Stella Guitar Serial Number
Harmony H1270 12-string c. 1967 $675 Harmony in Chicago was one of the first to begin again the manufacture of 12-string guitars post WWII. The Harmony ‘Stella’ H912 12-string was an all-birch bodied workhorse of a guitar during the baby-boom bubble and ‘folk’ era. By the mid-sixties, Harmony came out with the H1270 line of 12-strings, and they were a step up from the budget H912. The back, sides and neck were made from mahogany, with the body bound in multi-ply b/w celluloid and the neck in white celluloid. No painted ornamentation on this version! The H1270 body shape is ‘jumbo’ in size, but is a bit truncated on the upper bout when compared to its H912 kin.
Every H1270 we’ve owned or seen has had a slotted head stock. This example, oddly, has a ‘paddle’ head stock with the vine-like gold stencil often seen in the late 60s into the early 70s. However, the tailpiece is the plainer trapeze type, used in the earlier models, so this one is difficult to peg. The neck is a tad narrower than the standard H1270, too, but still twelve frets to the body. The body is stamped inside with the typical ‘H1270’ ink stamp, and there is no evidence that this guitar was a ‘marriage’ of body and neck.
The body measures 16 1/8” across at the lower bout, and is 4 1/4” deep at the end pin. The scale length measures ~ 25 3/8”. The neck measures 1 3/4” across at the nut, and string spacing is 2 3/8” across at the saddle. The neck is carved in a flat-ish ‘C’ shape, and supports a functioning truss rod. The fingerboard is a type of tropical hard wood, and the bridge is Brazilian rosewood, and features the double-saddle set up that Harmony favored on this model.
The guitar appears to retain its original components except for the saddle and nut. The neck appears to have never been off, and the saddle height is good, allowing a good break angle over the bridge for best sound output. Old repairs are a repaired top crack along the treble side of the fingerboard extension, and a three inch hair line along the bass side of the neck at the nut. Both are solid. We recently glued a few brace tips, leveled and dressed the frets, and strung it with new strings.
The guitar plays well, and has a nice 12-string tone with a bit of ‘boom’, but rounded and warm from the mahogany, less jangly that the H912 in birch.
Some serial guitars have only one number to identify the year. For example, if the serial number is 240000, maybe, it’s either a 1982 or 1992 guitar model. Some manufacturers even indicate the exact date of creation, like 941101. Home: harmony stella guitars - chicago, usa made, 1940s to 1970s, all solid birch, ladder braced, 6-string parlor & terz/3-4 size, 12-string, tenor 4-string & mandolins. Made after Harmony acquired Stella name & other assets of failed Oscar Schmidt Co. If it was built after Harmony bought the Stella name 70 years or so ago, it won't be worth much. If it has a star on the headstock it's a Harmony Stella. They were inexpensive mail-order guitars, and most don't sound very good or play very well. You can usually find some on Ebay if you want to get an idea of pricing. Stella guitars were made by the Harmony company. Based on their numbering system, you have a Model H927, made between 1963 and 1970. Stella H927 guitar - made by Harmony There should be another stamp somewhere near the serial number with the year. Most guitar manufacturers put a serial number on each instrument they produce. This number can be used to date a guitar and in some cases tell where it was made. Serial numbers tend to be stamped or written somewhere on the headstock or neck joint of the guitar. On some acoustic guitars, the serial number is on the inside of the sound hole. A family member gave me a Stella guitar. Its an accoustic steel string guitar. It also seems to be a student guitar (I believe) Ser.# is 4708H930. How do I go about finding the year it was made?
Check out the video!
Stella Guitars Serial Number Identification
https://powerupflying.weebly.com/blog/win-xp-professional-sp3-serial-key. Comes with a soft case.