Stahl Flat Back ...

[TheGuitarFairy]

howdy friends,

very first post and glad for the opportunity! wonderful corner of the web y'all have here!

i'm a fool-time guitar/steel guitarist who's been learning fiddle as of late. so when a friend of my dad's asked if i wanted to see some instruments that belonged to his grand parents, i was like "yes, please ..."

turns out he had two nice mandos ... one i left behind was a pretty blinged out B&J bowl back ... enclosed are pics of one i left with. instrument has a crack on back and two smaller cracks on side. sorry for leaving foam in tail piece! uggh ... Stahl came in it's original case btw.

i'd be curious to know approx. when this thing was built etc ... cannot find serial number ANYWHERE.

best regards to all and thanks!
mike

edit btw: both mandos were untouched by heir and were basically in tune when i picked them up. i'm pretty mando-impaired, but this thing sounds really nice, even w/ 100 y/o strings! what guauges go on these guys?

[8ch(pl)]

Nice instrument.

[Schlegel]

Most likely the first 25 years of the last century. BTW, that fingerboard and back styling points to possible Larson Brothers make.

[Jim Garber]

Robert Hartmann, the grandson of Carl Larson, has a site devoted to the Larson instruments. He also has written a few books about these instruments. I have an edition of the Larson's Creations date d 1996 and there is a color photo of what looks like your mandolin on page 160. It is described as a model of the lower quality end of the Stahl line from the 1930s. bear in mind, tho, that even the lower quality instruments were not shoddily made at all.

I would use light gauge mandolin strings on yours, possibly GHS A250 or D'Addario J-62.

[brunello97]

I think the ragazzi are right. I'm usually the doubting Tomás when it comes to Larsons, but I'm in this. Spruce top and rosewood back make for a nice combination. This line had to be developed in the same niche that Martin was after with their canted top/flatbacks from the era. A Martin B will draw $800-1000 or higher. A Stahl/Larson probably in the same range, though everyone seems to get worked up about the Larson NAME. Get some good strings (I'd recommend the J62s) on it. Time to start touting the Larson SOUND. Nice score. You did good.

Mick

[TheGuitarFairy]

thank you fellas! ... i'll get some new strings asap.

from poking around the web, i had become aware of the possible Larson connection. good stuff.

so were these mandos being used mostly for classical stuff?

my dad's friend told me this instrument was his grandmother's. the b&j was played by his grandfather. frets definitely show signs of use! family lived in portland maine btw ...

i guess from sitting all these years strung to pitch, action is almost an 1/8" at 12th fret. intonation gets a little wonky up there. mando sounds great tho! nothing like old, dry wood.

best regards,
m

[Jim Garber]

so were these mandos being used mostly for classical stuff?

Nah, not necessarily. Back then people prob more likely played pop tunes of the day or even chordal backup for songs, maybe church hymns and the like.

[brunello97]

Nah, not necessarily. Back then people prob more likely played pop tunes of the day or even chordal backup for songs, maybe church hymns and the like.

Ha! Jim, you iconoclast.. Hard to believe it (and it may be a heresy here) but there was a time when there was no bluegrass and San Guglielmo was not the measure of all things mandolin.

A good opportunity to further plug our amis:

http://www.mandopolis.org/

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Even in the mandolin orchestras classical music was few and far between. Maybe it was more so in Europe but up in Maine in the 1930s? Most likely not! Prob more likely New England contra dance tunes than classical.

Unless the Dad's friend has grandma's sheet music we may never know.