Martin mandolin

[OM45]

I have a Martin mandolin 2-20, serial number 15050. #It has maple back and sides and I assume a spruce top though I'm not sure. #The fret board is bound and looks like ebony but again I'm not sure. #
Can anyone tell me the exact type of wood this mandolin is made of? #Also, what is the general opinion on Martin mandolins? #Are they considered to be exceptional, good, fair, etc. #I know the Martin guitar has an excellent reputation but I don't hear much about their mandolins.
I purchased the mandolin in the late seventies from Mandolin Brothers.
Thanks
Mark

[Paul Hostetter]

You have it right. Top is spruce, board and bridge are ebony. Carved Martins tend to occupy a niche for classical players and admirers of fine instruments that aren't Gibsons. This category includes Lyon and Healy, early Epiphones, D'Angelico and Bacon, among others.

[jackc]

The Martin mandolins are all nice instruments, but have never had the appeal of the vintage or current Gibsons. I have a couple of Martin A's, a B, and a C. I also have two 2-15's that need restoration of some sort.

The A, B, and C, models sound nice, but more like little guitars than mandolins in terms of tone. Nothing like a carved top mandolin.

The 2-15's sound very nice, but don't have the guts of an F-5. They are pretty radically arched, and don't have a cantilevered fingerboard, so the movement of the top plate is restricted like the Gibson A's, F-2, F-4.

I think the 2-20 is a 2 point oval hole model? This is a pretty rare mandolin. It's not a bluegrass mandolin, but a very nice instrument.

[Eugene]

Not quite, Jack. The 2 prefix designates f holes in Martin's catalogue. Style 20 designates the points, but the oval-holed model simply is 20 without the extra two. I certainly prefer the oval-holed models of Martin's carved output, and I don't think that's uncommon amongst Martin mandolin fans. They never quite seemed to get the tone to "open up" in their f-holed models. Also, I've seen more f-holed Martins where the soundboard has collapsed between bridge and tailpiece than you'd expect from coincidence.

I love Martin's mandolins, but certainly favor the bowlbacks. Frankly, I find the bowlbacks to be louder than their other mandolin output, but that might be because I know how to handle them and not so much the flatter ones. Perhaps the nicest craftsmanship I've ever seen in an American factory-produced mandolin was a Martin style 30, one of only two they ever produced. Yummy.

[MandoBen]

The 5th String Instrument store in Berkeley, CA had a Martin 2-point carved top with F-holes for sale about a year ago. It sold eventually and though I dont know what they got for it, I do know the price tag was just over $3000! I actually kinda liked the sound of it, but it is true that it "had no guts" but it sure played easily.

[OM45]

Paul, Jack, Eugene,
Thanks for all the information. #After your posts I did some more research since it has an oval sound hole and it was mentioned that the 2-20 has F holes. #I looked through a Martin book by Mike Longworth that had a picture of the Style 20 and that matches the mandolin that I have. #I don't know why I always thought it was a 2-20. #The Martin book also indicates it was built in 1931 with a total of 220 built between 1929 and 1942 when they stopped producing them.
Thanks for the comments on the comparisons with other mandolins. #I do have an F-5 but the sound is totally different with the F-5 having a longer scale than the Martin so to me they almost seem like two different instruements that happen to be tuned the same.

I do have one more question. #On the back of the neck towards the headstock where the thumb and palm would rest the finish has completely worn away. #Is there something I can do to protect the wood? #Or sould I not worry about it?

Thanks
Mark

[Paul Hostetter]

Not to worry. It's maple, and your hand grot will seal it anyway. Deal with it only if you have aesthetic objections.