Strad-O-Lin in Ash-O-Land

[jefflester]

I was in Ashland OR this past weekend for the Shakespeare Festival and the Nickel Creek show at the Britt Festival. I stopped by Cripple Creek Music (where I bought my Weber Bitterroot 4 years ago) to check out their mandolin inventory. They had about a dozen, with Eastmans being the most prevelant. There was a 2-point Strad-O-Lin with the S-holes that caught my eye and I played it quite a bit. It played and sounded quite nice, though was pretty beat up. After checking it out I got on the Cafe to get some background, though I should have posed my questions then, since I am now back in SoCal.

The top appeared to be solid wood, but the back was clearly ply, with the back surface laminate chipping off. Other threads have referred to solid vs. ply, but is that only for the top, or also for the back and sides? In other words, are all of them ply back and sides?

The tag was $649, which seemed way too high for a ply back and sides (and beat up as well), and reading some of the threads here it seemed like maybe 3-400 would have been more appropriate. I didn't make an offer, but they didn't seem to want to bargain too much.

But it did play and sound very nice.

[Jim Garber]

There is a 2-point S-O-L in the classifieds, ad #19353.

Jim

[jefflester]

Oh yeah, I did see that one when I was searching for background and it helped lead me to the $300-400 range since the one I saw looked to be in worse shape.

[allenhopkins]

There are two on eBay right now, with bids less than $100. You can do better than $650 for one in the kind of shape you describe. I think Strad-O-Lins (which John Bernunzio opines were made by Hoverick Bros. in NY City) are one of the great overlooked types of mando. My favorite "beater" is one I picked up for $25, badly cracked, from a little old Manhattan lady who'd stored it under her bed for decades. Fixed up, it's helped me throgh countless jam sessions, campfires, sing-arounds, nursing home gigs, protest marches -- even a couple recording sessions. With their painted "binding," crackly finishes, weird 3-segment "f" holes, and mainly plywood constuction, Strad-O-Lins make a bad first impression. But, for the price, they can be faithful as a cherished mutt, and well worth pursuing.
Oh, and the cr*ppy celluloid tuner buttons tend to disintegrate. But you can replace them (I did). There are many around, and generally at more favorable prices than the one you found.

[Givson]

Bernunzio believes some (very early) Stradolins were made by Hoverick. The later instruments (including the two points) are thought to have been made by the Oscar Schmidt co. in New Jersey (makers of the famous Leadbelly Stella 12-string). I have seen Strads with solid backs and sides, but a lot have ply. There are also Strads with ply maple and mahogany tops, as well as solid spruce steam-bent tops. The earliest ones have solid maple backs and sides and a three piece neck. The ones with solid spruce tops usually sound excellent, regardless of the type of back and sides. The only common problem with Strads is a warped neck - they were made without truss rods.