RichM
Aug-13-2005, 3:46pm
I bought this a couple of weeks ago at a nice local shop. They were using it as a wallhanger-- it was dirty, covered in dust, loose and aged strings. The owner and I talked mandolins a bit, and he then agreed to let me have this one for a remarkably reasonable price.
I cleaned off the dust, removed most of the dirt with some Gibson's polish and elbow grease. hit the metal parts with some Simichrome I have left over from my banjo days. I cleaned the strings, but have yet to change them.
And you know what? It's not a bad mandolin at all. It has quite a few cosmetic issues, but it intonates properly, plays easily, and has pretty nice tone. It's a Soveriegn brand, which I've learned was one of the Oscar Schmidt brands in the early 20th century. The biggest suprise is elegant and beautifully engraved fretboard inlays-- hard to see in the photo, but really quite striking.
I cleaned off the dust, removed most of the dirt with some Gibson's polish and elbow grease. hit the metal parts with some Simichrome I have left over from my banjo days. I cleaned the strings, but have yet to change them.
And you know what? It's not a bad mandolin at all. It has quite a few cosmetic issues, but it intonates properly, plays easily, and has pretty nice tone. It's a Soveriegn brand, which I've learned was one of the Oscar Schmidt brands in the early 20th century. The biggest suprise is elegant and beautifully engraved fretboard inlays-- hard to see in the photo, but really quite striking.