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View Full Version : New guy with a question.....



joro
Aug-13-2008, 3:10pm
Hi,
DTB sent me on over here.....


I am a newbie to the Mando and I was wondering if'n any of y'all might know what brand/model my mando is...
I bought it online...
No markings but, the tuners say "Gibson Deluxe"....
I don't think the body is Gibson though....

anyways....here's a picture...any help would be appreciated...there appears to have been a logo plate glued to the headstock at one time....

Givson
Aug-13-2008, 3:44pm
Based on the headstock and body shape, it looks like a Kay to me. Definitely not a Gibson.

joro
Aug-14-2008, 8:05am
Thanks man!

Harmony was what someone else supposed....I think Kay is a better guess although I believe that the neck is vintage...

The glue drop pattern on the face of the headstock is indicitave of the "KAY" triangle that was probably removed at one point...

The tuners say "Kluson Deluxe" not "Gibson deluxe" as I had originally thought (I needed to break out the reading glasses...really small type... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif )

and after looking up the specific style of Kluson...it appears that they were used on Mandos in between 1956 and 1958...

It'll probably remain a mystery....I bought it online from Goodwill so there is no history...

Thanks again man.

MikeEdgerton
Aug-14-2008, 8:39am
It's not a Harmony, it's a Kay. Are the tuner buttons shrinking? Do they look a little distorted and brittle?

joro
Aug-14-2008, 8:50am
The tuner knobs appear to be plastic...but, no distortion or crumbling...
The thing actually looks close to being new....no rust on any of the metal at all...the frets look new too...perhaps made of brass...not steel...gold colored......no wear or indentations on the fingerboard either...
no cracks or chips in the finish...the top, back and sides appear to be solid carved pieces...

it may have been re-finished and re-fretted...I just don't know enough to be able to tell..

Dragonflyeye
Aug-14-2008, 9:05am
So, how does it sound, Joro?

joro
Aug-14-2008, 9:13am
well.....I aint' much of a mando player....

to me it sounds great and stays in tune when I play along with others or to a recording but, I have yet to record myself on the mando...
I have been a guitar player for 35+ years and playing "backwards" or "up-side down" is still a little weird to me...

It didn't come with a bridge...I bought one at a local shop and I think I am close to finding the best location for the bridge....I still bottom out on the last 7 frets of the D and A strings....the bridge appears to be bowing (sagging) a bit in the middle....the G and E strings ring true all the way up and down though....I am definitely not a luthier so any advice on the bridge issue would be way cool... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif