Wilson Mandolin, Just bought one, Would like info

[Mnmandoman]

Hi Mandolin Café
This is my first post. I bought an older mandolin at a thrift store in Minnesota for a backup and would like to know about it. Pictures attached.
The name on the head is “Wilson”; a quick search on Wilson only found a custom maker. There was a hippie looking sticker over the Wilson name that I peeled off. Peeling right to left I saw “son”, for a split second I thought Gibson, no such luck.
Notice the extra fret about an eighth of an inch from the nut; the strings rest on that fret. Why did the maker do that? I didn’t notice it until I got it home but, it plays pretty good, better than my old Hondo backup.
Thanks for checking,
Happy Picking,
Jim

[Charles E.]

Welcome to the Cafe Jim.
The mandolin appears to be your basic, mass produced, economy model that were sold with a variety of names on the head stock.
The fret next to the nut is called a "zero fret" and allows the nut to be cut faster without worrying about the string height at the nut.
I think it is more popular with imported instruments rather then ones made in the USA.

Just wondering, what is that under the bridge?

[Pittsburgh Bill]

I have no knowledge of Wilson Mandolins but if it plays well and has decent tone, you got a winner.
I once had an older Kentucky that played very well and had decent (not great) tone. Other players were always eager to put it down because it had a laminate top. This even made reselling it almost impossible and I ended up giving it away. I may have kept it longer had it not been an F style. Now at least 10 mandos later for me I hope that the 12 year old girl I gave it to used it long enough to hone her playing skills.

[Jim Garber]

As Charles E noted above, this is a Korean import probably from the 1980s. Many were sold without any label. Wilson, might be a store that bought them wholesale or even the owner's name. Mostly I have seen them with nothing written on the headstock. I do like that decorated chipboard case. This can be a decent playable instrument. I would, also as Charley noted, when you change the strings, get whatever it is under the bridge out from that. If it is raising the action, and you need that height, then you can get iron on wood veneer from Home Depot and add a layer or two of that before restringing.

[Mnmandoman]

Thanks for the replies Guys,
Good eye, that is a piece of rag under the bridge. That can't be helping the sound; I will remove it.
Good to know that I don't have to worry about my grand boy playing with it. It will be my boat / motorcycle/ campfire mando.
Regards,
Jim

[MikeEdgerton]

It's actually one of these (https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/threads/79118-Key-Brand-Info) that has been modified a bit. The tuners are American made Kluson tuners that didn't come with those mounting screws and I suspect the inlay was a bit of vanity work, probably by someone named Wilson. The case is a little older than the mandolin.

[Mark Wilson]

Could the material under the bridge be an 'attempt' to tone down the high end
I like the name - looks like a cool find if it plays good

[MikeEdgerton]

It might have simply been an attempt to raise the strings so they wouldn't buzz on the frets.

[Mnmandoman]

Hi All,
I pulled the rag out from under the bridge and it got noticeably louder but did not lower the strings enough to cause buzzing. So, I am pretty sure the rag was used as a muffler not a shim. I won’t tell my wife that because she will make me put it back and have rags put on my other mando and fiddle too. Heck, she might even stuff one in my mouth.
I read a little on zero frets and found there are advantages to the design besides being faster to make.
Those Kluson tuners are pretty nice, they hold tune well. Probably worth more than the rest of the mando.
So far, we have:
-1980’s vintage
-Factory made probably in Korea. Just like
-Zero Fret design
-Original tuners replaced with USA made Kluson tuners
-“Wilson” inlay work done after market probably by a guy named Wilson. The next owner put a sticker over the Wilson name.
-Rag under the bridge was a muffler
-The case is older than the mando, even has custom cut cardboard nesting and hippie stickers.
Thank you everyone for shedding light, I like it too.
Have a good one,
Jim