thank you. They are very different instruments, the Duolian is brash and nasty, the type 27 is sweet and singing and the tricone is somewhere in between (just like in the picture). Right now the Duolian is in open G and mostly plays Delta blues, the type 27 has a nut extender (its a roundie but I've got it set up for lap style) and is in dobro G, the tricone is in open D and plays a mixture of slide and fingerstyle - blues and Americana. I've also got a little Weissenborn that stays in open D - all the bases are pretty well covered.

 

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