Antique lefty mandolin - worth pursuing??

[BrazAd]

Gang,

This Ebay ad seems legit... good pics, decent description. Being a rookie in knowledge about old mandolins, is this worth pursuing w/out touching the mandolin first? Anyone have a ballpark idea of it's worth? What about the maker, any ideas?

Antique Lefty Mando w/f-holes in sides! (http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Antique-LEFT-HANDED-side-F-Holes-MANDOLIN-100-OLD-/130451052075?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e5f7d162b)

Thanks for your wisdom in advance,

Gary

[allenhopkins]

Well, here's (http://www.tfoa.eu/the_store/index.php?target=products&product_id=31963) the same mandolin, except slightly fancier, on sale in Europe for 450 euros (about $600 US). Again, no manufacturer's name, though the store thinks it's "English made."

I'd be a bit shy about paying $550 for it sight unseen. There are some condition issues, the four-post tailpiece is pretty corroded, there's a lot of finish scratching. Don't know how the seller can conclude that it's always been strung left-handed, though the nut and bridge are evidently slotted for left-handed playing now. Nothing special about its materials or construction that I can discern from the pictures.

But the crucial variable to me is "no returns accepted." If it's not what you want, or there's some discrepancy between the seller's description and what you find when it's delivered, you're probably stuck with it, absent some real misrepresentation that might cause eBay to evoke the "buyer protection" they advertise.

If I could play the instrument first, there could be some interest. But it's not a name brand, it's odd enough so that it might be hard to re-sell, it doesn't show exceptional materials, construction or condition, other than the unusual side f-holes. And there's no case.

For less money, you could buy a Strad-O-Lin, e.g., a pretty decent 50+ year-old mandolin. Martin Style A's can be had for $650-800, where you're getting a recognized maker, and a solid-wood instrument with pretty dependable resale value. The "worth" of a mandolin is whatever someone will pay for it, so the eBay instrument, in the seller's opinion, is "worth" $550. But I wouldn't pay that price without being able to play the mandolin, and to take it to a trusted repair person for evaluation. Just my 2¢.

[Martin Jonas]

Not at that money, no -- it looks to me to be a fairly generic flatback, and while the (unknown) builder may be good, most generic old instruments are dire, not because of their age but because they were dire to start with. For considerably less than that amount, you can get vintage mandolins with known provenance from quality makers, e.g. the ones listed by Allen. If it's the lefty bit that attracts you, I agree with Allen that it's unlikley that this was build as a lefty. In fact, I am fairly certain it was not: whoever did the conversion has turned the nut around but has failed to understand how these brass nuts work. There is a little ledge that is intended to act as a zero fret and is meant to face towards the soundhole. On this instrument, somebody has turned the nut around (in order to get the wider nut slots to the other side for lefty stringing) and now the zero fret ledge is facing the tuners.

If you're set on getting a vintage lefty, you may want to consider searching for de Meglio bowlbacks. Of the really good Italian makers, they were built in by far the greatest numbers, and are therefore the cheapest now -- with a bit of patience they can be had below $200 on Ebay UK although they are much rarer in the US. What's more, they are completely symmetrically built and braced and because of the specific way the nut and bridge were designed, both are reversible. Converting a de Meglio from righty to lefty takes about thirty seconds. As it happens, the one you have found has a de Meglio-clone headstock and a sub-de-Meglio scratchplate.

Amusing to see the one Allen linked: that's a lolipop stick used to raise the bridge...

Martin

[MikeEdgerton]

That much money for a mandolin by an unknown maker is a stretch I wouldn't take but if it trips your trigger have at it. If you think it's an investment that's going to mature in value I wouldn't bank on that unless some verifiable extraordinary history surfaces about it.

[BrazAd]

Thanks, guys. You confirmed what I suspected. What piqued my interest is that it's a "lefty"... and I think old stuff is cool. If it was $200 or $300, I might take a chance on it but it's not worth the risk to me at the price he's asking.

I really need to buy a great lefty A to learn on first. My guitars need a break!

Gary

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm not sure I'd buy an antique that was unseen as an instrument to learn on. Any A style mandolin can be easily converted to lefty with a nut and bridge change. Let me add to that. Any A style mandolin that is converted will look normal. You could obviously convert an F style but it would look upside down.

[bmac]

"Amusing to see the one Allen linked: that's a lolipop stick used to raise the bridge..."

Don't badmouth lolipop sticks!!! I have a lolipop stick temporary bridge on my tenor banjo and one of my mandolins... I use them all the time for experimental mandolin qand banjo bridges, small repairs, cleats, anything needing small thin hard wood. Easy to cut, shape, glue, etc. They are really handy little items.

[lenf12]

"Amusing to see the one Allen linked: that's a lolipop stick used to raise the bridge..."

Don't badmouth lolipop sticks!!! I have a lolipop stick temporary bridge on my tenor banjo and one of my mandolins... I use them all the time for experimental mandolin qand banjo bridges, small repairs, cleats, anything needing small thin hard wood. Easy to cut, shape, glue, etc. They are really handy little items.

Lollipop, popsicle, what's the difference? :whistling:

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[EdHanrahan]

Don't know how the seller can conclude that it's always been strung left-handed, though the nut and bridge are evidently slotted for left-handed playing now.
Well... not exactly!

I thought the nut on the OP's link looked a bit strange, sort of like a combination "nut + 0-fret", except installed backward. The nut on the one that Allen links to is the same thing, except installed the right way: the "0-fret" is toward the fretboard while the string-spacer is toward the tuners.

Looks like the original nut was simply switched 180 degrees to accommodate the left-handed tuning w/ reversed string thicknesses. That can't do anything good for intonation, and open strings rattling between the string spacers probably don't help the tone, either.

But it would look interesting for a righty, and for a lot less money!