View Full Version : What kind of mandolin is this?
emrextreme
Dec-27-2009, 5:45am
Hey all! I'm about to buy a mandolin from ebay and the one below i like most for its great decoration.
Can you help me identify this mandolin? It has 63cm height and it's the only information i have. Thanks in advance.
http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/4636/markuteriisciliklimando.jpg (http://img32.imageshack.us/i/markuteriisciliklimando.jpg/)
MikeEdgerton
Dec-27-2009, 8:35am
I can tell you it wasn't made in the US.
emrextreme
Dec-27-2009, 9:37am
Thank you for your concern. I guess it's probably local made then. Seller says it's made more than 30 years ago. I play guitar and ukulele and it will be the first time i'll have got a mandolin but i don't know much about mandolins. I know it's hard to tell if it's good or bad from a picture but does it look cheap? Does it even look ok?
allenhopkins
Dec-27-2009, 12:39pm
Well, it doesn't look expensive. And it's hard to get a real good look at that bridge from the pic, but it seems unusually elongated, made of a lighter wood like maple, and non-adjustable. Also hard to tell if it has a "zero fret," but if it does, that's more characteristic of lower-end instruments -- perhaps not so much in Europe, where zero frets seem more common. And it has a really short neck, only eight frets to the body, which is a limitation though not a fatal flaw; my Strad-O-Lin has only nine frets to the body, and can produce a lot of music.
So I guess you're taking a bit of a chance, and any advice would depend on how much you're prepared to pay for it. Without holding it and examining it for cracks, neck angle and straightness, tuner serviceability, quality of wood and hardware, we're somewhat shooting in the dark. I'm always a bit nervous about buying an instrument I haven't played, but I've done that on occasion and haven't been seriously "burned."
emrextreme
Dec-27-2009, 1:08pm
Thank you, Allen. You are very right. It is really shooting in the dark like this way. I guess i'll take my chance and i'll buy it. It's not expensive anyway. I'll update this thread with some pics after i buy it. Thank you all for the help.
Plamen Ivanov
Dec-28-2009, 1:59am
It's not a bluegrass mandolin, so the most concerns that Allen shares are somehow not related to this one. This is a typical portuguese style classical flatback. This type of mandolin was and still is very popular in the amateur mandolin ansambles in Europe. Yes, it's not expensive, but it may turn out to be a nice sounding instrument. Emre, if you have the chance to try it before purchasing it would be great. I'd guess it was produced somewhere in central or eastern Europe.
Best,
Plamen
emrextreme
Dec-28-2009, 2:18am
Thanks, Plamen. I wish i had a chance to try it before buy it but it's from the auction site. Still, I have three days to try before approving the sale. I can make a Youtube clip during this period so you can check if it sounds good or bad. Благодаря ви отново за безпокойство.
It's not expensive anyway. .
Well thats good. Small risk.
It has been my experience that a mandolin worth more than you pay for it is the exception to the rule.