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LISTING UPDATE - 07/07/2024 - Restoration to be Completed Listing - Meantime showing photos of a previously restored & sold Stella H913....an identical example, from the H913 production period of 1969 to 1971.
PRE-ORDER UPDATE! - 08/07/2024 - Now reserved, pending restoration completion for buyer in London!
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Buyer's Feedback on the last same construction H912 I sold! - "Looks fantastic. Now all I have to do is master playing it. That could take a lot longer."....I know the buyer was very pleased, but appreciate his modesty!
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Harmony Stella 12 strings, have become something of a crusade....for a hard-to-come-by guitar, I have done quite a few now. In addition to the other examples of the same model H913, I have also restored a slightly greater number of the "twin" model H912....only difference is the sunburst finish on the slightly earlier produced 912, restored for Perry Foster and others. Another previous notable restoration was the one completed and sold on "Pre-order" to Mark Braidner in Belfast - https://markbraidner.bandcamp.com/releases - "Mark Braidner specialises in finger style blues and slide playing"....
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*** See "Mark Braidner's Feedback" in page VTG 9 above! ***
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I regularly "pre-sell" many of my guitars, at the stage where I am still working on them....some are listed on the website, but others are not yet appearing, and I welcome further enquiries.
Stock Number: VTG1176.
The H913 model identifier ink stamps is clearly readable, along with the usual factory date stamp....F-71, indicating one of the 1971 production periods....the very last year that the Harmony Company in Chicago produced their iconic series of Stella 12-strings, commencing around 1940 following the acquisition of the Stella name on the collapse of the Oscar Schmidt Company in New Jersey, first with the long-running H922, then the H912, identical to this, but sunburst finish, and finally this H913 model.
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*** IN ORDER TO SIMPLIFY AND REDUCE EXCESSIVE & REPETAIVE WEBSITE CONTENT, I HAVE CREATED SECTION "INFORMATION DATA" PAGES. PLEASE REFER TO PAGE VTG 9 ABOVE FOR THE LENGTHY DETAILS AND DISCUSSION OF THE HARMONY-MADE STELLA 12-STRINGS.
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Although the Harmony Guitars Database is no longer active or updated, what remains of it is still accessible via Archive link, with the brief details page for the Stella H913 as follows....
https://web.archive.org/web/20160813112813/http://harmony.demont.net/model/234.htm
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I would say that the cosmetic condition is generally as good as can be expected for a 50+ year old Stella, with the same finish colouring as in the photos shown of the previously completed H913 restoration. Inevitably there is some marking and small areas of localised wear & finish loss, including to the painted edge "bindings" and seams.
Restoration is yet to begin on this guitar, and when it does commence, the guitar will be fully checked-over in conjunction with the very well-respected professional luthier I work with, and much of the work is being completed in his workshop and all under his supervision. This will include re-setting the neck joint, seam and internal bracing re-gluing & upgrading, together with re-levelling and re-fretting the flat profile fingerboard.
In readiness for completion of this work all original fittings are ready for re-fitting...only exception to the originality is the repro truss rod cover, to the original pattern, bought in to replace the broken original.
In course of restoration...brief work schedule summary will be updated.
Individual action, stringing etc. details to be added as restoration progresses, but meantime please refer to page VTG 9 for general data. Set of Martin Retro Monel Extra Light 10-47 strings are in the case ready for fitting.
