{"product_id":"oscar-schmidt-san-jose-artist-12-string-flat-top-acoustic-guitar-1925-10285","title":"Oscar Schmidt San Jose Artist 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1925)","description":"San Jose Artist Model 12 String Flat Top Acoustic Guitar, made by Oscar Schmidt, c. 1925, made in Jersey City, NJ, natural top, dark stained back and sides finish, birch back and sides, spruce top; poplar neck with ebonized fingerboard, molded plastic hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor players interested in pre-war acoustic blues stylings, a genuine Oscar Schmidt made 12-string is one of the true \"Holy Grail\" guitars. This is a mid-line Stella-style model, labeled \"San Jose Artist\" and originally sold by Horenstein in New York with a lovely label beneath the soundhole. Although not branded as such, this is a Stella 12-string through and through and a spectacular instrument both in historical importance and in sound. These 12-string guitars were sold under a variety of brand names in many different variations but all are quite rare today; this one has seen some fairly heavy use but is a splendid survivor nonetheless. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe not-quite 15\" wide body is solid birch, stained dark to resemble rosewood with a natural-finish spruce top. The original Stella ladder bracing is intact; in the 1960s and '70s many of these guitars were re-braced in an X-pattern by modernist luthiers which substantially changes the instrument's sound character. The original ladder braced sound has come back into favor more recently and original unaltered examples are valued for their distinctive character.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar's top and soundhole are bound and bordered with the wide half-herringbone wood purfling that is a Stella trademark, surrounded by layers of alternating dark-and-light wood. The backstrip by contrast is a decal, not actual marquetry. The bridge is typical of the simpler Schmidt styles with the strings running to the special 12-string tailpiece that is a trademark of these models. The neck is poplar with a deep V profile fitted with an ebonized (dyed black) maple fingerboard inlaid with large pearloid dots. The slotted headstock carries simple openback strip tuners and has no logo on the face.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar has an extremely deep resonance and a sound all its own, not like modern 12-string instruments. While showing a lot of honest wear it has been repaired with an eye to retaining all of its original character. This is as fine-playing an example of this instrument as one is likely to find, a fantastic playing and\/or listening experience for anyone interested in country blues, East Coast blues, period Mexican music, finger-picked ragtime and the styles of Leadbelly, Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob Hicks, Lydia Mendoza, and a host of others.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall length is 41 3\/4 in. (106 cm.), 14 11\/16 in. (37.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 7\/8 in. (9.8 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 26 1\/2 in. (673 mm.). Width of nut is 1 15\/16 in. (49 mm.). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar has seen a lot of use in the past but has been recently restored to excellent playing condition. The very thin piano-varnish finish has the typical micro-checking just about everywhere, with numerous dings, dents and scrapes overall and some notable play wear through to the wood on the top in the usual spot. The finish has been left mostly undisturbed except for a few small touch-ups and has a great vintage patina. The fingerboard has some typical wear and minor divoting in the lower positions. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere are two sealed grain cracks on the lower back, and several tiny partial cracks on the side below the heel but this Schmidt has survived far better than most in this regard. The top has remained miraculously crack free with little of the distortion almost unavoidable on these ladder-braced Stellas. The neck has been neatly reset and the action is very smooth; the original frets show comparatively little wear. Stellas of this type are rarely found today in such a well-preserved and eminently playable state. It currently resides in a molded plastic HSC, , a modern but functional home for this nearly 100 year old survivor. Very Good + Condition.","brand":"Oscar Schmidt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853401247884,"sku":"10285","price":7950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_027d0f88-ba36-47b1-a946-1ce45ad6cf11.jpg?v=1774337538","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/oscar-schmidt-san-jose-artist-12-string-flat-top-acoustic-guitar-1925-10285","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}