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View Full Version : Calvert parker "the peerless" mandola, 1918?



BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:23pm
There's a small photo of this mandola in a thread on bandolas: http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin....calvert (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=27;t=45385;hl=calvert)
I'm assuming that a bandola is a five string banjo with a mandola body. This is an 8 string mandola with a 19 inch scale. I thought some good photos for the archive might be useful to someone, and in any case I thought some of you might want to see this.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:28pm
The label reads: THE PEERLESS / (PATENTED) / Mandolins, / Banjos and Guitars / No. 2127 / CALVERT PARKER / MAKER / KEENE, NEW HAMPSHIRE

When I bought it (from another Cafe member) it had a banjo bridge on it and this tailpiece. A photo from the thread linked above suggests that it should have a solid wood bridge and a different sort of tailpiece.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:30pm
I don't recognize this wood. Spanish cypress? Pear? Note the light blue binding around the neck, which also occurs in the White/black/blue/black binding around the top.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:32pm
Skinny little pear-shaped connection between the neck and the body lets one play very high with ease.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:34pm
Another back shot.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:35pm
I don't know if these are the original tuners, but they have been filed to fit.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:36pm
Neck detailing.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:37pm
When this arrived, I discovered that one of the transverse braces was loose, and the top was in danger of collapse. Fixing this definitely improved the tone.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:43pm
I also discovered that the neck had a nearly 1/4" bow in it. It was playable, but not with pleasure. The fretboard turned out to be very difficult to remove. It has two layers: a top layer of rosewood and a lower layer of some lighter wood. I finally had to saw it off, and there was a bit of damage to the neck, but the repair wasn't too bad and is smooth. I inset a sizable carbon fiber rod in epoxy and clamped the neck straight while it was setting. The fretboard still has a bit of relief, but not too much, and the top wasn't damaged. It now plays very nicely.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:45pm
This is my favorite mandola. In fact, I've sold all my others.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:47pm
I love the tone: very down-home, buzzy, country-blues sounding, just made for slides and hammers.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:48pm
I like the triple dots on the fretboard. I don't generally like a rosewood fretboard, but I like this one. It has a zero fret, and the nut seems to be made of bakelite.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:50pm
From above.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:52pm
Three piece neck, rather than an inlay.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:53pm
Back shot.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:54pm
From the top.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:55pm
Side view.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:56pm
Top.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:58pm
Label close-up.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 6:59pm
Side view.

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 7:02pm
This is a pre-repair photo (they all are). You can hear this mandolin here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf92eenSIKI

man dough nollij
Jun-21-2008, 7:05pm
You call it a mandola-- do you have it CGDA? It would probably make a fine short-scale OM (GDAE).

BlueMountain
Jun-21-2008, 8:42pm
Yes, I call it a long-scale mandola and have it in CGDA. It could also be tuned, with different strings, as an octave mandolin in GDAE, but I don't really like octave mandolins very much, and a mandola is much more useful for the music I play. I prefer the note range of a mandola.

Jake Wildwood
Jun-23-2008, 5:21pm
Cool as all hell! Why the 5-string banjo bridge as a mandola bridge?

Wesley
Jun-24-2008, 3:14pm
Since you mentioned it - what do you play on this mandola? Blues ? Old Time?