About six months ago I saw a mando bass in a music shop. Never knew such an instrument existed. It was different.
Does anyone have experience with one? What are the pluses and minuses?
thanks
Juan
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About six months ago I saw a mando bass in a music shop. Never knew such an instrument existed. It was different.
Does anyone have experience with one? What are the pluses and minuses?
thanks
Juan
Plus: Every mandolin orchestra within a 500-mile radius will beat a path to your door.
Plus: You can keep your other instruments inside it.
Plus: It floats.
Plus: It sounds great if you are sitting about 3 feet directly in front of the soundhole.
Minus: It can barely be heard anywhere else.
Minus: No consensus on what the price should be, so people sell them for anything from $4K to $10K.
If you are not going to get this one from your local music shop, please let me know which shop it is. I have a friend who would like to buy her own mandobass.
I had one many years ago, but had to sell it because in the dry heat of my New York apartment the huge back would split over and over. It cost me a bunch in repairs. Other than that it makes a good conversation piece.
FYI~
The mando bass is a 1930's Kalamazoo F hole style, selling price is $3,500.
The shop is a bluegrass music shop called Picker's Supply, located in Frederickburg, Virginia. (Web site: pickerssupply.com; email: pickers@pickerssupply.com)
Juan
The only piece of advice I ever received about them is that the ones with natural tops are more prized. As I understood it, the majority of these were made with opaque finishes to cover the many checks and fills in the wood, as it is hard to get a perfect piece of wood that big. This was supposedly even worse in their heyday which was after WWI when really good wood was at a premium. Of the four I've seen in person, three of them were black. Not that there's anything wrong with solid colors, it's just that natural ones are rarer and get bigger bux. Or so I'm told, so take all that for what it cost you.
I visited Picker's Supply once several years ago. Nice shop and I'm glad to hear they're still around.
Ah, I think I've seen that one. That's horribly overpriced. I don't think I'd give more than $800-1,000 for it. The "real Gibson" ones are more desirable. As for dark vs. natural tops, I dunno ... So many of them have had to be patched up over the years. If I had a choice between a clean one with a dark top and a repaired one with a natural top, I'd take ...
the one with better tone & projection.
Marc Silber put up a list of stuff in the classifieds, included a mando bass, east bay area folks..
I remember seeing one at Elderly a couple of years ago. Pretty sure it was black.
Here's one at Intermountain Guitar and Banjo in SLC, UT:
http://www.guitarandbanjo.com/pics/3121-1.jpg
I wonder if they think that turning it into a "Tut Taylor road sign" increases or decreases its value?
Could be worse. It could say "Eat st Joes".
Or - "Vote for Wendell Wilkie"
Hey, hey, hey! No politics.
Listen, if they put that Tut Taylor mb up for sale at a reasonable price, not ridiculous, I'd buy it--I don't care about it. Yvonne
There is also a mandobass for sale at the Guitar Center in Cincinnati -- its not a Gibson though -- I forget what brand. But I think they are asking around $4K for it. Thanks but no thanks.
I'd rather have a very nice black-faced 1917 F2 that is hanging on the wall on the other side of the room for the same $$$.
It's one of the best sounding F2's I've ever played -- very strong and bell like.
Yes I'm a bit OT here but I did include some MB also.:))
I have a Gibson Mandobass that I play with the Pittsburgh Mandolin Orchestra, am just having fun.
would love to hear one of these MBs
I have read many comments here about their volume ( not very loud ) but I donīt have a clue how they sound. Is any of you MB owners able to post a soundclip ????? Or are there any recordings I could buy that has a MB on it ?
I'm going to try to put strings on a billboard and sell it for $10k...
The Dayton Mandolin Orch is doing an exchange concert with the Kalamazoo Orch. in 3 weeks--wonder if they have one? LOVE to try it out! Yvonne
bluesmandolinman, Will work on the soundclip. It might take a few weeks.
To hear some sound clips with mandobass listen to samples of Steve Hartz's albums: "By the Muddy Angelina" and "Settlers In the Western Woods".
www.mysteryridge.com
Here's a pic of my mandobass. I got it from Bran at Picker's Supply. He was a great guy to deal with and I was tempted to get the Kalamazoo one too. Then I would be "that guy".......the one with two mandobasses in his living room. If you are into early Gibsons like I am, a collection really isn't complete with out one....and a harp guitar...and a style O....and a K-4...and........
Phil
http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/n...ibson_bass.jpg