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Sean and Jaycee,

Yeah ... my thoughts exactly.
Glad you enjoyed it.

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Yes ... well documented 'history' ... speaks volumes ... and informs the present and future.

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It's the mostly perspective ... maybe slightly longer neck ... look at the photo I posted of Leadbelly with the original thread ... Leadbelly played a Stella 12-string ... not like the late version of Stella guitars that were extremely cheap guitars ... the Stella 12-string that Leadbelly played was the just about the finest 12-string guitar being made at that time.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1410575881.html
"Nobody knows for sure who first created the modern 12-string guitar, but most experts believe that the instrument descended from Mexican or Italian double-course instruments, such as the bajo sexto and the mandolin family. However, there's little doubt that the masters of country blues shaped the sound of contemporary music with their larger-than-life-sounding 12-strings. With their identity as the guitar played by Leadbelly, various Stella-brand 12-string guitars from the '20s and '30s (made in Chicago by the Oscar Schmidt Co.) are by far the most famous. Leadbelly's Stella was most likely custom-made by Italian luthier-and Oscar Schmidt employee-Fulvio Pardini."

http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/History/12...2stOrigins.html
"Like many of the first 12-string players, Leadbelly played a Stella 12-string, which he tuned down to C. The lower pitch gave the guitar a rich, booming tone. Stellas were larger than the other 12-strings being made at the time, measuring 16 inches across the lower bout. The larger body also produced the louder volume that was so important in the pre-electric guitar world."

http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/stella.html
"Another possibility for resonance is the Stella guitar, a make of guitar which was "particularly popular among blues players during the 1920's and 1930's." (Evans. Guitars. p. 223.) Evans notes that Leadbelly played a Stella 12-string, while Blind Blake and Blind Willie McTell also played Stellas. "

http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/stella.html
"There's a nice photo of Leadbelly's Stella on one of the last pages of George Gruhn's book Acoustic Guitars & Other Fretted Instruments. If you listen to any of those old Leadbelly recordings you can really see why Stellas were so popular: they've got a loud, powerful sound. Their big boxes push a lot of air--perfect for being heard over the noise in a juke joint or on a street corner."

http://www.earlyblues.com/blues_singers.htm
"Stella guitars were made by the Oscar Schmidt Company of New Jersey before 1935 and by John Carner’s Stella Company from 1935 to 1940. These were usually well made, playable and relatively cheap instruments with good tone and projection. Harmony took over the name in 1940 and the quality dropped considerably, although some made under the Sovereign marque were OK. I am not good on Stella models and so I have made some errors in identification and I certainly have not tried to differentiate between Stellas and other brands that were applied to Stella guitars, e.g. Sears, Galiano, Sterling, etc.. All rather bewildering, but if you wish to be less confused, I recommend reading Neil Harpe’s excellent "The Stella Guitar Book" available from his website http://www.stellaguitars.com. Also Paul Brett’s magnificent collection of Stellas, etc. is viewable on http://www.fret-dancer.com; it would be great if you could support his museum project, too."
Dai Thomas (October 2007)