Does this look worth having repaired, given the price and condition?
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Does this look worth having repaired, given the price and condition?
It's not the really cool one with the swan necky headstock bit and the curled up scroll design on the pick guard but it's an Embergher. It might very well be worth it. The price is high enough that the seller has looked into it at least some I'd bet. I mean,he's not selling it as "Old bowl backed mandolin,$100 no reserve". You need a bowl back expert --- Garber will know something about that model I'd bet.
That price is too high. It'll end up with the seller accepting an offer.
I agree - price is way too high
This was also mentioned on the Bowlback of Notes threads. I commented:
Quote:
Boy, that is a near basket-case as far as the top is concerned. I think the seller is dreaming for that BIN price. it could be a $1500 repair job to get it properly playable.
Sold for $999. Somebody is willing to put a lot of money into that to make it play. My own Tipo A (which is essentially the same model without the scratchplate inlay and the checkered binding) was a few hundred more, but was in pristine condition. This one may need a huge amount of work to reconstruct the top.
Martin
Hmm. Hard to tell from those pictures, but my guess is that these repairs would not be that difficult to execute. The neck appears to be in decent position and the top looks uncracked (though there is a suspicious line along the bass side of the fretboard.) If a neck-reset is not in order then the project becomes much more direct. Taking the top off is not so onerous a task and gently reforming/rebracing the top is something Dave Hynds has walked us through a number of times here. Not something I would try on a $1K mandolin, but definitely on a $1C bowlback. ;)
That said, paying someone to do the work, and to do it on a premium instrument could add up to mucho dinero. If a skilled repairperson or restoration shop have bought it they might have an enjoyable time fixing it. They aren't making any more of these, so I hope someone gets this one up and playable no matter the cost.
Mick
Extraordinary. It won't be worth that much even after it's been repaired.
Errr... why? It's an Embergher, and even the relatively modest student models by him are highly collectable. Don't confuse them with the sort of washed-up generic bowlback you find in many British attics and car boot sales -- these are top instruments.Quote:
Originally Posted by houseworker
Martin
I'm not confused. I see Emberghers from time to time at the London auctions (my particular interest is the violins) and am reasonably in touch with the hammer prices.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Jonas
Interesting, houseworker, a style B Embergher in restored condition is worth much more than $999, prob around $2000-2500 / 1200-1500GBP. I wonder what hammer prices you have seen and what conditions those were in.
So, what would it's value be for that style if it was in good playing condition? Repaired or retopped it wouldn't ever be a collectors item but it could come back as a good player. It sold for a grand. Someone will either have to pay for repairs or maybe they are capable of doing it themselves. I find that there are a fairly high number of basket cases that come up on ebay that sell for more than I would think they should and I attribute that to people who look for projects like that. It could be because as either a hobby or a profession they want the challenge and they want a finished product that was worth the effort, I'm kind of like that and will will pay a premium for a cool project. I don't pay a premium because I want to,it's because there is competition for blown up old instruments of high quality. The downturn in prices of vintage instruments has caused me to take another look at this but from a hobbyist point of view it's still cheaper than golf and can keep you busy doing something you enjoy. I don't follow the prices for bowl backed mandolins so I don't really know the value of Emberger's and the like but I know they are sought after by some players and have value.
Jim Garber kind of answered the value question while I was posting.
Here's an example from the web site of Sinier-DeRidder. This (despite the typo on the date) is a 1923 Style A student model. Please note the price of €3,200 (£2,673 or $4,237).
Here you can see what the same mandolin looked like before in the luthier's page of restoration -- this one is similar to the recent eBay example in terms of warped top. As far we can tell, this has not sold at that price which I will certainly admit is way above market price esp these days and prob has been listed on this site for a few years now.
OTOH a cyber-friend of mine recently bought a 1913 style B from a reputable German luthier and paid within the range I listed above for it.