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Thread: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

  1. #1

    Default Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Hi All. I am refurbishing a 1910 Kenneweg mandolin, made by F.H. Kenneweg of Rochester NY. I am seeking an info about this maker, since I can find nothing about this person on the internet. I have already fixed a crack in the top and refinished the mando. Now I'm seeking the right tailpiece to replace the lost original. Nothing I find on-line seems appropriate for this small sized instrument. Does anyone recognize this maker? Any suggestions for where I can get a custom tailpiece for this mando? Thanks!
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  2. #2
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Don't know the cost, but what's that little tailpiece that AlanN has on his Gil now? Seems like it might look good on this.

    Or alternatively, a little cloud shaped TP?
    Phil

    “Sharps/Flats” “Accidentals”

  3. #3
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    It was probably a Waverly Cloud type tailpiece. They were common for that era and used extensively. As for the builder there are no threads here with that builders name and there is nothing in the mugwumps encyclopedia with that name. Obviously he was a luthier. I would probably be looking at violin makers of that era.
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    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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  4. #4
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    If you're looking for custom take a look at Bill Jame's tailpieces:

    http://www.axinc.net/James_Mandolin_...e_p/jtt-wl.htm
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  5. #5
    formerly Philphool Phil Goodson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    I found that AlanN's TP is a Nugget. Might be hard to get and expensive. Link to picture.
    Phil

    “Sharps/Flats” “Accidentals”

  6. #6
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    As far as info, that one resembles in construction and shape the two mentioned on this thread. One is labelled C. Burnett and one is unlabelled. I am sure that Allen Hopkins will chime in here, but Stutzman's Guitars has one of them in the owner's collection and he might know of that maker. You might also do a search for Rochester city directory from around that time and see if Kenneweg is listed as a business.

    In fact, check out Allen's post about the ones at Stutzman's.
    Jim

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  7. #7
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    The more I look at the hole pattern the more it looks like a Gibson style tailpiece was fitted.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

  8. #8

    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Thanks for the input! That is a great thread and the mandolins in the pictures look very, very similar to the one I'm working on Mine isn't that ornate, but still, the A style is very similar, as are the pictures of the case. i have one that was made for the Kenneweg mandolin and it is also very similar is style. The references to the "rochester violin maker" are exciting. It is probably the same luthier, or maybe a member of the family?? This is a ton more info than I was able to find on line. I really appreciate it!

  9. #9

    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Thanks for this info. I will look into this type of tailpiece.

  10. #10

    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Based on input I got from the mandolin's owner (my son's girlfriend), this Nugget type tailpiece seems to be the most logical type of original. She remembers her mother playing the mando, and remembers that the strings did not wrap over the end of the tailpiece, but that the tailpiece was really small. So this Nugget seems to fit the bill. I'll start looking for one....though if you have a suggestion where one may be found, I'd appreciate the advice. Thanks!

  11. #11
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    As a Rochesterian, I've never heard of F H Kenneweg, and I've heard quite a bit of Rochester musical history.

    If you want to find out more about the maker and the instrument, I'd suggest you contact John Bernunzio and/or Dave Stutzman. They're the city's premier vintage instrument dealers, and may have dealt with other instruments by this maker.

    Looks like a neat mandolin, and it would be great to get some info on its maker.
    Allen Hopkins
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  12. #12

    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    Quote Originally Posted by peejman View Post
    Hi All. I am refurbishing a 1910 Kenneweg mandolin, made by F.H. Kenneweg of Rochester NY. I am seeking an info about this maker, since I can find nothing about this person on the internet. I have already fixed a crack in the top and refinished the mando. Now I'm seeking the right tailpiece to replace the lost original. Nothing I find on-line seems appropriate for this small sized instrument. Does anyone recognize this maker? Any suggestions for where I can get a custom tailpiece for this mando? Thanks!
    Hello. F.H. Kenneweg was my grandfather. Franz Henry Kenneweg. He was a German immigrant and came to America, I believe, around 1890. He passed away in Rochester, NY at age 80 in 1956.

    I have a mandolin he made and is dated 1911. I know he was a luthier in Rochester, NY at some point in his life. (He was the Steward at the Country Club of Rochester in the 1920's when my mother was born.) He may have had his own shop or he may have worked with his friend, Bert Goodwin, also a violin maker and luthier. There is information about Bert Goodwin's violins being sold on the web.

    Can't help you with the tailpiece for your mandolin. I'm sure you found something to use since your post was made in early 2017. I recall as a 12 year old (1965) giving a guitar teacher in Rochester a box of my grandfather's tools and old parts. Tuners, pick guards and such. Wish I had those back over 50 years later.

    I also have a mandolin by Otto Shuff (1944) who was a violin maker in Rochester, NY.

    I believe a cousin of mine has one of my grandfather's violins in California. I also have an old turtle back mando he made but it has not weathered well. Do you think that tailpiece would be the same as the ones used on your style mandolin?

    My email is tdkscr@frontiernet.net.

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  14. #13
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Kenneweg Mandolin Questions

    I love when this happens and ancestors of unknown luthiers or performers find our discussions. Very cool.

    tdkscr: can you post some photos of the mandolins made by your grandfather including the bowlback, even if it is not in great shape. You may want to have it restored tho someday.
    Jim

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