On CL - Mandocello Conversion

[Greg Stec]

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/msg/1729561095.html
Mandolin, Mandocello - $1200 (Bonney Lake)

Martin guitar (D-17?) is now a mandocello.
Good luck to him.

[...and Master of None]

I wonder what that does to Martin's lifetime warranty? :))

I suspect he's not going to find much market for a D15 with "extras" at that price no matter who did the conversion...

[mrmando]

Good point ... a new D15 can be had for $949, and it's hard to see how a mandocello conversion adds value.

[Bernie Daniel]

Good point ... a new D15 can be had for $949, and it's hard to see how a mandocello conversion adds value.

OTOH where could you find a mandocello (potentially a great sounding one at that) at that price? The two extra strings would not be valuable to you IF you wanted a guitar.....but what if you wanted a mandocello?

What does the Santa Cruz cut away mandocello sell for? Isn't it over $4500?

If a pro-luthier did it hopefully he took account of the increased string tension.

Yeah good luck to him -- losing job and house is pretty raw.

[mrmando]

Yes, the Santa Cruz Southerner mandocello (which, BTW, I was VERY impressed with when I tried it) lists for a pretty good chunk of change. If I were seriously in the market for a second mandocello I would think about driving up to Bonney Lake and taking this Martin for a spin. I know the guitar guys at Dusty Strings and could probably get one of them to confess to having done this job.

I think about getting an electric mandocello from time to time ... I sent a local kid after a Wishnevsky solidbody that was available up in Bellingham, and he and his dad ended up talking the seller down to $175. Kicking myself over that one! But if I need to plug in a mandocello, I have a Schertler I can throw on the Andersen.

[Bernie Daniel]

"...I sent a local kid after a Wishnevsky solidbody that was available up in Bellingham, and he and his dad ended up talking the seller down to $175. Kicking myself over that one! But if I need to plug in a mandocello, I have a Schertler I can throw on the Andersen."

You mean Bellingham, WA? That's a purdy fer piece I'd say -- that's the kind of distance you go for a Loar! I guess you did not mean they physically went there :)

What is it about Bellingham anyway there are boo-coo mandolin players from there it seems and always someone from there selling a mandolin? I bought an F2 from a guy in that town.

I love the idea of a solid body mandocello -- could you find strings for something like that?

[mrmando]

Bellingham is about a 2-hour drive, I guess. Too far for me, but not far enough for a dad who was really motivated to buy a mandocello for his 15-year-old son. However, if I'd known the guy would let it go for $175, I might've been tempted.

Let's see ... Bellingham has Kurt Gisclair, Glassweb, Stan Miller, and Ira, who seems to do a lot of horse trading and was (I think) the seller of that mandocello.

If anyone could come up with strings for a solidbody mandocello, it would be me.

[Bernie Daniel]

Hmmm for some reason I had you living in Southern CA -- did not even look at your details before I posted -- should have. Even worse didn't I respond to your wanted add or tuners about a year ago! Good thing I am retiring in August I guess.