Marlboro 2-Point

[layers5]

Here's an interesting old two-point I just got on Ebay for $100.00. I thought I got a pretty good deal!

It has a crudely-repaired headstock fracture but it seems to be structurally sound now that I've strung it up.

The back and sides are curly mahogany.

For a quick bridge I used the top half of a Gibson-style bridge with the bottom sanded flat. It turned out to be about the right height.

It's a nice sounding mando, fairly loud and punchy. I'm taking it to a session tonight to see if it can be heard above the din.

I like the asymmetrical body shape and the Fender-esque headstock.

Like the Vega cylinderback mandos, this one has a fairly deep body, about 2-3/8" at the top cant line

[berkeleymando]

I like the shape of this mandolin. For 100 bucks you did pretty well.

[Tim Saxton]

Looks like a Stromberg-Visonet. What is the headstock like front and back?

[layers5]

The guy I bought it from said that someone had told him that it was made by Stromberg. I wonder when the company was active? I'm guessing the 1920s.

The headstock has an interesting shape. Even more interesting are the tuners, which seem to be buried under the headstock overlay. No gears are visible. Here is a shot of the back of the headstock.http://www.silphium.net/images/mandolin_headstock.jpg

[Tim Saxton]

No qusetion now.

I turned one of these for a nice little profit about 2 years ago. A very nice solid mando. I have found they were built in the late 20's to early 30's. Mine played well and sounded very good.

My tuners were very hard to turn till I dropped a little oil down the shaft. It seemed to loosen up a smidge.
Congrats!

Tim

[beenpickin]

I inquired about a Marlboro back in November of #05 and
Tim suggested it was "made by Stomberg-Voisinet"
which Eric F. indicated "was a Chicago company that later changed its name to Kay".
Yours looks quite a bit like mine but with nicer figure to the back.
My tuners are enclosed behind a carved wood panel glued in place.
Tuner problems could be a real chore.
http://img5.ranchoweb.com/images/beenpickin/mvc-088f.jpg

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, let me start over. The second image posted is a Stromberg-Voisenet but I'm a bit confused by the "Fender-esque headstock" description of the first post. Does it look like the headstock in the second image?

Stromberg-Voisenet did indeed become Kay and was active through the 1960's. These mandolin are from the late 20's/early 30's. Kay continued to make a similar body but the headstock changed over the years (as did the actual body dimensions).

[Jim Nollman]

I have an old old Kay similar to this one. I bought it on Ebay. I have done a lot of work on it, all for the good. I had it re-fretted, and the neck re-glued to the body, then changed the tuners for gold schallers, changed the bridge to a new one made in China with lots of subtle inlay, plus a new tailpiece. I even carved a new pickguard from a piece of padauk. I only use heavy strings on it, which work great given the extra thick body. i own 3 mandolins, but this is the one i usually choose for recording. It plays great with a jazz ensemble to bring out the bass. Good luck with yours.