Stellas, back in the 20s/30s, must have been considered "mediocre" (at worst) rather than "flat-out lousy" guitars, because the representatives of record companies who traveled the country scouting for blues and country artists often carried Stellas for their "discoveries" to play when being recorded.

The idea, of course, was that the record company's Stella guitar would often be of better quality, and would provide a better recorded sound, than the backwoods artist's own instrument.

My own limited experience suggests that your basic Stella guitar is pretty damn difficult to fret. A 12-string would probably be even more of a nightmare to play than a six; Leadbelly must have had quite a set of calluses!