Ebay mini-mando

[Martin Jonas]

There is a peculiar mandolin on E-bay UK (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3701068420&category=10179&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBWA%3AIT&rd=1) at the moment. From the first photograph I thought it was a somewhat battered normal size A-style, but looking at the two additional photographs at the bottom, this seems to have only seven frets (one of which seems to be a zero-fret). As the seller describes the case as being 16 inches long, the scale length can only be about eight inches. Were mandolins that small ever built as serious musical instruments, or is this just a toy?

This particular one doesn't look too good in any case. I can see only three tuners on one side of the headstock and none on the other, which makes me wonder whether this is a six-string instrument with one set of tuners missing. The tailpiece seems to be clamped on rather than bolted. Strange little thing.

Martin

[Martin Jonas]

I just got some additional photographs from the seller, and they make it clear that this is a toy: six strings with rudimentary tuners, very crude fingerboard and bridge nailed to top. The strings are evenly spaced, suggesting that the toymakers weren't too sure what a mandolin actually is and really made a mandolin-shaped toy guitar instead. Quite nice looking wood, though.

Martin