German mandolin that thinks it's a lute

[James Rankine]

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I bought this mandolin from a music shop in London 18months ago. They were selling it for a customer (a commissioned sale) and asking £300 but I got them to phone the customer and we agreed on £270 which I thought reasonable particularly as the shop in question trousers a 1/3 of that. The man in the shop said it was from the former German Democratic Republic, probably 1960s. There is no name on it which I understand is par for the course for GDR mandolins since they were all considered to be made by the state!
I love the look of it. Beautiful wood on the arched back (English rosewood in there?). It seems to me that it is trying to pass itself off as a medieval instrument with the central rosette and headstock scroll. Considering most people think I'm playing a ukulele when they see me playing my other mandolins, I reckon they'd think this was a lute.
So my questions. Has anyone else got one like this? Is it a one off or were they churned out by the thousand? If so I've never seen another like it and I spend more time than is healthy looking at pictures of mandolins. Are the two holes next to the rosette purely decorative or structural? They are also found on both sides. Can't think they are sound holes unless the idea is to send the sound to your feet as well!
Sound wise it has the in built reverb of a deep bodied instrument. The tuners are rubbish - you turn them and the mandolin has a think before deciding to wind the string in. It has the short scale of a Neapolitan instrument which is a bit of a challenge (what is that all about - isn't the mandolin short enough already). Makes great wall decoration though and reckon I might take up classical mandolin in my dotage.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of your mandolin lutes. Thanks in anticipation.

[Jim Garber]

The German's have a long history of retro-looking instruments. There are lots of those lute-guitars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lute_guitar). I think it dates back to the 1920s or before and the Wandervogel movement. This mandolin looks like it is of the same style.

[Bill Snyder]

From your description the tuning problem sounds like it is the nut and not the tuner. If you turn and the post moves but the string doesn't then it does the string is binding in the slot in the nut.

[James Rankine]

Thanks Bill, good thought. I'll try rubbing some graphite into the slots. There is also an element of laxity in the pegs, I turn the peg and it turns a bit before the barrel starts to turn.

[Tavy]

James, These are reasonably common, and not all that collectable, they do however often make decent sounding instruments, and you look to have one of the better ones there - I do like the look of that one!

[Beanzy]

Looks like it would be just the part for playing in churches or doing "Ye Olde Faire" gigs.
It's had a new bridge and there's a nasty crack developing up the centre.
If it sounds good I'd get the crack sorted out.

[James Rankine]

Eoin

thanks - well spotted. Someone has already been at the crack with some glue. It hasn't separated further in 18 months. I was just going to watch and wait (bad idea?)

James

[Tavy]

Eoin

thanks - well spotted. Someone has already been at the crack with some glue. It hasn't separated further in 18 months. I was just going to watch and wait (bad idea?)

You mean the slight centre seem separation? If it's been glued already, I wouldn't worry about it, pretty much par for the course for an instrument of that age.

[James Rankine]

Thanks Tavy, that's reassuring.

[Jim Garber]

Are the two holes next to the rosette purely decorative or structural? They are also found on both sides. Can't think they are sound holes unless the idea is to send the sound to your feet as well!

Calace mandolins from the 1920s or so have holes like that usually near the bridge. No one has ever explained to me what they are for. If I ever get to Naples I will ask at the Calace shop. Maybe they don't know either. I don't think they put those in any more.

[Tavy]

Calace mandolins from the 1920s or so have holes like that usually near the bridge. No one has ever explained to me what they are for. If I ever get to Naples I will ask at the Calace shop. Maybe they don't know either. I don't think they put those in any more.

I guess someone decided it was a good idea, built a nice sounding mandolin with them in, and everyone just copied?

My experience has been:

* Big holes good (soundhole, soundports etc).
* Very small holes bad (leaky sound chamber, weezy instrument that doesn't pump air like it should).
* Inbetween holes probably make no or little difference - I know Jim disagrees with me, but I really don't hear much sound from the DeMeglio style soundports - you can put your ear right next to them, hit the strings and hear/feel next to nothing - if I did the same next to the sound port on my regular mando it'll knock your eardrum out ;)

One theory I've heard relating to soundports, is that a major limiting factor for how freely the top can vibrate is how quickly air can shift through the soundhole. This was to explain why many guitars turn out to be louder out front if you put a soundport in the side. Given that the soundhole in this one is rather obstructed, maybe these small holes were an attempt to free things up? That said, I'm working on a German made mandolin that has a carved ship design inset in the soundhole - pretty much blocks the thing up - but it's still a rather loud little thing - so who knows!

[Jim Garber]

I am no acoustic expert. All I ever noticed was that DeMeglio had a different sound, as our friend Martin Jonas calls it "a party in the bowl." Whether that comes from the Dah-dit-dah "soundports" or not, I do not know. I just assumed that the intension of those small holes was some sort of monitor. There is also (I think) the Loveri mandolins which have sound holes in the butt end, which makes even less sense, I suppose.

As for the tiny roundish Calace and other holes, I still am not sure what the purpose of those is and unless we find some patents for it we may never know.

[Nevin]

Lutes frequently had more than one sound hole. It makes sense that if you are modeling a mandolin on a lut it could have more than one too.