Printable View
I found this Mandolin in the thrift store for $18. It is a bowl back mandolin that looks like a Suzuki & Co from the 70s but it doesn't have any markings on the head or in the body. It is missing a bridge and strings, and has a few scratches. I went to a local luthier and he priced me $240 just to get it running again. What do you guys think?
You only need to post this one time. Some of our resident bowl back experts will be along to give you some information. I don't think it's worth $240.00 even if it's set back up with the bridge and strings but YMMV.
Looks to me like a Suzuki from the 1970s to me as well (I thought that before I read your post)
It’s definitely not worth putting $240 into. That exceeds the value of this instrument. What the heck is the luthier charging you $240 to do, exactly? Sounds like someone has a bill to pay this month. You can get a set of GHS extra light strings yourself, and fitting a new bridge is not a difficult job. Just make sure you buy a fixed bridge for a flat top, a pretty low one. Do not get a bridge meant for an arch top, especially adjustable, it will be way too high. You can find flat top bridges for minimal cost on fleaBay. There’s an eBay store called “Bezdez” that carries all sorts of instrument parts. Right now they have a few new old stock ebony bridges with galalith saddles for 8 dollars, they look like they would work. There are others on eBay of course. So for less than a $20 bill you could have it playing again. Measure from the nut to the 12th fret, then measure the same distance from the 12th fret to the top. This is where the bridge should go. It should end up just in front of the cant. You would have to have nut slotting files or at least needle files to slot the saddle, and you might have to sand the flat bottom of the bridge down for your desired action, and you might have to tilt the bridge a bit to get intonation right, but none of it is rocket science.
Your Suzuki appellation is most likely correct. They didn’t always mark them. This one has that look. But really, the only way to make this financially workable is to figure out how to do the work yourself.
I think it would make a swell festival hat!
$240??? For what?????
I would be run out of town on a rail if I quoted a price like that.
The mandolin appears to be in very good shape, and should need only minor adjustment.
Find another repairman to fit a bridge and adjust the nut. I would be surprised if it needs much more than that.
$85 would be about the limit for that in my part of the country, and that would be with the repairman supplying the strings and the bridge.
Or, if you're handy with tools, pm me and I'll send you a piece of ebony if you want to carve your own bridge.
I suppose there is an outside chance that it might need some minor fret work. But $240?? Give me a break.
I did think $240 was much too high. He said he charges $120 an hour, and that is way out of my price range. Would this work:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-EBO...UAAOSwRgJXkryd
I got some Ernie ball light mandolin strings from the local shop, will these work?
1. I have never before heard of a shop rate anywhere near that high. Find somebody else.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carsten
2. Probably. Fitting it to the top can be difficult if you don't know what you're doing, though. If you decide to do it yourself, you are welcome to pm me and I'll give you some pointers.
Yes, those strings would be good, at least to start with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carsten
I would look at photos of Suzuki mandolins- there are some that were sold at Reverb. Work out the type of bridge that would be suitable for your mandolin and see if one is available on ebay and do the work yourself. As these instruments have flat tops this should not prove too difficult. Obviously, cutting or adapting a nut is a bit trickier. I don't know where you are based- as you have a typical German or Danish name but in many respects that is irrelevant- getting a decent and reasonably charging repair man may be easier in some places than others. There was a man in Portugal who sold any number of mandolin bridges- I bought one- it was very good. However, he now shows just one style. It is probably not suitable but you might contact him to see if he was going to sell more types in the future. This is a listing on the UK ebay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mandolin-...oAAOSwAO9ZXRUu
Here is a Suzuki on ebay which sports a similar style of bridge. Obviously, you need a bridge that is tall enough and if too tall the base can be sanded or planed down:
https://www.ebay.com/p/Japan-Suzuki-...102/1441496570
I would never suggest a good luthier isn't worth their money, but if you're handy at all, fitting a bridge to an $18 mandolin is hardly worth taking up their time. What a great opportunity to practice a little tech work with virtually no risk! You're doing nothing invasive, and if the thing snapped in half when you tightened the strings, worst thing you're out is the price of a good dinner and a little time. OTOH, most likely you end up with a playable mando and some valuable experience.
I bought one of those $70 no-name mandolas on eBay with the idea of making it into a playable OM. In the end it was too cheaply made, and no amount of work would fix its issues. But in the process I learned quite a bit about setting up an instrument, and I installed a cheap pickup as well, which went smoothly and looked great. It gave me a lot of confidence that if I had to do my own setup on one of my good instruments, I could do it.
No NOT light gauge. EXTRA light only on bowlbacks with no truss rod. GHS makes a good set.
Does anyone know why it looks like there is a big space between the nut and the headstock overlay?
I think that originally this mandolin would have had a zero fret which has been replaced with a narrow nut. The bare wood between the nut and the headstock would have been where the original nut was. I tried to upload a pic of a Suzuki mandolin with a zero fret but the image was tiny and very pixelated.Quote:
Does anyone know why it looks like there is a big space between the nut and the headstock overlay?
I just set up a classical guitar.Supplied tuners,strings,repaired a hole on the side(filler an faux finish)for $120Quote:
Originally Posted by Carsten
A brown Sharpie would make that almost invisible......if it bothered you.....Quote:
Originally Posted by David Kennedy
The Ernie Ball #2067 "Light" set that Carsten asked about actually is an extra light set: .009, .013, .022, .034. This info comes direct from the Ernie Ball website. They call their 10-14-24-36 set "medium."Quote:
Originally Posted by multidon
Just for perspective, I took 5 or 10 minutes and looked up some published shop rates around the country. $60 per hour is pretty common. The lowest I found was $35, and the highest was $80.
I think you're all a bit harsh on this mandolin. Yes, it seems to be an unlabelled 70s Suzuki -- they were sold under a number of different names in various markets. It seems in pretty good condition and at $18 it was a steal. Indeed, it may well be worth more than $240 after setup. Of course, I agree that the work needed shouldn't cost $240, although we can't see the neck angle or the condition of the frets.
I suspect it's the original nut, and that the bare patch of wood used to have a piece of felt glued to it, to kill the string buzz between nut and tuners. That's pretty common in bowlbacks. Dave Hynds sells replica Suzuki bridges for $15 plus shipping (from France): Link . He also provides fitting instructions by the sandpaper method (link). Another tutorial for this job is at frets.com (Link). The alternative method is chalk fitting, which is what violin luthiers tend to prefer.
Good luck!
Martin
This is a list of recently sold Suzuki mandolins on eBay. Except for one outlier that I'd love to know the story on, none of them even approach $240.00 and these are labeled.
Fair enough, Mike -- I haven't been keeping tab on the value of Suzukis. What I meant to say is that in good condition they are decent reliable instruments and not in the category of "pawn shop bowlback good as wallhanger".
Martin
Agreed. If the OP can do the work himself he'll probably have a playable bowlback mandolin, assuming there are not any underlying issues we can't see, but I still wouldn't put $240.00 into it. That's all I was saying.
Now, if it had been a beloved family members instrument that might change my mind but it wasn't. What I would be willing to spend to resurrect a family heirloom or some other instrument with emotional value would be different. I personally just spent too much money (a few hundred dollars) rebuilding a 1969 Japanese arched top guitar but I did it because I had one in High School that I wished I had retained. I can't sell it for what I have into it but I really am enjoying playing it.
I don't know how it is with luthiers, but if a printer (which is what I was most of my working life) doesn't want a job, he won't tell you he doesn't want it, he'll just quote you a stupid price. If you're stupid enough to pay it, then it's worth his while to do it. I wonder if your luthier has quoted you $240 on that basis. I agree with the others - have a go at doing it yourself.
I just bought the bridge off of Ebay for $8.00, thanks for all the help. I'm excited to see if this works.
Quote:
Originally Posted by multidon
Nope, no zero fret. There was a small piece of wood, triangular in cross-section probably to create a channel for the nut to set in. I had a similar Suzuki many years ago. A little on the dead side for sound but playable. Hopefully yours is better.Quote:
Originally Posted by David Kennedy
Attachment 179302 Attachment 179303