Hi Jon. You might have fun at this site (and check out ALL the Stellas that Willie used).I recently played one of the Del Arte Huddie Leadbetter 12 string reissues....and it's amazing all right. A spot on copy of Huddie's last Stella (the one in The Rock and Roll Hall of fame)...I played a lot of his pieces on it in the store for over an hour, and it was LOUD! A real fantasy thing for me, to play the same notes my hero played, on a guitar that sounded the same as his........BUT....beware of trying anything ELSE on it! Just too tinny, and hard to fret, with a very thick neck.
I've gone through more than a dozen twelves, and next to the 1959 Harmony Sovereign that I had stolen, my current one (a ten year old Tak) works the best for very low tunings. I've seen Ric's guitar, and played several Appolonios...and they are verrrrry powerful instruments.
Cheers
Rick