Not sure if anyone can tell me anything about this instrument?

[DanElliott]

Greetings All!

I got this a while back and was curious if anyone could tell me anything about it? It looks like some kind of kit perhaps. I have seen modern Italian made instruments that look like it (there is one on ebay right now http://www.ebay.com/itm/150929261773?_trksid=p5197.c0.m619 Vicente Sanchis Mandolin). The construction of this is not great, you can perhaps see that the frets are a little uneven. It does appear to have a solid wood top and does have bracing. The tuners seem to be of the gear variety and so it stays in tune. The top is flat but the back is slightly arched. Any insight would be appreciated.

I got it from the Goodwill for about $80. The action on it was really high so I took it to a local shop and they modified it after telling me what a horrible instrument it was. The tone is not great but I bought it as a travel instrument.

Thanks!

[Jacob]

It resembles one of these (http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/products/GR3105/Blue-Moon-BM05-Mandolin/).

[allenhopkins]

Tuners look like Schallers, or Schaller copies. Construction is certainly "no frills," and that bridge is pretty high, though your repair shop may have cut it down. Tailpiece has only four attachment points for strings, which is sometimes called "Italian style," though most Italian mandolins I've seen have had eight pins.

Doubt you're going to be able to attribute it to a specific manufacturer, unless someone on the Cafe has seen an identical, identified one. Your "kit" hypothesis makes some sense, and I've also seen inexpensive mandolins sold by builders who make a variety of simple, "world folk" instruments, that looked somewhat like this.

Slightly later: I'd say Jacob has nailed it pretty much, and I'm guessing Eastern European manufacture.

[Martin Jonas]

Slightly later: I'd say Jacob has nailed it pretty much, and I'm guessing Eastern European manufacture.

The Hobgoblin site says "Made In China". It also says that it sells at 65 Pounds (less than $100), i.e. it's just about the cheapest mandolin one can buy in a reputable shop in the UK. Blue Moon is one of Hobgoblin's house brands (Ashbury is the other, for their better instruments), and they sell a lot of instruments from different sources under that name. Some Blue Moon mandolins are from Romania (made by Hora), but this one is Chinese.

Martin

[SincereCorgi]

It also looks like the no-name Mexican mandolins I see come in sometimes, particularly that binding and finish.

[Jim Garber]

Looks like a Sojing (http://www.ebay.com/itm/SOJING-BRAND-NEW-MANDOLIN-/190746691461?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c69638785&nma=true&si=s6QjXBNQzbMRvDQn40inxSi%2BWdA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557), made in China and often sold very cheaply on eBay.