Todd Cambio of Fraulini Guitars has devoted his career to recreating 1920s Stellas, Stahls, Oscar Schmidts and Galianos, guitars that were more modestly priced than Martins or Gibsons but were made with care by skilled craftsmen. Most of these inexpensive guitars were ladder-braced, a style that gave them a bright, crisp sound that appealed to the blues and country musicians of the era. Even when the musicians who grew up playing these guitars had some success, many of them opted to keep playing their old Stellas and Schmidts rather than upgrade to a “better” Martin or Gibson. A few years ago Cambio built a guitar based on the Galiano that Ernest Stoneman played in the 1920s. (Ernest Stoneman was an early star of country music and his 1924 recording of “The Titanic” was one of the first million-selling records.) Here’s Todd Cambio to tell what happened with the guitar he built.
My friends Hank Sapoznik and Chris King put out a box set, Ernest V. Stoneman: Unsung Father of Country Music. In the liner notes the included some information on a copy of Stoneman’s Galiano guitar I had built. Hank and Chris put together a CD release event at the Rex theater in Galax, Virgina, Stoneman’s hometown. There was a great band of Stoneman disciples including Bill Dillof, Kirk Sutphin, Jeremy Stevens and Tom Mylett, all first rate musicians who played faithful versions of Stoneman’s songs. I brought the guitar down for Bill Dillof to use at the concert. All three of Stoneman’s daughters were there and much to my delight, when Bill walked onto the stage, Patsy Stoneman said, “Daddy’s Galiano!” which just floored me.
Stoneman’s guitar is sort of a holy grail for me because it combines two of my loves, string band music and Italian luthiers. It had a Galiano label amd it most likely made by Antonio Cerrito around 1925 or 26. It could have been made by Raphael Ciani, but he died in 1923, so it would have had to have been sitting around for a few years when Stoneman picked it up. Stoneman would go to New York to record, so he likely bought it on one of those trips. That was before the Bristol Sessions and the so-called Big Bang of Country Music. In fact, Stoneman helped Ralph Peer set up the Bristol Sessions, acting as a local talent scout, getting folks to show up to record.
The guitar is 15.5″ at the lower bout with a 25.5″ scale. Ladder braced, red spruce top and maple back and sides. I’ve made four of them, each one is a little more informed than the last. I was so obsessed I even made the purfling. I had the opportunity to see one a few years ago (not Stoneman’s, but a nearly identical guitar), and I was pleased to see that I was pretty close on some of the finer points.
Photos Courtesy of Dan Peck at the Blue Ridge Mountain Heritage Center.
