My Latest Guitar - A Concert Size Stella Guitar

He played a Stella, and I had a Stella. Charley had a Stella.

Son House, bluesman, 1966 interview, mentioning Willie Brown and Charley Patton

Stellas-they all played the cheap old Stellas, across the board.

H.C. Speir, owner of Speir Phonograph Company. He recorded many of the great blues singers and musicians during the 1920’s-1930’s.

My first guitar was Harmony made Stella guitar. My mother played guitar, my father played the harmonica and at the age of four, I wanted to play the guitar in a bad way. My mother bought the guitar from one of her nephews, he wanted a better guitar and was willing to part with it for $5. It was painted black with white paint binding and a white pick guard, I thought I was in heaven as I banged away on that guitar until my mother showed me how to play some chords, the G, C, D7 chords and then that really tough chord, the A7. Those steel strings were hard on my fingertips, and I kept at it. The one day, an older cousin who stopped by to visit my parents, seeing that I had a guitar he asked to borrow it and proceeded to played a flamenco “bulería” on it! I was amazed and immediately demanded that I needed a classical guitar so I could learn flamenco. If you have read my other posts, you will know that I went on to study the classical guitar.

I gave that old Harmony Stella to a friend who said she really wanted to learn how to play the guitar. She did become rather proficient on it and because she played it so much it was amazing to hear a great sound come out of that guitar. Unfortunately, the arthritis in her hands became so bad she quit playing, and the guitar was put into storage. Several months ago, I asked if she and her husband could ship or bring the guitar to me so I could make a copy of it, they are still trying to dig it out of storage. I figured that since I am a guitar maker, I can make a guitar based on that old Stella. 

All the parts for this guitar are made, they are waiting for me to assemble them simply, on an open work board with the intent to create beauty. 

The top is Sitka spruce, the back and sides are black cherry from Missouri and the neck is Port Orford cedar. 

My old Harmony guitar top, back and sides are solid birch, the neck is maple and so is the fretboard. 

Just like the original guitar, this guitar will have ladder bracing!

Unlike my old guitar, this guitar will have a slotted head stock, I have made too many classical guitars to make a neck any other way! Cutting out the headstock slots with a vintage coping saw. 

A very simple rosette adorns this guitar top!

Now, go listen to some Son House, Charley Patton and Skip James!