Bob A
Apr-30-2004, 7:55pm
Having recently obtained a couple instruments from the northern half of Italy, I was struck by the structural differences from the mandolins I'm used to playing. Of course my study is skewed by the number of examples I have at hand, namely two.
Yet both of them, the Luigi Mozzani from Bologna and the Monzino from Milano, exhibit similarities to each other in the construction of the side of the bowl. My nomenclature may be faulty, but the clasp, or as it may be, skirt, is minimal or nonexistant on these instruments. The sides drop precipitously from the binding, with the two main ribs essentially acting as the rim of the bowl. This is reminiscent of the German bowlbacks, perhaps, but is strikingly different from all the other instruments I've handled.
(You can see the Monzino on the Classical Mandolins site; the Mozzani can be seen with a google search which will bring you to its former home at Fine Fretted String Instruments (FFSI)).
Is it possible that this is a regional characteristic, or am I speculating far in advance of the data?
Does it indeed matter, at all? Probably not much. Still, this feature makes for a lighter instrument overall. Both are bright loud responsive mandolins,i in particular having a sharp attack and rapid decay. Again, this is too small a number of examples to make an informed judgement, but I've never yet let lack of fact hinder wild speculation, so why start now?
Has anyone else handled instruments with this anatomy? Your impressions?
Yet both of them, the Luigi Mozzani from Bologna and the Monzino from Milano, exhibit similarities to each other in the construction of the side of the bowl. My nomenclature may be faulty, but the clasp, or as it may be, skirt, is minimal or nonexistant on these instruments. The sides drop precipitously from the binding, with the two main ribs essentially acting as the rim of the bowl. This is reminiscent of the German bowlbacks, perhaps, but is strikingly different from all the other instruments I've handled.
(You can see the Monzino on the Classical Mandolins site; the Mozzani can be seen with a google search which will bring you to its former home at Fine Fretted String Instruments (FFSI)).
Is it possible that this is a regional characteristic, or am I speculating far in advance of the data?
Does it indeed matter, at all? Probably not much. Still, this feature makes for a lighter instrument overall. Both are bright loud responsive mandolins,i in particular having a sharp attack and rapid decay. Again, this is too small a number of examples to make an informed judgement, but I've never yet let lack of fact hinder wild speculation, so why start now?
Has anyone else handled instruments with this anatomy? Your impressions?