Lefty OM on the 'bay

[otterly2k]

There's a Minstrel lefty OM on ebay... spruce over sapele, that looks mighty nice. Lefty OM's are rare enough, I thought it would be worth posting as a service to the lefties among us. NFI, just making connections...

Here's a link to the page:
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Left-handed-Minstrel-Octave-Mandolin-sapelle-and-spruce_W0QQitemZ7420844939QQcategoryZ623Q
QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">lefty OM</a>

[sjusk]

That´s an interesting looking piece of lefty OM, Karen, thanks for pointing it out.
Price seems very fair as well...I mean, not that many lefties out there all in all, is there?

Scratching my neck, counting the change, overlooking the house which is partly being reconstructed, thinking about the lady in the bank (not THAT way!), picking the Pac-Rim OM for a while.....hmmmmmm

& well, well, well.
-------
Søren "Lefty hmmmmm..."

[DryBones]

saw that myself but can't hardly play these mandos I have let alone an OM.(sure would look nice next to my Mid-Mo though)
Coming from Canada...hmmmm wonder how much that will cost through customs?
Fedex Customs trouble

[otterly2k]

Jason...as far as I can tell, the customs thing is a crapshoot. Sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn't. When it does, it seems to amount to approx. 10% of the total value. If you decide you are really interested, you might email the builder and ask what his experience has been with that.
dunno.

[Danny Packer]

When my Nyberg came through customs from Canada it cost about $50 which is closer to about 2%. It was supposed to be COD, but the UPS man said he wasn't supposed to collect anything. Later I got a bill. Overall, it wasn't a big deal.

Danny

[steve V. johnson]

I've put my $.02 down in the customs discussion, so I won't go into it here, but in summary ... Sod 'em.

I really like the look of Daunt Lee's work, and I've had some really nice email conversations with him.

I think that his OMs are probably one of the best instrument values on the planet. It's certainly tough to find a handmade, much less -custom- made OM for under $1k, and he takes great care with his stuff. There's also a nice new Minstrel website. It doesn't have a ton of pix, which is too bad because he's made a nice variety of instruments, but it's there, finally, and looking good.

There was a custom one for sale recently, I think here in the Cafe Classifieds, that was really lovely.

So, I'm a fan, and I keep tossing change into the Buy A Minstrel OM jar. I want a cedar over either walnut or sapele from Daunt... one day.

stv

[otterly2k]

Danny- if you check out the thread on customs stuff, I think you'll see that you were one of the lucky ones. By all accounts, it is totally inconsistent and a "fee" charged for customs "brokering" -- whatever the heck that means! My fee was $130, and charged to the delivery site (my partner's workplace) so I had no choice but to pay it.

Stv... I agree with you that Daunt's instrument seem mighty nice... I was hoping to hear one this weekend, but the fellow who has one unfortunately cancelled. Maybe another time.

[Gerry Cassidy]

I think Roger picked a used one up on the bay a couple weeks ago? I was watching it and a bidder named 'Zoukboy' won the auction. Maybe he could give a review?

Steve, I'm in the same boat. I would love to try one of his cedar tops. Not so particular on the back and sides.

On the duty thing: I have shipped an instrument to Canada without any extra costs. Received a couple as well. UPS did charge me a small broker fee, but it was negligible in relation to the cost of the instrument. Can't remember the exact cost of the guitar, but it was over $2K. The brokerage fee was something like $24.

[JPL]

What's his web address? I saw the lefty on e-Bay, too...first I gotta get a nice Mid-Mo mandolin, but I want to know my lefty CBOM options, just in case my wife insists that I spend a grand on myself...

[steve V. johnson]

Hey JPL,

Here's the website for Daunt Lee's Minstrel instruments:

http://www.mandolas.net

Hey, I play with a guy whose wife DID that! Really, really and I'm not kidding. So, it could happen to you. My wonderful wife Min once gave me a '52 Epiphone archtop guitar, too, but that was a birthday present... &lt;GG&gt;

stv

[JPL]

Thank you, sir.

I dropped him a line to see what he would charge for a lefty short-scale cittern (never know when you're gonna need those two extra strings, y'know?).

This 20" mandola /OM he mentions on the website is another interesting possibility to a fella like me, with smallish hands.

Yeah, I know guys who get new instruments for their birthday. I got a grill, so I can do more of the cooking. Forty-five CDs on my Amazon.com wish list, and all I get is a grill....

[DryBones]

JPL,
its because you are a lefty...we are the Rodney Dangerfields of our time.

"I tell ya I get no respect"

PS: I got a grill this spring too.She had no problem spending that money but I'll hear about the $15 for my monthly eMusic subscription.

[JPL]

It does limit one's options a bit, doesn't it? #But it keeps me from sending every dollar I own to Elderly Instruments...

Boy, I'm really tempted. I should probably get a better mandolin first and then buy an OM next year sometime, but that's awfully nice-looking, and I'm just so pleased to know there's a guy building lefty OMs.

[Thanks for pointing me towards Mid Mo Mandolins, Bones...just got an email from them discussing options. #Should have the dough together by September, assuming the wife doesn't exercise veto power...]

[DryBones]

well I passed on it. in fact everybody did. no bids.

[steve V. johnson]

Once we got a Jenn-Air stove with a grill -in- it, I can't get in the kitchen to use it... When we got married, Min told me that she wouldn't cook. Then she got inspired by Emeril Lagasse and now she's a sport cook. I've never eaten so well and when folks come to visit, they no longer want to go out to the nice restaurants in the area...

I love it, but I miss cooking once in a while. The outdoor grill hasn't been used in years... *sigh*
No lefty content here, sorry... (nor CBOM for that matter... )

stv

[steve V. johnson]

Daunt Lee has reposted the sapele Lefty OM!

Another chance for you of the SouthPaw persuasion.

I like Daunt's work, so I hope someone gets it. For you in the NE, it might be a nice to have him send it to ... Montreal or Windsor or such and then a pleasant summer drive to just pick it up... &lt;GGG&gt;

All the best,

stv

[JPL]

And starting bid is down to $629 US.

####. I'd really like to buy this instrument, but I was planning to buy a Mid-Mo mandolin once I get the money together (September, probably), and then start socking some money away for an OM.

But I've been researching OMs for over a year, and keeping my eye out for a lefty, and here this nice guy builds one...and he emailed me back with some thoughts about that custom cittern, and he's from the County Cork Lee family, just like me.

[otterly2k]

Well... on the one hand, it seems like this instrument might have your name on it.

But on the other ... #it's not worth financial hardship or conflict in your home to have the instrument right this very minute. #If you really like this instrument, but don't have the dough yet, you might consider emailing Daunt and offering to put a deposit down - either on this one or on a new build just for you.

[JPL]

Oh, I wouldn't let any instrument short of a Sobell cause strife with the wife.

I'll just ride it out a few months until I have the money together. If Daught still has the lefty, then I got me a dillema. It might be better to hold out another year and get the funds together to commission a five-course lefty instrument, anyway...when I played bari sax, I had an instrument that went down to B-flat rather than A, like some models...and man, you'd be amazed how often you need that low A when it's not there...