No name Taiwanese F-style mandocello

[McMahon]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Solid-Acacia-koa-and-spruce-arch-top-mandocello-Optima-string-MAC03-/380611534942?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item589e37205e


What does the cafe think?

[Marty Jacobson]

Could be OK. These tend to be strange. The neck is mahogany, not maple.
For $750 or less it might be worth a try. The woods are good enough, but the workmanship on these is not very consistent.

[allenhopkins]

Probably Vietnamese-made, like many of the instruments sold through Taiwan.

I have an extendable 11-foot aluminum pole, which I keep around for touching things I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. I would as a rule, put instruments like this into that category. However, far be it from me to discourage others from spending their money. And I'd be curious to get someone else's reaction to this 'cello.

[almeriastrings]

Definitely a Mandolin Shaped Object.... but what it sounds like (or how long it might last) is anybody's guess. Quality on these is... rustic... worth a shot if you can find one cheap enough. Not seen that exact model before, but others (probably from the same source) I have seen and they had warping/cracking issues, among other things.

[jso]

Interesting f holes.

[MikeEdgerton]

For Posterity. I think it's from Vietnam as well.

[JEStanek]

Well, if it doesn't sound good, chances are it won't be very loud, right? For similar money, you could go Wishnevsky or maybe even have a flat top one built.

Jamie

[Jim Nollman]

I've watched two different friends buy these Vietnamese instruments, mostly out of curiosity, and with admiration for the woods used and especially the elaborate inlays which some of these have. 3 months after arrival, both instruments started displaying serious problems. The woods bowed, cupped, bent, moved. I've heard it said that this kinetic shape-shifting is not an uncommon result when improperly dried wood items get sent from the tropics to the cold US of A. One of the two had such fantastic inlays that it is now displayed, albeit unplayable, on the wall of a local music store.

[barney 59]

I do believe Taisamlu instruments are made in Vietnam but for some reason they ship via Taiwan. They have this great supply of wood. The inlay work is actually pretty good but way over the top on a lot of these instruments. Vietnam has a long tradition of elaborate inlay work that shows up on all kinds of stuff. I bought a mandolin on a lark on an ebay auction some years ago because I wanted to see one and I got it for $60 on a no reserve auction. I do think mine was a Taisamlu but there are a couple of other builders(shops/factories?) pretty much doing the same thing. Mine had intonation problems after 1st position and later top problems caused, I believe, from poorly seasoned wood. The finish was pretty bad right out of the box which,by the way, they do the best job of packaging I ever saw! Someone has gone to the Chinese and explained what it is that we want over here as far as instruments go and it seems like they're paying attention. These Vietnamese builders have skills-- now if they could just figure the rest of it out.

[Jim Garber]

I agree with Barney. One of these days they will get their act together. If I had the time and the bucks I would love to go over there and visit some of the shops and see what they are up to. I think there was a thread about someone who did just that and found some excellent makers. Or was I just dreaming?

[jim simpson]

At least this one didn't have inlay all over it like usual. The scroll area suggests rather than achieves a scroll carve. This detail seems typical of most from this country of origin. Having carved a scroll, I have an appreciation for how difficult it can be.

[Martin Jonas]

Could be OK. These tend to be strange. The neck is mahogany, not maple.
For $750 or less it might be worth a try. The woods are good enough, but the workmanship on these is not very consistent.

Well, somebody has gone for it, for below $400 (plus $140 shipping). No telling how much less than $400 as it was a "best offer" sale.

I wouldn't have gone for it either, but hope the new owner will be happy. If you're here, tell us about it!

Martin

[barney 59]

At least this one didn't have inlay all over it like usual. The scroll area suggests rather than achieves a scroll carve. This detail seems typical of most from this country of origin. Having carved a scroll, I have an appreciation for how difficult it can be.

But the inlay, at least on mine, was the best part! Giant eagle on the back, a flock of birds flying up the finger board. Maybe a little gaudy but pretty impressive just the same. If I ever get it together to actually make a wall hanger out of my wall hangers I'm hanging that one first! If it was plain I wouldn't have a wall hanger and as it is I don't have a mandolin! People who know nothing about instruments see it and think it must be my best instrument.
The postage has gone up a lot, I paid $60 for the instrument and $80 to ship. Last I looked (which isn't recently)it had gone up to $100 to ship and now this one was $140? Maybe 'cause it's bigger.

[barney 59]

By the way my son and I are planning a trip to Vietnam. Funny, someone wanted me to go there years ago, offered me a free trip as well, but they couldn't get me to do it no bloody way! Taisamlu is not in my "Lonely Planet" book so if someone knows something about these shops and where they are located I'd appreciate any information.

[allenhopkins]

By the way my son and I are planning a trip to Vietnam...Taisamlu is not in my "Lonely Planet" book so if someone knows something about these shops and where they are located I'd appreciate any information.

"Taisamlu" is the seller's name, located in Taiwan, not Vietnam. As I understand it (please, someone, jump in if I'm wrong), manufacture of these instruments is a "cottage industry" in Vietnam, with a bunch of craftspersons building them, possibly with division of labor (one does the shaping, another the inlays, another the finish etc.). This may be similar to the instrument builders around Paracho, Mexico.

The instruments are shipped to Taiwan, where the eBay dealers are located, and listed and exported from there. Some of the Taiwanese dealers list a lot of promo about how they're "world-famous luthiers," but they probably don't do much building themselves.

If anyone has better info on where a person might go in Vietnam to find the actual builders, please post for Barney's benefit.

[MikeEdgerton]

Prior to the war one of Vietnam's major industries was wood working, mostly furniture and the like. After the war those same industries were revived albeit slowly. I would guess that there might be areas of the country where musical instrument builders are more predominant than others. Vietnamese furniture is being sold all over the US now. Google presents a few articles. Check this (http://www.thanhcammusic.com/guitar.htm) one out.

[Dabrowskiowski]

Decided to take the plunge.

Got this fairly cheap (relative to the other things I wanted to buy) to give it a try.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/380821888868

You can expect a review with pictures and video for sound quality in the near future.

Bruce

[Jim Garber]

Someone in a workshop I was attending in New York had a f-styled mandola. I played it and it was absolutely horrible with a practically unplayable neck. I am hoping that they have refined their skills and that Bruce's is a good playable instrument. My only other direct experience was a tailpiece that was on a mandolin I had that had one of the posts fall off. You might need to replace some of the hardware, assuming you like the instrument.

One thing that is an advantage is that it comes with a hard case -- try to find a case to fit that mandocello otherwise.

[allenhopkins]

...You can expect a review with pictures and video for sound quality in the near future...

We can't wait.

[Dabrowskiowski]

She arrived last night. I tuned her up. She plays! Action is a little high. I'll post a review when I get home from work.

[Dabrowskiowski]

Good morning,

as promised, here is a review with pictures and sound samples of this no name mandocello. As a disclaimer, I mainly play guitar. I have a mandolin that rarely gets played because my fat sausage fingers don't fret too well with it. I bought this mandocello because I love having different types of instruments and being able to jam out with others that jam. I mainly bought this as a preview of what the mandocello was about, and to see if I wanted to make a larger investment in an instrument of higher quality in the future. So, really I am approaching this instrument with a utilitarian stance. The biggest matter to me is that it (more or less) plays as it should until I win the lottery or rob a liquor store so that I can afford something like a weber.

I received it about about two days ago. It took less than one week to arrive, probably because I live in Japan and it was sent from Taiwan. It came in the hard case, wrapped in bubble-wrap. The hard case was in a cardboard-box which was braced by styrofoam. Decent attention to packaging and shipping precaution on the part of the seller.

On first inspection, it is a decent instrument. The paint still seems slightly gummy, but only slightly, which leads me to believe it was painted within the last three months. There are some minor blemishes; there is a scratch as if the bridge had slipped out from the strings at some point, there is a minor blemish on the head stock, and an area on the head stock that looks like someone touched in the process of painting it. The area inside the scroll is fairly rough, not as smooth as the rest of the paint job. I don't really mind, you can't see it anyways.

It appears that the binding has been painted at some points. Whoever did this was probably drunk. There are areas along the binding that don't look as clean as they could. You can't really tell unless you look closely. You can see some of what I am talking about in the picture with the scroll. The F-holes were cut very cleanly.

This MC did come with a pickguard, but I removed it because it was making contact with the soundboard and buzzing ridiculously. It was a rosewood of sorts. I will replace it with some sort of pearloid guard. Under that area, in the pictures, you can see there is a block of wood which was used to support the pickguard. The gluing around this area is a little sloppy, again, whoever did this was probably a little inebriated.

The neck is quite straight, there is a slight hump at the neck joint, but all frets play cleanly. I have not played a mandocello before this one, so I am not sure if the action is high, or if I am just unaccustomed. I have the bridge set in the lowest position, but it seemed like a handful when I started playing the thing yesterday. After a day's playing, it doesn't seem to abnormal to me. Perhaps my left hand is just a weakling as of yet.

The tuning pegs are inline to one another. There are pearloid tuning pegs. I managed to break one of them within my first few hours playing the thing. Made me feel strong. I'll likely replace these. As well as the nut. And probably the bridge. Also the truss cover. Maybe the tailpiece too.

As far as sound goes, I spent yesterday getting the strings used to the tension. There was a lot of stretching and re-tuning that took place, but they have seemed to adjusted. This puppy sounds deep! It has a massive growl! The courses all sound very well with each other, so as long as I don't strum the C courses to heavily, or palm mute them a little if I want to give it a good slappin'. I read that their oscillation into each other isn't uncommon, but it is something I will fix with the new nut and bridge.

I am off to buy a humidor for the case to easy this puppy into the dryer climate here in Tokyo.

Below you will find a link to my Google+. It is public, so anyone should be able to access it. You will find the links to two videos I have recorded (go easy, I am a novice), and a collection of photographs.

https://plus.google.com/114320618394535084305/posts


Adam Bruce Dabrowski

[Sweetpea44]

Thanks for the review .... I've always been curious about these.

[Jim Garber]

Thanks, Adam for the thorough review. I can't believe that the tuner button broke already. Yes, I agree... you should prob replace all the hardware. The action does look a tad high in the upper frets. It might get higher as the instrument adjusts to the tension over time. If that is the lowest action right now, I might be worried. Then again, it might be OK. You will have to see how it changes in the next few days.

Do you have any clue as to what brand strings they put on it? I would get some decent strings on it too.

[Dabrowskiowski]

Hey Jim,

I have no idea what type of strings these are, they came with the thing. I will get some better strings for sure.

I am wondering what can be done about the action. Would it be sane to get a smaller bridge? or to modify the current bridge so that it sits lower? Would tweaking the truss be helpful at all? This is my first time dealing with such an instrument - I have an archtop guitar, a Godin, but it has been set up nicely since I purchased it. Where can I find information about proper action height? I looked around here on the forum, but was unable to find much.

As far as the tuner goes, to be fair I was using a string winder to get extra leverage when I broke that off. Anyhow, it does play, it just murders my fingers. Haha. I must be a masochist.

[Jim Garber]

Even a mandocello should not murder your fingers. I would start with a std set of mandocello strings like D'Addario and see how that works and maybe even go a gauge lighter with buying single strings. I would see about lowering the bridge, either cutting down the base some or the bottom of the saddle.

A string winder should not break a tuner button. Those tuners sound like they don't turn easily. Get some decent tuners. So, this "bargain" instrument will prob cost you a few hundred additional. Hopefully it won't need a neck reset.

[Bartk1448]

I actually have one of the taiwanese italian-style bowlbacks and a Suzuki Mandola that was restored by the same shop. I purchased before joining the Mandolin Cafe forums. Since joining the forum, I have learned a lot. Mine are new and are still in good shape. I keep the humidity up in the house with a brand new furnace with humidifier, so I am hoping that mine do not warp or crack. I am now saving my money for an italian-made concert mandolin and leaving the Asian built mandolins alone.

[Jim Garber]

Bartk1448: How is that bowlback. I always wondered how they play. Some of them look quite nice to me, but looks can be deceiving.

[Bartk1448]

Hi Jim,
So far, I only have the new mandolin, because the restored Suzuki Mandola is still on route. Maybe it is me, because I am a beginning mandolinist, but there is a LOT of buzzing on the G and D strings and especially the G strings have to be pushed down and held with a lot of force to eliminate it. Of course, I haven't played a mandolin before, just classical guitar in high school and my calluses are just now forming on my left hand. Maybe with practice I'll get better. I'm working on the Cristofaro Method and the Etudes that go with it at the moment.

Aside from the annoying buzzing in the lower registers, the tone is very bright and I can get considerable volume out of the instrument with or without tremolo. Or I can play it very quietly as well. I prefer a bright sounding mandolin to a warm sounding one so this one is OK in that department.

[Colbee]

Hi all

I've bought two of theses mandocellos from Taisamlu and been very pleased with both. One needed no adjustment at all, the other a truss rod adjustment and a tad taken off the bridge height. Wood work was good, they sound fat and deep and intonate well. Strings supplied are German Optima strings, top quality (about $70 in Europe).

Cheers
ColB

[kkmm]

Definitely a Mandolin Shaped Object....
This makes me think of the two VSO (violin shaped object) that I saw today on local CL, they are brand new, claimed to have carved solid spruce top but sound horrible.