Looking for info about Stella tenor guitar...

[dadsaster]

I'm looking to buy this tenor. I've seen plenty of the Stella tenors out there that look similar but they all have thick finish on them. Can anyone date this based on the (poor) photo of the serial number?

For those of you who own tenor stellas, do you prefer GDAE or CGDA tunings?

[MikeEdgerton]

It's been stripped and refinished. It may or may not have had the Stella brand name (that doesn't mean much). That number is a Harmony model number and it would have been on the instrument no matter how it was branded. They did not use serial numbers. What you want is the date code and that is stamped someplace inside and starts with an S or a F like S-65 or F-61. There might be another number after that. The pickguard probably isn't original but it's no worse than the original was if it even had one. The Stella's and Hamony's really didn't have a thick finish they just had a pretty blase finish. Lot's of faux flame and such. It looks like they even managed to remove the painted on fret marker dots. If you play it and you like it and it fits your budget then go for it but understand it's not a collector's item.

If I was going to hazard a guess on the date I'd say early to mid 60's as I bought a few of these new in that time frame and they were for sale anywhere Harmony could put them. Every pawn shop in Portland, Oregon was a Harmony dealer at that time. It was the aftermath of the great folk music scare and the precursor to the British invasion. Everyone bought a guitar. Some even learned how to play them.

[dadsaster]

Thanks Mike,

I'm not looking for a collector's item, just want to try tenor without much invested. $100 + shipping seems like a good deal for a well-maintained Stella. Any thoughts on which tuning would sound better?

[MikeEdgerton]

At 100.00 I'd probably buy that if it was playable. Tuning is something you're really going to have to try yourself. What someone else likes you might dislike. Strings are pretty cheap in the grand scheme of things. The last tenors I owned were tuned Chicago. I started out as a guitar player.