PDA

View Full Version : Calace circumnavigation



Bob A
Jul-10-2004, 10:45pm
Well, the Australian Calace from the bowlback thread has arrived, much to my relief. ebay (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=623&item=3730280253&rd=1http://)

(I hope the link thing works).

It arrived this afternoon, and was still on the porch when I got home from work at 10PM! After removing a year's supply of bubblewrap, it was gratifying to find it intact, and once polished up and strung (had to use Dogal Calace strings, of course) I have to report it plays well. Only a couple minor flaws: first few frets coud really use crowning; there's a little tab of wood broken off the treble armrest; the bridge may not be original, but no matter, the action is perfect. Can't believe I bought an 80-year-old bowlback that doesn't have to go to the luthier!

Sounded thin at first, but an hour's whacking away at it seemed to invigorate the old thing. It seems to prefer this thick clunky old pick I had in the pickbox.

Inside it has two diverging heavily scalloped braces. The Calace label and signature, date of 1922, and the gold seal in place. Peghead has warped a little, such that the center is a bit depressed, while the edges curve up a bit. Seems to be no problem. Tuners are pretty smooth.

At this time, it seems to have a strong midrange and pleasant bass. The treble is not as intensely trebly as the other (much more lightly-constructed) Italian instruments. Of course, I expect it to change daily until it wakes up and the Dogals settle in. It seems to enjoy and respond to a heavy right hand. The action is pretty low, and the intonation is good right up the neck. Neck is comfortable: not too wide, not too shallow. A little wear from the previous owner's thumb, enough to show it was played. Some pickwear on the table, but not nasty. A player's instrument, in respectable condition overall.

Now instead of going to bed (work impends tomorrow AM, alas), Imagonna go and play some more.

John Bertotti
Jul-11-2004, 8:00am
Excellent! enjoy. It would be great if people kept mandolin journals of where it's been and who has played it, etc... John http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

Alex Timmerman
Jul-11-2004, 8:35am
Congrats Bob A!

Alex http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Eugene
Jul-11-2004, 9:02am
Indeed...and enjoy. Of the old Calace pieces to recently pass eBay, I think this one was the most attractive.

vkioulaphides
Jul-12-2004, 11:27am
Congrats, Bob!

[QUOTE]"Peghead has warped a little, such that the center is a bit depressed, while the edges curve up a bit."

A wild conjecture: Are you sure this was caused by warping, OR could it be some proto-phase of the hollowed-out, concave pegheads of later Classico A's?

Bob A
Jul-12-2004, 3:39pm
Victor, the only thing I'm close to sure about is that I'll die broke, surrounded by mandolins.

There is no obvious cracking in the rosewood veneer on back or front, which would lend credence to your conjecture. However, my experience with multiple examples of this type and vintage is nil. Perhaps Alex would have a better idea.

By the way, Sparks has 1922 as the year that Calace put his son on the label. This example is dated 1922, but has the older label, which of course is more or less irrelevant; still, noted as found for those who care.

General tone is improving daily, I'm pleased to report. Still, I suspect it will always be a midrange-heavy instrument, without the brilliance I've noticed in more lightly-constructed instruments.

vkioulaphides
Jul-13-2004, 11:29am
Considering the relative tensions of the strings, I can't imagine how those —one of several possible causes— could have pulled the peghead into the shape you describe, Bob. Basses, for example, often get their necks twisted on the side of the heaviest string, torquing away as it is, in lopsided manner for centuries. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

I also cannot imagine any other structural strain up there. The tubing of brass instruments, by way of counterexample, does cave in gradually at the point where the instruments are gripped by the player's hand. But why a mandolin at the pegbox? Some force must have been brought to bear...

The eBay pictures of your newest baby, on the other hand, give me precious little to go by. If true, it would be a clever and beneficial feature; putting strings where they need to be in the course of restringing requires either A. toothpick-fingers, B. the Acme Microrobotic String-Changer (still to be invented) or C. more working space. But, again, this is all just a guess...

Bob A
Jul-13-2004, 12:09pm
No, Victor, I'm sure that the warp, if warp it is, is not caused by string tension. If anything, it would come from improperly seasoned wood, a concept I can't countenance coming from ther Calace shop.