View Full Version : There were a couple of Stradolins on eBay over the long weekend
mzurer
Feb-20-2018, 12:01pm
Both went pretty cheap, sub-$150:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Mandolin-Stradolin-In-Original-case/222833095629?hash=item33e1e333cd:g:ClAAAOSwL9paf0p J
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-STRADOLIN-MANDOLIN-NR/332546218765?hash=item4d6d4c9b0d:g:7E4AAOSwXOhaehE V
If I had held out and not bought locally, I could have picked them both up for the price of the one I got off Facebook marketplace!
I didn't post in case someone here was already tracking them, I didn't want to drive the price up... Not sure what the etiquette is...
Jim Garber
Feb-20-2018, 12:32pm
One question I have is what the difference in SOLs is over the years and how to tell. For instance, is there a big difference between those made in the 1930s vs. those from the 1950s? Are the early ones solid wood and, at some point they made them laminated?
pops1
Feb-20-2018, 12:40pm
One question I have is what the difference in SOLs is over the years and how to tell. For instance, is there a big difference between those made in the 1930s vs. those from the 1950s? Are the early ones solid wood and, at some point they made them laminated?
Yes I have had a couple of the later ones and they were laminated. Didn't sound all that great. I would like to hear one from the 30's that is solid.
Seter
Feb-20-2018, 12:55pm
My stradolin has a laminated top, despite likely being an earlier one. Maybe the lowest on the totem pole model. It's still my favorite of my mandolins though. Perhaps due to the laminated construction it is free of cracks etc which is nice I suppose.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-20-2018, 2:37pm
is there a big difference between those made in the 1930s vs. those from the 1950s?
All of the earlier ones I have seen were solid. All of them from the 50's (US Strad and all) I have seen have been laminated. If you see one that is that weird mahogany look on the top you can bet it's laminated. I don't know if any were made with solid tops and backs later in the game.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-20-2018, 2:41pm
...Perhaps due to the laminated construction it is free of cracks etc which is nice I suppose.
Kay was selling laminated backs and sides as a feature in the 30's. Washburn was building high end guitars in the 20's maybe 30's with laminated sides (http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Museum/Guitar/Washburn/LHGoldLeaf/lhgold.html).
This is my Stradolin for reference, what timeframe would you folks estimate for it?
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MikeEdgerton
Feb-20-2018, 4:16pm
It's from the 40's based on the no screw method of attaching the cog and I'm surprised it's laminated. Did you look inside with a mirror to see if they simply reinforced the area around the f holes? The top left picture of the tuners is not from this mandolin but I'm assuming you knew that.
It's from the 40's based on the no screw method of attaching the cog and I'm surprised it's laminated. Did you look inside with a mirror to see if they simply reinforced the area around the f holes? The top left picture of the tuners is not from this mandolin but I'm assuming you knew that.
Thanks, and I must have gotten mixed up with the attachments; I removed it to avoid confusion. I'll have to check out the inside, the top at the f-holes appears to be two-ply so maybe it is a reinforcement.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-20-2018, 7:00pm
I had a Kay that I thought was ply but it turned out to be reinforcements around the segmented f holes.
mzurer
Feb-20-2018, 7:36pm
Is there a guide anywhere written up on some of the different versions and characteristics?
Bridge placement at the bottom of the hole punch f-holes seems the most commonly found characteristic. But is there something about the neck heel and reinforcement inside as well?
The Orpheum I bought looks like it's reinforced - it appears there's a very thin layer just on the inside, but the cutouts don't have a typical plywood layering, though the finish makes it a little hard to tell. Haven't tried to fit a mirror in there yet! Mine has screws on the tuner cogs...
MikeEdgerton
Feb-20-2018, 8:44pm
There are no guides. I have one message up on the Strad-O-Lin social group that identifies the imported branded Strad-O-Lins. They have nothing to do with the real Strad-O-Lins. Post some pictures. I've owned two Orpheum branded Strad-O-Lin genre mandolins.
mzurer
Feb-21-2018, 12:22pm
Took some pics - Added them to the SOL social group, but while we're chatting...
You can see in the detail of the f-hole that the grain is consistent from the top through the exposed cut edge, so I think this is solid topped. But you can also see in the round hole what looks like a thin layer of something on the inside - that's more noticeable in other areas of the f-holes. Is that reinforcement?
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Looks like a solid top to me.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-21-2018, 2:23pm
It's solid. That's probably just some reinforcement. There aren't too many of us that have the original plastic tailpiece cover to match the pickguard.
Jim Garber
Feb-21-2018, 11:50pm
My Weymann/SOL has it. Now if I can just find a luthier I can afford to re-assemble it.
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your_diamond
Feb-24-2018, 12:14pm
My Weymann/SOL has it. Now if I can just find a luthier I can afford to re-assemble it.
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Jim,
Nice Artist model.
These seem to be built more like a violin, with their two piece backs & two & sometimes three piece necks.
Not your typical SOL.
What year is it?
Also, what kind of work does it need?
Mike
Jim Garber
Feb-24-2018, 3:13pm
Jim,
Nice Artist model.
These seem to be built more like a violin, with their two piece backs & two & sometimes three piece necks.
Not your typical SOL.
What year is it?
Also, what kind of work does it need?
Mike
It is in pieces. I bought this on the auction site many years ago and IIRC it showed up with a warped neck. I sent it to a well-meaning person who was taking a class in instrument repair but when she took it apart she realized that it needed more than she could handle. So I have it in pieces. Too bad.
I remember being at a folk fest in MA many years ago and that Russ Barenberg played a higher end (maybe two-point) Strad-O-Lin that sounded great and this one reminded me of it. This thread had me thinking that I should have it worked on. Might be worth the money. I need to dig it out of the closet.
I haven't a clue what year it is but I would guess 1930s-40s nd that it is all solid wood. Maybe Mike E knows better. I discussed it with him years ago. Perhaps we will sort all this out when we write the official SOL coffee table book. :)
Jim Garber
Feb-24-2018, 3:23pm
I think this may be one of the few images, tho rather fuzzy, of Russ Barenberg playing a SOL. You can hear the nice tone he gets from it. This video was posted in 2007 but might even be older than that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_78cdmMR0s
Jim Garber
Feb-24-2018, 3:37pm
Here's a SOL thread from MC (https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?35121-Stradolin/page2) from the same era as the video.
your_diamond
Feb-25-2018, 4:57pm
It is in pieces. I should have it worked on.
I consider myself lucky to have two really good repairmen with years of experience, who are in my area (Sarasota)... but what you have is beyond both of them. Ross Teigen (Hawthorne, Fl.) can do it, he is the best, but you might want to get an estimate first.
Jim Garber
Feb-25-2018, 5:32pm
I have to dig it out and see if it is worth putting money into it. I guess it will be a loss in terms of any money but could be a nice-sounding mandolin.
I have to dig it out and see if it is worth putting money into it. I guess it will be a loss in terms of any money but could be a nice-sounding mandolin.
Jim, if it is something you don't wish to invest in, I may be interested in purchasing it for a project. It could reside with the rest of my projects. Some have actually been finished.
Jim Garber
Feb-25-2018, 8:17pm
Jim, if it is something you don't wish to invest in, I may be interested in purchasing it for a project. It could reside with the rest of my projects. Some have actually been finished.
I will consider it for sure and will let you know. That would probably make more sense than my putting big bucks into it.
Send it to Randy Wood, he did some work on one of my old Stradolins last year and was very impressed with how it sounded after he worked his magic on it.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-26-2018, 9:17am
Jim, as long as you're shipping things out you can ship that A Jr snakehead to me. Thanks, you're aces.
Jim Garber
Feb-26-2018, 10:52am
Jim, as long as you're shipping things out you can ship that A Jr snakehead to me. Thanks, you're aces.
I wish I could but it is long gone.
MikeEdgerton
Feb-26-2018, 11:33am
I'm always too late.
your_diamond
Feb-28-2018, 12:26pm
I have to dig it out and see if it is worth putting money into it. I guess it will be a loss in terms of any money but could be a nice-sounding mandolin.
I have a feeling "nice-sounding" would be an understatement, for that one. Out of the 10 or so SOL's I have owned and the 4 I've kept, the Artist model is a cut above the rest. Please add me to the list of people interested in purchasing Her. I figure, if I put a little too much money into putting an instrument back together... it might save me from doing something really stupid with that money.