Hi all, what does anyone or everyone think of this mando and/or deal?
http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/...uery=retrieval
Thanks!
jc.
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Hi all, what does anyone or everyone think of this mando and/or deal?
http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/...uery=retrieval
Thanks!
jc.
These are nice mandolins but those issues concern me as a playing instrument. Bridge is not original and possibly tailpiece. Also bridge position might not be right in terms of intonation.Quote:
Frets could use some work eventually, neck heel seam has opened a sliver, but it's stable (played it for 3 years) and still plays fine as it is. Neck has slight bow to it, but does not affect playability or intonation.
I've got one just like it and it is a great fun instrument. The bridge on the OP is not correct but the placement of the bridge, to the rear of the cant, is correct. If you were to move the bridge forward of the bend it would be sitting on the scratch plate. It also appears that the tail-piece is correct though missing the cloud cover. The fingerboard on mine is nearly flat with just the slightest relief. Can't say if the price is too high or not, I paid $200 shipped for mine a few years ago.
Attachment 84829
In my uneducated guess I would say the price is a bit high.... Needs frets,,,, bent neck. Maybe wrong tailpiece and bridge.... However even as is it is pretty nice...
Maybe $700 including necessary work. If I had the cash I would be interested at maybe around $400 but I would be doing the repairs myself.
But whoever said instrument purchases have to make sense? It sure looks cool.
I have a copy of a 1925 L&H catalog picturing one of these. I will see if I can scan pages later. The line starts with the carved instruments style A, B, & C and then goes thru styles D, E, F and G (IIRC) which are all flattop mandolins like this one.
I agree with the folks above comments. Find out all you can about the neck and fret condition. The bridge is repositionable so it should be a problem to get set up and straightened out. I think the American Conservatory line are some of the best $/value ratio you can find in vintage (or new) mandolins.
To me the price (5 Benjamins) is pretty high, with a dodgy neck and frets. You are paying a premium for the two points, but these (spruce top, mahogany back) are nice sounding instruments. The ebony fretboards that L+H used on the AC line are also nice.
Before you spring, you might check this AC two point out on the ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1920...#ht_500wt_1070
Looks to be in good shape and has the Waverly tailpiece cover (a good $50 saved there as well.) The bridge needs to be replaced but that should also be an easy task for your luthier setting it up for you.
Mick
I think there might be a red flag about the headstock plate on the back of the peghead. There was an instrument on eBay a few weeks ago that looked similar but had the tuners replaced and a 'replacement' backplate. I am not saying this is the same instrument, but worth asking.
It is the same mandolin. I think though, what he said was that he "thought" that the tuners had been replaced "because" there was a plate covering them. This is a pic of the back of the headstock of the AC mandolin that I showed in earlier post. The cover plate is original to the mandolin, which is not unusual to mandolins of this era.
Attachment 84873
I saw that mandolin the other day but did not pay too much attention to it. Went back this evening and took another look and noted that it appears to have had another glued-in paper label that was removed and replaced with the American Conservatory label, mine is the same. Also noted that that label was marked 2520 as well as mine, so assuming that that is the model number. Same handwriting.Quote:
Originally Posted by brunello97
Attachment 84874
Why did they use that metal headstock plate? It is soooo ugly! (IMHO)
Don't know, maybe easy to stamp out?? It does seem to be the norm for instruments of this era though. From what I've seen, the higher in quality you go, the more ornate the back plate is, from plain on the entry models to very nice engraved on higher end instruments. I went back and looked at the OP mandolin and the back plate on that one appears to be mahogony. Maybe a replacement?? Well done though.
Attachment 84878
I never thought it was particularly ugly. It covers tuners which are routed into the headstock. The wooden cover is not original; the metal one is.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaycat
In 1920 this mandolin was part of the upperend Washburn line and was called model 2424. By 1925 it was relegated to the mid-range American Conservatory line and called model 4983 Venetian "Tupoint" model. That may explain why the two labels.
Interesting that both the mandolin that "brunello" posted http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-1920...#ht_500wt_1070
and the one that I have are both marked 2520 on the label in the same handwriting. Based on that, either the model number is 2520 or all have the same serial number??
MickQuote:
Originally Posted by Jim Garber
Those are Grrrrrrr8 aren't they!?
L&H switched model numbers around a lot as I noted above. I think 2520 is prob a model number and not a serial number.
Well, some are nicer than others (thanks Brunello) but I still think they're strange. They look something out of a shoe store.Quote:
Originally Posted by ourgang