Futura Mandolin, anyone heard of one?

[Danandkaye]

I have a hand made Japanese Mandolin with Futura on the headstock. I understand it was made in Japan but that is all I have been able to find out about it?177406177407

[jim simpson]

This one is new to me. It looks very nice. Can you tell us how you came about to buy it? How does it sound and play?

[allenhopkins]

Tried Googling around on "Futura," a frustrating experience since the name showed up in so many catalogs -- Gibson, Levin, Ibanez, etc. The really useful Spinditty page (https://spinditty.com/instruments-gear/Japanese-Manufacturers-of-Made-In-Japan-Badged-Guitars-from-1950-to-1980) that lists Japanese manufacturers, and the brands they produced, doesn't seem to include "Futura" as one of the labels. There are probably dozens of nearly unrecorded brands that were special-ordered for distributors and dealers in the US and elsewhere; there might be fewer than a hundred made for a store in Sheboygan or Poughkeepsie.

Your best chance is to have someone recognize its similarity to a better-known brand, IMHO. It looks decently made, and the headstock inlay seems unique. That might provide a clue...

[Jeff Mando]

If you Google search for Future mandolin rather than Futura you will find a similar, but not exact mandolin discussed here last September. That one was for sale on eBay, made in Japan, 1997 year, price was $1800 and the consensus was that it was overpriced.....