Trying to value my sweet little Vega

[AndyEnglish]

Eventually, I realised that it is possible to have too many mandolins and my sweet little Vega has to go, mainly to make way for the King Brown on order. My main problem, is I have no ideas what might be a reasonable price. I don't want to insult people with a stupidly high price but at the same time, I don't just want to give it away. I would appreciate any ideas or opinions. You can see pics here:
My Webpage (http://www.andyenglish.co.uk/vega.html)

[neal]

Beautiful instrument. Not knowing, I just wanted to comment to you.

[Jim Garber]

AndyEnglish:
That looks like a pretty unusual Vega. Is the top completely flat or canted like the bowlbacks and the cylinderbacks?

Any further info like what year it is from? I think what also throws me off is that the soundhole looks large proportionately to the body compared to other Vegas. Interesting!

JIm

[Bob DeVellis]

Andy:

It does look a bit odd. The tailpiece appears to be a replacement. Is there a serial number on the top edge of the headstock and is there a Vega label inside? Only the back of the neck looks classically Vega. I suspect either that it's a relatively recent model or it's been extensively modified. In fact, it may be a Vega neck on a non-Vega body. The heel cover looks decidedly un-Vega-like. Although it's hard to see the inlays, some look more modern than others and may have been added after the fact. Based on what little I can tell from the pictures, my best guess is that a cylinder-back-era neck, possibly with the addition of some inlays to the fingerboard and headstock, has been grafted to another instrument. Those factors, obviously, influence potential price.

[Jim Garber]

I agree with bobd. There is something fishy. A little bit of my detective work turns up a similar Vega neck (check out the inlays) for a tubaphone banjo mandolin. Possibly a decent luthier did the conversion with the orphaned neck to make the proverbial silk purse...

I think in that case the serial number would have been on the dowel stick which would have been lost.

Jim

[Eugene]

I will add my 3rd to the notions expressed above. #It looks almost as if this were a pet project of a luthier hobbyist and just happened to be assembled to include a fine Vega neck.

[Bob A]

OK, it's probably not original. I like the ebony binding, I like the neck, both the maple and the inlays (I'm a sucker for Vega pearl art). How's the sound?

It may be cobbled together, but it looks like it was done by someone who knew what he was doing. A fair price? Hard for me to say, but if the sound is there, it shouldn't reach collector levels, but it should compete fairly with a reasonable example of the type from a current maker.

People don't seem to rush out in droves to buy flatbacks these days, but if it's well set up and playable, and sounds good, 3-400 would be ballpark, maybe, if the ding were well repaired.

Anyway, it's a pretty instrument, for all its questionable background.

[AndyEnglish]

TRhe sound is the saving grace - its wonderfully sweet sounding.

[Bob DeVellis]

Bob A's estimate sounds reasonable if the sound is good. Andy, this may be a case of the instrument being worth more "as an instrument" than "as an object for sale." By that, I mean it may play and sound better than most alternatives you could acquire for the amount of money it would bring at sale. I've had some instruments like that, have let them go for the lower price in some cases, and have regretted it. It might be a good candidate for consignment. If potential customers can hear it and like its sound and feel, they may value it more highly than if they just saw a picture. Of course, the dealer gets a hefty chunk on a consignment sale, so you might not personally benefit all that much. We all find ourselves needing the cash more than the instrument at certain times, but this might be a mandolin that delivers more musical value than cash value. That might make it a good candidate for hanging on to.

[AndyEnglish]

Thanks for the above advice. I have decided to keep this sweet little thing.