Marwin mandolin

[oldtownviolins]

I have a customer with a Marwin mandolin, with the words "Marwin" and "Star" inlaid on the headstock. I know nothing about them, nor can I find anyone who does know anything about them. It is an A-style, sunburst pattern, and has a 4-6 digit number ink-stamped inside. He has no idea how old it is, or where it came from. Any information would be appreciated.

[allenhopkins]

Flailing around in Google trying to find something -- several references to Marwin instruments, mostly ukuleles and tenor guitars.

The most definitive thing I could find out is that Marwin took out several US patent and/or trademarks. However, mugwumps' Encyclopedia of American Fretted Instrument Makers doesn't list Marwin, so I'm guessing... Were I to play S. Holmes, I'd deduce "American maker of inexpensive instruments, mid-20th century," but I'd be skating on very thin ice.

[bradeinhorn]

one marwin mandolin didnt sell for 9.99 on ebay.

[Greenmando]

Marwin Mandolin (http://cgi.ebay.com/STRADOLIN-MARWIN-MANDOLIN-BEAUTIFUL-FLAME-MAPLE-40S_W0QQitemZ230095936782)

http://i24.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/8b/ae/fadd_1.JPG

http://i14.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/8b/ae/fbf7_1.JPG

[8ch(pl)]

Harmony? Strad o lin?

[Greenmando]

Definetly Stradolin

[allenhopkins]

Strad-O-Lin it is -- check out those segmented f-holes.

[8ch(pl)]

Harmony Montereys (some) had segmented holes.

[Jim Garber]

I have some images of a Marwin Star mandolin. Note that it does not have segmented f-holes. The bridge dopes resemble some Strad-O-Lins I have seen tho. Could be Harmony as well. Note the interesting binding.

Jim

[Paul Hostetter]

Marwins were made for Tonk Brothers by Harmony. I've worked on a few Marwin archtop guitars too. Your basic pressed-top budget item, with slightly more class than many similar items made by the same folks.

[oldtownviolins]

The Marwin Star that my customer has is identical in appearance to the one pictured above. As my username indicates, we mostly deal with fiddles/violins and new mandolins, and are new to the used mandolin market. Are the Marwins German, American, or something else entirely?

[allenhopkins]

See Paul's posting above -- Chicago-made, by Harmony. I still think the one posted on Mar. 10 has to be a Strad-O-Lin, though, which suggests either Hoverick or Homenick Bros.

[8ch(pl)]

Whether it is Harmony or Strad-o-lin made, it is a good instrument.

[Brad Weiss]

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Vintage-Marwin-Carved-Archtop-Jazz-Guitar-Kay-L5-J_W0QQitemZ250093186822QQcategoryZ23
85QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item2 50093186822" target="_blank">This</a> says it's either Rgal or Kay (which could be Harmony or Stradolin, too, I assume). Looks like, as Paul reliably says, a gussied up pressed top - many of which sound great! I sure like the looks.

[Paul Hostetter]

The eBay link indulges the usual fantasy that it's carved. They're pressed. Even without seeing it up close (especially with a light and a mirror) the cutout f-holes bely this fact. That ad hype is flat wrong. No one ever carved a top and then put segmented f-holes in it.

Regal was a company, its products are fairly identifiable. Kay was another outfit, and Harmony (owned by Sears) was yet another. Some contracting across company lines did happen, but generally you never have to wonder which one is which because they had such different styles of construction and detailing. Kay (99% laminated) made Stradolins. Harmony (99% solid + pressed) made Marwins.

How about an eight string guitar? (http://cgi.ebay.com/Strad-O-Lin-Mandolin-Eight-8-String-Guitar-w-Hard-Case_W0QQitemZ140097631258QQ)

[Jim Garber]

How about an eight string guitar? (http://cgi.ebay.com/Strad-O-Lin-Mandolin-Eight-8-String-Guitar-w-Hard-Case_W0QQitemZ140097631258QQ)
Did you also notice that that side view could not possibly belong to that 8-string guitar?

http://i2.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/92/cc/7701_1.JPG

Jim

[Paul Hostetter]

Why not? Looks coherent to me. Same floor, same case, same tailpiece. I think the vertical line on the side is a reflection of the ceiling.

[allenhopkins]

Kay (99% laminated) made Stradolins.

Paul sounds very definite about this -- yet I have heard different. Discussions in this recent thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=27;t=40821)state that Strad-O-Lins were made by Homenick Bros. (or Hoverick Bros. -- these were actually two separate companies), rather than Kay.

Strad-O-Lin later was used as a label for imported electric guitars and amps, in the '60's, apparently.

[Paul Hostetter]

Brand names are one thing, and marketing firms are another. Homenick Brothers was a marketing firm active in the 20's and fading during the Depression. To think they made these obviously post WWII mandolins (or anything) is a bit sketchy.

I have an S.S.Stewart archtop. It's made by Harmony, commissioned by Tonk Brothers when they owned the name S.S.Stewart. S.S.Stewart themselves, when the real SS was still in the picture, marketed guitars (made by someone, not them) bearing their name. I have an S.S.Stewart Style 1 ukulele made by C.F. Martin.

Vega made banjos, but a great deal of stuff bearing their name over the years was contracted out. Many 12-strings from the 60's were made by Harmony, but some were made by Levin (Goya). I have a Vega archtop from the 40's that was made by Regal.

Strad-O-Lin was a brand name. Most of the mandolins we see were made by Kay. You can hold them next to Kay mandolins of the same vintage and the only difference is the name stenciled on the headstock. You have to look past the names, and you have to stop believing that brand names necessarily connect with manufacturers, especially in the realm of budget instruments. B&J, Tonk Brothers and many other so-called brands never made an instrument.

[Jim Garber]

Strad-O-Lin was a brand name. Most of the mandolins we see were made by Kay. You can hold them next to Kay mandolins of the same vintage and the only difference is the name stenciled on the headstock. You have to look past the names, and you have to stop believing that brand names necessarily connect with manufacturers, especially in the realm of budget instruments. B&J, Tonk Brothers and many other so-called brands never made an instrument.
Whoa!! Step away from the segmented f-hole, son, and put down that Florentine!! You could hurt someone!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Such confidence, Paul. I know you have seen thousands of instruments and you may very well be 100% correct. However, I know for fact one thing: that I don't know everything for a complete 100% fact.

I have plenty of catalog pages with Stradolins that do not at all resemble any of their contemporary Kays. I will say that there are some that certainly do. So I have to agree with our esteemed colleague, Mike Holmes who says (at mugwumps.com):

Stradolin (also spelled Strad-O-Lin) is NOT a Gibson product, although who did make them remains a mystery. Probably several different companies were contracted over time. My best estimates (experts never "guess") is Oscar Schmidt, who at that time had 7 factories turning out cheap instruments for others to label and sell. Other possibles were Harmony and Kay (KayKraft at that time). I once had a student who swore he visited the Strad-O-Lin factory in NYC in the 40s. The tailpieces, however, were a stock Waverly item and most makers used them. They are excellent student or entry level instruments, sturdy and reasonably priced, and at least one that I have seen was carved, not pressed. Recently, several Strad-O-Lin banjos have surfaced. They were standard, student grade, Harmony products labeled for Strad-O-Lin.

This reminds me of the thread some time ago on Handel tuners. We came to some conclusion, the best of which was that they were not made in Handelstein, Germany -- for sure.

Jim

[Paul Hostetter]

Jim - what's your point here? I said it (Strad-O-Lin, Marwin, many others, take your pick) was a brand, not a maker, that could have been and probably was owned by different people and applied to instruments made by different shops over the years. The ones that look just like Kays were most likely made by Kay. The Nationals that look like Regals were made by Regal. The S.S.Stewarts that look like Harmonys were made by Harmony, the Vegas that look like Goyas were made by Goya. You then quoted me and said 'whoa' and proceeded to make the same point.

[Jim Garber]

I agree that Strad-O-Lins were made by someone. There are some that resemble Kay's or Harmony's but for most of them, to me, look completely different from any of those makers. The segmented f-holes are much different than same-era Kays and the shape of the body looks different as well, esp near the neck join -- slenderer (is that a word?) than Kay's and different than Harmony's. I think that there were other makers of the majority of these Strad-O-Lins or else Kay modified some of the specs for this company.

Looking thru my catalog collection I see very few Strad-O-Lins that look like Kays with a different headstock name.

Jim

[Jim Garber]

Getting back to the topic of this thread (sorry for the hijack!), Paul is quite correct when he says that this Marwin was made by Harmony. Here is a cut from a 1939 Grossman (distributor) catalog of a Harmony Monterey #327.

Jim