Oscar Schmidt 'Stella' Standard Size c 1930 | Hold | (vbg #2019) This guitar is pretty much the quintessential 'Stella', and found in the 1932 catalog as model 520-B. The top is spruce and set off with an attractive inlaid celluloid faux-tortoise pick guard, white celluloid binding and 'rope' marquetry. The back and sides are birch, stained a dark walnut, with the back bound in white celluloid and sporting a decalcomania strip down the center. The flattish 'V' carved neck is poplar and the fingerboard is likely maple painted black with fancy silver-painted position markers. The bridge is likely maple and painted black.
The 'standard' size body measures 13 7/16" across at the lower bout. The scale length is short scale at 24 7/8". The fingerboard measures just under 1 7/8" at the nut, and string spacing is 2 1/8" at the saddle. Action is set at 6 & 7/64".
The guitar appears to be original except for the bridge pins and end pin. The body is crack free, and no prior repairs are evident. We recently reset the neck and leveled and dressed the frets. There are some scuffs and nicks from age and use, and some wear to the painted markers on the fingerboard. The tuners are original and function well. One unusual thing we noticed is in the making of the guitar, someone at the factory must have sliced into the heel/dovetail with a saw and then filled the slot with a dark wood. This became evident when the neck was off, and the dark line is evident on one side of the heel (see pix). Additionally, in the past someone had lowered the bridge a bit and repainted it to get better action.
The guitar plays particularly well, and produces the ladder-braced sound that makes these guitars so popular for blues and old time music.
Comes with a soft case.
The 'standard' size body measures 13 7/16" across at the lower bout. The scale length is short scale at 24 7/8". The fingerboard measures just under 1 7/8" at the nut, and string spacing is 2 1/8" at the saddle. Action is set at 6 & 7/64".
The guitar appears to be original except for the bridge pins and end pin. The body is crack free, and no prior repairs are evident. We recently reset the neck and leveled and dressed the frets. There are some scuffs and nicks from age and use, and some wear to the painted markers on the fingerboard. The tuners are original and function well. One unusual thing we noticed is in the making of the guitar, someone at the factory must have sliced into the heel/dovetail with a saw and then filled the slot with a dark wood. This became evident when the neck was off, and the dark line is evident on one side of the heel (see pix). Additionally, in the past someone had lowered the bridge a bit and repainted it to get better action.
The guitar plays particularly well, and produces the ladder-braced sound that makes these guitars so popular for blues and old time music.
Comes with a soft case.