Lyon and Healy two point

[Charles E.]

This one looks pretty good.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Lyon...item3a76199f57

[hank]

How would you compare the Lyon & Healy tone and response to a teens oval holed Gibson?

[JEStanek]

I don't know. The symmetrical ones like this one had a longer scale than the asymmetrical ones which had a 13 inch scale. IIRC, from other postings here, they have a different voice than a Gibson from the same time frame.

I had Brian Dean build me a L&H Style A inspired instrument that circumstances have now moved on. This particular shape (the asymmetrical two point with the fiddle head) and the three point F oval by Hans Brentrup remain the most beautiful mandolins to me. Perhaps, my hands will light upon one or both again...

That seems to me to be a good price on the linked one. I know the asymmetrical ones sell between $3-5K depending on condition.

Jamie

[Jim Garber]

I have a symmetrical one which I bought with neck issues -- big mistake. When it was playable it sounded incredible. Certainly similar to the shorter-scale, later ones. I think the weak point was using that "vulcanized fibre" (plastic) as a neck reinforcer. I need to either repair or replace the neck and I would love to do so since it is a very nice mandolin.

[Charles E.]

Jamie, when I clicked on "asymmetrical", it displayed a 58mm wide angle lens for sale.
I am sorry to hear you had to sell your mandolin by Brian Dean, that is a beautiful instrument.

[JEStanek]

How embarrassing. Imagine selling a one of a kind mandolin to get a $13 lens adapter. I corrected the link above (and here). Being a moderator has some advantages!

While I was sad to see it go, I know the new owner is happy and playing it a lot, and it helped the family immensely. I still have a great and some very good mandolins in the house. I'm content!

Jamie

[Willie]

I owned a 1919 one just like that one and couldn`t wait to sell it, it was loud but sounded more like a tenor banjo than a mandolin....I sold it for about three times what I paid for it so it made me happy...Mine was in great shape with no dings or anything....I do like the looks of them though....

Willie

[hank]

Maybe that was the sound they were shooting for since tenor banjos were becoming more and more popular.
Jamie your a good man.

[Jim Garber]

I know that mine never sounded like a tenor banjo. It has a nice sweet tone throughout its range. I strung mine with EXP-74s -- the strings might make some difference.

[Nat]

I have a long-scale symmetrical L&H (pictures of which are in another thread).

Mine sounds nothing like a tenor banjo. I agree with Jim that it might have been the strings you were using. I use Thomastiks. Back in my old apartment, when it was my primary instrument and I played it every day, the neighbors downstairs thought for six months that I was a harpsichord player.

My take is that long-scale L&H mandolins, of any variety (A, B or C) generally sound better than their Gibson oval-hole counterparts (excepting snakeheads, which I think are another thing entirely). My interests are primarily in playing classical music, so that probably factors into my opinion.

I think L&H's tend to have fantastic E strings, and to have very precise, clean notes. When you play a single note on a paddle-head Gibson, you tend to hear a lot of the other three string courses mixed in... I don't notice that at all on my L&H A.

[Charles E.]

I do think the asymmetrical L&h's look better, but I think I would like the longer scale length of the other. Hmmm, gonna have to build one.

[Bob DeVellis]

I have a teens Gibson oval hole and a L&H from the 20's and have compared their tone. The L&H has a replacement neck with ebony reinforcement but the body is original. I don't think the neck replacement had much impact on tone, but that's just a conjecture on my part. It's strung with Tomastiks. It sounds kind of like the Gibson, perhaps with a little less warmth and a bit more projection. I don't know how representative my Gibson is of other Gibsons or my L&H is of other Lyon & Healys, but the two sound more alike than different. The L&H doesn't sound like a round-back or flatback, for example, and certainly not like a tenor banjo.

[Eddie Sheehy]

It looked like it sold for the BIN.... but here it is again:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Lyon...item3a7675a3c3

[JeffD]

I have the assymetrical L&H. The tone is not a Gibson sound. Which is good because its, umm... not a Gibson. The closest I can describe is that it sounds like a really loud bowlback. All that sweetness and complexity, with volume to spare. It is strung with the Thomastick Infelds, which contributes to the tone I suppose. My Gibson A2 by comparison is strung with J74s.

Regarding the short scale, again its kind of like the bowlback that way. I like it. It makes the whole machine more compact, more like one piece, instead of a neck with a body attached. And I can reach everywhere I need to reach a little more easily.

And it is the prettiest instrument. No question.

[Jim Garber]

It looked like it sold for the BIN.... but here it is again:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Lyon...item3a7675a3c3

it didn't sell for the BIN -- the completed listing says 0 bidders. Here is the relisting.

[Eddie Sheehy]

it didn't sell for the BIN -- the completed listing says 0 bidders. Here is the relisting.

There was still 6 hrs left when I posted - I referred to the original listing (top of the thread) where it looked like it had sold for the BIN. It's up again now anyway... I'm wary of the NO RETURNS on an expensive and old instrument - the seller has only two prior transactions on EBAY, both purchases. The poster never replied to my question asking if the neck is straight, and could I see a pic of the neck profile...