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Stella Harmony Guitars

RuffzGuts

RuffzGuts

Super Member
I've been toying with the idea of buying one of these for a while now for a blues slide Guitar..
Why, well I have seen a few people playing them and have been impressed.
Thing is, I am in Australia, and getting one here and then either fixing it my self or paying someone to set it up becomes very expensive for what it is.
I have a mate heading over to the States next month and was thinking of asking if they could pick one up for me...
But I would just like to know, are they worth the trouble? I am not a bad guitarist but I will be learning blues slide..Would i be better with a new instrument? are these guitars more about show than performance?
Generally i guess I would just like to hear options on these guitars, how much work is involved in repair etc...Has anyone got one?
 
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RuffzGuts said:
I've been toying with the idea of buying one of these for a while now for a blues slide Guitar..
Why, well I have seen a few people playing them and have been impressed.
Thing is, I am in Australia, and getting one here and then either fixing it my self or paying someone to set it up becomes very expensive for what it is.
I have a mate heading over to the States next month and was thinking of asking if they could pick one up for me...
But I would just like to know, are they worth the trouble? I am not a bad guitarist but I will be learning blues slide..Would i be better with a new instrument? are these guitars more about show than performance?
Generally i guess I would just like to hear options on these guitars, how much work is involved in repair etc...Has anyone got one?
Click to expand...

If the type of instrument to which you refer is the 1960s acoustic "parlor" (referring to small-sized body) guitar, I think you would be happier learning slide on a normal-scale (Stellas are 3/4 scale) and full-bodied (acoustic) guitar. The little Stellas are cute and while I've owned and/or handled dozens (possibly tens of dozens) over the last 45+ years, they're the sort of instrument one leave out for a quick fleshing out of an idea for a (songwriting) riff, etc.

Now, if the instrument in mind is an actual Stella acoustic manufactured in the mid/late 1920s - mid 1930s, you might enjoy the instrument, but be (maybe) prepared for sticker shock, and bear in mind that these instruments (IMO), while excellent for fingerpicking/ragtime style playing, lack the sustain necessary for most slide applications.

Just my two kopeks on the topic.
 
Yes Mystic, it is the 60's parlor type I am referring too, I thought the smaller size of the guitar might actually make it easier? What you're saying makes sense though..looking at the price of them i figured they were a bit of a novelty thing...they are pretty cool looking though i think, and i like the kinda banjo like sound they seem to project..I would like to mess around with some bluegrass stuff and I am thinking of getting a tenor banjo also. Do you know much about repair? like if i was to find one with a fairly straight neck, is there much involved in making it playable?
 
A buddy of mine (years back) had one of the smaller ones. After I changed the tuning heads and went with lighter gauge strings, it wasn't a bad little guitar.
After he switched to a 'Real Guitar' he gave it to another buddy of his. I would have gladly given him some cash for it just to have around.
(plus the tuning gears I gave him weren't all that cheap either:rolleyes:)
I agree that the sustain isn't all that great but for bluegrass and early blues that might actually be a plus, aaaaaaand if you're just using it for slide, perfect intonation isn't a priority either.
 
As to the cost effectiveness of pick up an example @ The States and hauling (or $hipping) it to OZ, that's a tough call. As late as the (late) '80s I could find these suckers @ $20-50 USD. No idea what the current market rate is for the little Stellas. Have you searched @ Gbase? Let's have a quick look...

'64 @ $399
'64 @ $595
'70 @ $275
'60 @ CALL

Those are asking prices. A check @ complete Ebay auctions will yield a more accurate result re: going rates for various vintages.
 
:eek2: that's a lot more than i thought, I was checking them out on ebay and thought i might be able to pick up a fairly straight one for around 150...When i look at what i can buy here for 500au, its just wouldn't be worth it..its a shame. Though I would still like to here more about them if anyone else wants to chime in.
 
I learned how to play on a Stella ( early 60's ). The guitar was plywood junk, some folks love them for that reason. The authentic slide guitar of the poor Delta players. I have seen and played some that were pretty nice, Harmony , Stella and Old Kraftsman, mostly sold by Sears and Montgomery Wards back in the 30's through the 60's. Not knowing your budget I would recommend the Recording King guitars of today. For less than $600 ( US ) you can get a great player for finger picking and slide. I currently have a sweet 12 fret RK mahoghany and because it's so much fun I put all my other guitars back in their cases. Haven't played anything else since I got it last Fall.
FWIW affordable Stella's and the like are made really poorly, the glues used for construction fail over time. They are at best utilitarian instruments. Spend a bit more on a nice 000 size 12 fret and you will be happier in the long run.

Just my 2 cents.

P.S. Australia makes Maton guitars why not get one of those?
 
I was actually lucky enough to view one yesterday, it wasn't the Harmony model but pretty well much the same thing. So i have a better idea of what they are now...Very lightly built as you guys say, this was in a guitar shop and I think he had 6 or 700 bucks on it...au dollars...way to much for what would likely be a toy.
I was in the shop dropping off a beautiful Takeharu 12 string I had just purchased for 150, its getting the neck re set, fret dressed, a bone bridge saddle and a general clean up...I Cant wait to get it back, its a 40 year old Japanese guitar...I expect its going to sound beautiful, and this will be my new toy for a while so the blues slide will have to wait...
I Actually have an old Bellini South African made guitar here i forgot i had, its a similar kind of thing to the stella and I am wondering if i could re work it with a new tail piece and bridge...it has no truss rod but they were a steel string guitar..its just an idea at this stage, and probably a bad one...maybe I will take it back to the luthier and ask him what he thinks.
I agree, there is a lot to choose from in the 600 dollar range now days...
Here's a little Charlie Parr for your enjoyment.
 
RuffzGuts said:
I was actually lucky enough to view one yesterday, it wasn't the Harmony model but pretty well much the same thing. So i have a better idea of what they are now...Very lightly built as you guys say, this was in a guitar shop and I think he had 6 or 700 bucks on it...au dollars...way to much for what would likely be a toy.
I was in the shop dropping off a beautiful Takeharu 12 string I had just purchased for 150, its getting the neck re set, fret dressed, a bone bridge saddle and a general clean up...I Cant wait to get it back, its a 40 year old Japanese guitar...I expect its going to sound beautiful, and this will be my new toy for a while so the blues slide will have to wait...
I Actually have an old Bellini South African made guitar here i forgot i had, its a similar kind of thing to the stella and I am wondering if i could re work it with a new tail piece and bridge...it has no truss rod but they were a steel string guitar..its just an idea at this stage, and probably a bad one...maybe I will take it back to the luthier and ask him what he thinks.
I agree, there is a lot to choose from in the 600 dollar range now days...
Here's a little Charlie Parr for your enjoyment.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting that vid. Pretty good stuff.
 
Mystic said:
Thanks for posting that vid. Pretty good stuff.
Click to expand...
No problem, I am glad you enjoyed it! If you are not familiar with him i suggest you check out some of his other stuff...a truly gifted musician! I think he can make anything with strings sing...I also find some of his lyrics rather amusing...
 
Definitely a Kay, another maker of affordable guitars, but who actually also made some high end stuff. There was a Kay Barney Kessel signature jazz guitar and some nice solid bodies that players like Eric Clapton and Ritchie Blackmore used at some point.
 
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My first guitar was a Harmony nylon string. That was somewhere around 1965. It was okay but had its own sound that I did not like.
 
RuffzGuts said:
But I would just like to know, are they worth the trouble? I am not a bad guitarist but I will be learning blues slide..Would i be better with a new instrument? are these guitars more about show than performance?
Generally i guess I would just like to hear options on these guitars, how much work is involved in repair etc...Has anyone got one?
Click to expand...

I've got several. The Harmony made Stella's, REX or Supertone are mostly birch bodied. They have that real vintage mid sparkle. That's why they sound good for fingerpicking blues, but for slide you can use them too.
Best thing is use them as a lapsteel with a soundhole pickup. DeArmond made some nice ones.
This all comes with a figure. Good working pickups are expensive. A usable Stella can be picked up cheap, but then again, only if you know what you're buying.
Stella's with a floating bridge are just as good as a fixed bridge. Fixed bridges do crack, though.
All the pre war Harmony Supertones, Rex's and other branded Harmony's are stunning.20160328_203958.jpg
I do have some examples that outclass very well known brands, for a fraction of the money.
 
"The Prep". A very cheap Supertone from the late 30's or early 40's. This one costed something like $ 3.95, back then.20160326_002311.jpg

Or the "Mississippi Fred McDowell" guitar. Another Supertone Archtop, 1938.
20160325_220328.jpg
 
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