Picked up a very nice Strad-o-Lin today! Any info?

[Ironwood8959]

Hi all, I am new here and today I found a pretty nice Stradolin. I admit I don't know much about them but it looks nice to me...

Maybe you guys can help me out with some information about it. Here is what I can tell from looking at it... It appears to be solid wood, probably a spruce top and beautiful curly maple back and sides. The fretboard is ebony with mother-of-pearl markers. The pickguard is also ebony with ebony brackets and mother-of-pearl accents. The Strad-o-Lin logo is also inlaid as is all of the purfling. The finish is all original and is beautifully aged.

Can anyone give me any specific info about it? Age, model, where made, etc.

I think it is pretty sweet. Opinions?

Thanks.

Joel

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[MikeEdgerton]

That's more than nice, that's the professional model. It's actually called the Artist Deluxe. Here's the catalog page.

[MikeEdgerton]

Specifics. Nobody knows who made the Strad-O-Lins. The brand name was owned by a distributor named Sorkin. See this (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?116182-Stradolin-Mfg-r-listed-in-musical-instrument-catalog) thread for more information on that. I believe these were built in the 30's. If you hit the Community button above there in the drop down is a category called Social Groups. There is a Strad-O-Lin Social Group with a lot of pictures. They were made in the US.

[Bruce Clausen]

Beauty. With that fingerrest it is from one of the earliest batches. For some period in the thirties Strads got a date stamp inside-- not sure if yours would, but it's worth a look.

[Ironwood8959]

No. I checked and there is no date stamp. When you say "earliest batches" what year do you think?

[Mark Gunter]

Specifics. Nobody knows who made the Strad-O-Lins. The brand name was owned by a distributor named Sorkin. See this (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?116182-Stradolin-Mfg-r-listed-in-musical-instrument-catalog) thread for more information on that. I believe these were built in the 30's. If you hit the Community button above there in the drop down is a category called Social Groups. There is a Strad-O-Lin Social Group with a lot of pictures. They were made in the US.

Thanks Mike, that was a very interesting and informative thread.

[multidon]

Looks like there's an open seam issue. Should be a simple fix though. I'd get it checked.

[Ironwood8959]

Hi Don, Where do you see an open seam? There is no open seam anywhere that I can see...

[MikeEdgerton]

By earliest batch it would mean early 30's. There are some that have a date stamp inside. Mine does not have one. Bruce owns the same model that you have.

[PseudoCelt]

Looks like there's an open seam issue. Should be a simple fix though. I'd get it checked.
Is this what you mean?

[Ironwood8959]

Here is a close up of the area Don thought there might be a seam separation. There isn't one, it just looked that way in the pic. This Strad-o-Lin is in almost perfect condition, no scratches, dings, dents or cracks.

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[MikeEdgerton]

How does it sound?

[Ironwood8959]

It has a nice mellow dry, woody, bluegrass sound with sustain that lasts as long as it needs to...

[MikeEdgerton]

Cool. These are the only real Strad-O-Lin models with the bridge in the middle of the f holes. Enjoy it.

[BradKlein]

The thing to watch with this model is the top. Whereas almost ALL other Stradolins have a heavy lateral brace across the top, not far from the bridge - this one model does not. The brace is still south of the ff-holes, while the bridge is in the center. And the top is fairly thin solid spruce, pressed to shape. So I'd say, light strings and keep an eye on things.

It looks as if the top may have sunk some already, and the bridge may have been raised to compensate. In any event, in my limited experience, a tall bridge translates into a lot of downward pressure for this model, so go light on the strings unless experience and careful examination say otherwise.

[Ironwood8959]

Thanks Brad.

Took the strings off and started to humidify the Stradolin. Top has moved back to almost where it should be. Internal inspection and all the braces are perfect.

I am going to get a new bridge with a wider foot than the one that is currently on it. Any suggestions from anyone as to what bridge to get?

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm not sure that bridge is original anyway but I would contact Steve at Cumberland Acoustic (http://www.cumberlandacoustic.com/) and get a CA bridge.

[Ironwood8959]

Thanks Mike... I love this mandolin!

[MikeEdgerton]

I can understand that. I love mine as well.

[Ironwood8959]

I can't wait to get the new bridge and put on some strings! Thanks to all...

[Londy]

Sweet lookin mando you found. Congratulations and enjoy this beauty. Post a sound clip when get time.

[BradKlein]

You may want to try a 'full contact' bridge instead of one with two feet, just to spread the load more evenly.

Another option is to take off the top and replace the one lateral brace with a pair of 'tone bars' as has become standard in the years since that particular model was made. I know that sounds a bit drastic, but it's an experiment that I will get around to one of these days.

[Ironwood8959]

Thanks Brad,

Maybe I will try a full contact bridge...

[BradKlein]

It's no problem to alter a full contact bridge to a 'footed' bridge, if you should ever want to - but going the other way is much harder. Anyway, have fun with your Strad. Brad

[xSinner13x]

No. I checked and there is no date stamp. When you say "earliest batches" what year do you think?

1920-1938
I have a midrange model from that era (Profile pic, and full size pix in the community), IMO the best ones are from the earlier years.
IIRC they all came out of one shop in NYC during that era.


It has a nice mellow dry, woody, bluegrass sound with sustain that lasts as long as it needs to...


Also IMO, once set up and intonated correctly they sound better than a lot of "Higher end" instruments I have heard.
Mine is stupid loud when I lay into it.

[allenhopkins]

...IIRC they all came out of one shop in NYC during that era....they sound better than a lot of "Higher end" instruments I have heard...

1. Might be true about the "one shop in NYC," but we don't know which shop or even whether Strad-O-Lin bought product from other manufacturers. See Mike E's Post #3. There's a groundswell of opinion that Favilla built 'em, no hard evidence with which I'm familiar.

2. Strad-O-Lins, even the ones much less nice than this one, often "punch above their weight," sounding a lot better than their modest original price and somewhat gawky appearance would suggest. Which is why prices for Strad-O-Lins have been creeping up significantly over the past few years.

[MikeEdgerton]

No groundswell. We have three Favilla's that are definitely Strad-O-Lin genre mandolins. Big Tom says they'd been making those since the twenties but they never built them with anyone elses name on it. Mugwumps has a story about a guy saying he was in the Strad-O-lin factory in NYC in the 30's. The branded Favilla's have the same little features (tailpiece cover, rivet placement, screw placement on pickguards) as some branded Strad-O-lins. Somebody that had some capacity built them. If it was all in NYC Favilla had the capacity. They might have been made by more than one builder, the Artist model has some Harmony features but even with all this there still isn't any hard proof and I've looked for it. I suspect Favilla but without documents there's no way to know. I believe big Tom started at the family business in 1957 or so. The bulk of the Strad-O-Lins were built before he was born. If somebody could obtain the Sorkin purchasing records we could put this to bed but I'm guessing they are long gone. It is and shall remain a mystery.