Harmony Guitars has announced the return of the iconic Stella brand, unveiling an all-new lineup of parlor-sized acoustic guitars that have a lot of vibe for a very small price tag.
Throughout music history, Stella guitars have been played by the likes of Kurt Cobain, Leon Bridges, Elvis Presley, Lead Belly, and Woody Guthrie – and of course, B.B. King.
Article continues below“B.B. King’s first guitar was a red Stella acoustic,” he says. “That’s the kind of impact we want this brand to continue to have, being the guitar that starts someone’s story.”
Well, we might have to wait a few years to see this impact, but in the here and now these are very impressive looking instruments. We’ve got solid spruce tops, layered mahogany on the back and sides, bone nuts and matching saddles, off-white binding tying them all together – and yes, there is a quartet of sweet finish options but, first, what about that slotted headstock? Too cool. It wears that Stella logo well. The rosettes are very nice, too
Now, finish options, we have Moonstone Blue, Backwoods Green, and Ivory solid-color tops, with natural high-gloss stain on the back and sides. There is also a Sunburst model that looks like the kind of thing you’d play when visiting Woody Guthrie in hospital and want to throw a few folk chords over a verse. These parlor guitars would absolutely work for folk.
But they’ll do blues, and all different strains of Americana – if there’s one thing a compact little couch buddy with mojo does well, it's fingerstyle.
And they also record well. Those small-bodied acoustics always seem to treat a ribbon mic with the respect it deserves.
Those aforementioned solid spruce tops are buttressed with a contemporary X pattern bracing, but tone-wise, Harmony/Stella is promising a more vintage voicing.
The Stella brand was founded in 1899 by Oscar Schmidt, and made instruments aimed at the beginner and intermediate price points. Affordability was a big part of the appeal, hence how one found its way into the hands of a young Riley B. King. At $349, with a gig bag included in the price, it’s continuing on in that vein.
To paraphrase the King of the Blues, the thrill was gone – but now it’s back. And you can check out this range of Stella guitars over at Harmony, where, incidentally, they are listed at just $299. The press release says $349.
