Are Vintage Mandolas as Rare as they Seem?

[Chris Burt]

I've been checking EBay and the 'Cafe classifieds and get no hits on "Lyon & Healy mandola," "Gibson Mandola" or "Gibson H4." Even Googling these topics brings minimal info. Did Lyon & Healy or Gibson make many mandolas? Am I looking at a time when there is just a lull in available mandolas or are they truly rare?

I ask because I'm dying to build one and am looking for a good model.

Chris

[John Rosett]

greg boyd has a really nice H-1 mandola right now. i've played it a couple of times, and i'd love to own it.
john

[Spruce]

I'd look to modern makers for inspiration 'dola-wise...

Lawrence Smart comes to mind....

[OlderThanWillie]

Eastman will soon be offering a mandola.

[Jim M.]

Lowell Levenger at Vintage Inst. (http://www.vintageinstruments.com/photos/inst18/24lhadolaful.jpg)
has had a Style A L&H mandola for quite some time. Beautiful instrument. I've only seen one other so I guess they are fairly rare. You can see Gibson mandolas pretty regularly if you check the right sites. Lowell has one of those too, but so do Buffalo Bros., Vintage Mandolins, and others.

[Ted Eschliman]

I'd look to modern makers for inspiration 'dola-wise...
Most definitely for more selection and (arguably) modern playability!
Consider also, Rigel R-200 (http://jazzmando.com/rigel_r200.shtml) (if you'll pardon the blatant self-promotion), and of course the best kept secret of Dale Ludewig's craft, his belly-shaking EL Mandola (which has been bringing down the house, lately).

[Mandobar]

don paine of pomeroy makes a fine vintage style mandola. i believe paul lestock also makes a fine 'dola in traditional as well as non-traditional (his G type) styles.

many of the older gibsons have flattened tops (braces letting loose, etc.) i found it very hard to find one in playing condition when i was looking.

[twaaang]

I've wondered before why the "Eye Candy" section of the Cafe doesn't have a mandola category. Obviously this wouldn't speak to the true "vintage" aspect of the original question, but it would help identify those who are working in that tradition. -- Paul

[Mandobar]

if you do a search in the builders section for "mandola" you get an idea of who is building these.

[twaaang]

Aha! #All 75 of them! #Thanks for the tip . . . whole new horizons for my MAS. #-- #Paul

(Afterthought: to my dismay, I find that this search fails to identify my friends at Rigel! #Are you listening, Peter?)

[Chris Burt]

Thanks for the input. I should have put more thought into my original question. I've been a luthier since I was twenty and I've always liked to measure multiple instrument before beginning a new model. Usually, I find helpful musicians who own the types of instruments I'm interested in, but haven't found any local musicians who own a mandola. I live on North Olympic Peninsula--the upper-left-hand corner of Washington State.

I was having difficulty finding a mandola to measure (love to map the thicknesses of a range of top and back plates), and through my frustration crept fantasies of buying an old Gibson H4 or a Lyon & Healy (???). I had difficulty finding such beasts.

My difficulties got me wondering about the number of antique mandolas that might exist, which is why I posted my earlier, poorly worded, question. My overriding motivation makes this question a candidate for the buildiers' forum. Anyway, thank you for the ideas on finding antique carved-top mandolas.

Chris