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Type: Posts; User: Valbert

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    Re: Sorting out the Vinaccias

    Here's a 1925/1926 Vinaccia I just acquired... apart from a crack in the middle of the soundboard (the big crack on the side seems to have been repaired/glued), it's in good condition, sounds and...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Here's a nice looking Silvestri mandolin - are they any good?

    https://www.willhaben.at/iad/kaufen-und-verkaufen/d/alte-mandoline-baujahr-um-1920-382619254/
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    It's a "Wolle" plectrum, made in Germany. For me, they work really well as they produce almost no pick noise and make the strings sound a bit mellower. I think they're intended to be used with...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Yeah, I do have very aggressive hand sweat. But perhaps I wasn't very specific before: it's mostly an issue with the plain a and e strings - even if I clean them thoroughly before and after playing,...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Right now I have the Thomastik medium strings on them. They've been on the first Calace I bought for many years as I was told, and they didn't seem to have harmed the instrument at all. Compared to...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Got the crack fixed now on my 1923 Calace. Here's another pic :) Sound-wise, this one's quite different to my other Calace. Definitely brighter (maybe cause of the bridge material), more sustain, a...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Thanks! I found it in an online ad, and luckily it was just a two hour train ride away ;)
    The crack is right underneath the g string. It actually goes all the way from the tailpiece to the bridge.
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    My 1926 Calace just got an older sister... :)
    This one is from 1923. Has a crack on the top that needs to be repaired, otherwise no issues.

    https://i.ibb.co/7t1Yp4H/IMG-3634.jpg...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    Yep, it says that it has been restored, including a new bridge and a fret dressing. If I had the money and the time right now, I'd travel there and get it. Not too far away from Austria...
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    Re: Bowlbacks of Note

    There's an Embergher in Germany for sale right now:

    https://www.ebay-kleinanzeigen.de/s-anzeige/mandoline-embergher/1218745466-74-19761
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    Re: Info on this old bowlback?

    Thanks Bob! Really interesting thoughts.
    The build quality is quite good, the fretwork is nice. What I also noticed, it has t-frets and the pickguard seems to be some tortoise shell imitate, so it's...
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    Info on this old bowlback?

    Just couldn't resist buying this one today after I played on it for a few minutes... it has a great sound and good playability even with old strings! Unfortunately, there's no label inside. The...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    So, I finally got my Calace brand new frets! My luthier presented me with two options - he could either replace the old bar frets with new t-shaped brass frets, or purchase nickel silver sheet metal...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Thanks for confirming it's a real Calace. Hooray :D

    I have the medium tension Thomastik flatwounds on it right now, they're really good, and I've gotten used to the tension by now. I like the...
  15. Re: My bowlback collection - story and pictures...

    Thanks guys!

    Nope Jim, I'm actually located in Austria :)
    Concerning the hungarian mandolin: It seems that "Ármin Sternberg" was an Austrian-Hungarian instrument builder and factory owner with...
  16. My bowlback collection - story and pictures...

    Hey guys, I thought I'd share some pictures and the story of my little bowlback family with you.

    I'm actually a guitarist/violinist. The first mandolin I ever got is an undated "Sternberg Armin",...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Thanks a lot for your answer, really interesting! By the way, the instrument on ebay vic-victor was referring to is this one, which is really exactly my model, just three years younger.

    My Calace...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Oh yeah sorry, forgot to mention: 340 €
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Haha thanks! Just to clear things up: I'm definitely not planning to sell it. I'm playing it all the time and I can hear it coming back to life.
    I'm just keen to find out if the price I paid for it...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Thanks for pointing me there. That one looks exactly like my model (except for the bridge)! It appears to be in even better condition than mine. Though it's also missing the little bone (?) triangle...
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    I agree the case looks newer. As for the age of the instrument itself, I'm pretty sure it says 1926 on the label...

    https://i.ibb.co/LSz1FmJ/20190604-010513.jpg
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    Re: Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Here's a few more pictures, including the (original?) hardcase. I counted 19 ribs.

    https://i.ibb.co/FBm9VFR/20190604-003706.jpg
    https://i.ibb.co/g7G8GFc/20190604-003618.jpg...
  23. Re: Cleaning up Superglue and metal corrosion on old Bowlback

    Just cleaned the frets & fretboard on my Calace, so I'll share this: I carefully removed all the grime in between the frets with wooden toothpicks and an old toothbrush in combination with the...
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    Calace mandolin, 1926 - value?

    Hey people, first post here. I just got this Calace mandolin built in 1926, according to the label. It's in good condition; some minor issues like fret wear and some very small cracks. I just cleaned...
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