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There are at least 2 Sweet Peas on Reverb. I just bought one last week from there. There was Weber’s newer travel mandolin too. I think so many people are out of work that they’re selling unnecessary...

The mandolin is one octave higher at fret 12. I used that (tuner) for its placement, rather than where it is supposed to sit. It's in tune. :-)

I finally found the before photo. It's not very clear but you can see the angle, and the very pronounced twist. The second photo I took today; the neck isn't perfect, but it wasn't even playable...

"I'm not sure how much stress an old bowlback can take, but your heat treatment doesn't seem to have loosened any glue joints."

I watched a few YouTube videos, a couple used a metal plank but used...

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The first photo is hard to tell what's going on. The squarish loop of wire and the dirty black tool bag are looped from the G string peg for weight. The mandolin is IN the crock...

Quite a while back I bought a (apparently Lyon and Healy or cousin) bowlback mandolin, off eBay. I didn't notice that the seller was a pawn shop: known for being experts in assessing a vintage...

I'm going to go with piccolo mandolele or
sopranino mandolele. It would be tuned GDAE, and be small like a uke.

Or it was a poor man's mandolin; the builder saved on wood and strings...?

I live in the Wyoming desert. The average humidity is around 15%, like Las Vegas. I have two bowlbacks, one is a 12-string. They both sound sweeter when it rains, they absorb moisture and fill out....

Has anyone had success making contact with or purchasing from mandolinluthier.com? I have done what he's said, posted requests on his website in the guest book area, but have received no response. I...

Hi. I am curious how those of you who have developed arthritis are managing. It came on rather quickly for me, first just in my thumbs which wasn't much of an issue, but now it's in my fingers as...

I love the old bowl back mandolins, and being on disability income I can't afford high quality set-up instruments. Meaning two of my instruments were eBay purchases. My mandriolas strings were so...

Thanks for the suggestions. It's certainly playable! I'm not going to do anything drastic to it. I am using .09-.32's on it, it's strung GDAE all the way across (no octave strings) and the neck is...

Neck reset? It's 100+ years old. It's gone this long without getting altered. I was thinking a minor adjustment, not taking the old thing apart.

Nah, not doing that. Couldn't afford it anyway. It...

Hello,
I recently purchased (on eBay) a mandriola. It is lovely, sounds incredible, looks beautiful.

Only problem is I have to press pretty hard for a clean note. The string height increases up...

I haven't altered anything. I am assuming this particular instrument was never set up to be anything other than a 12 string mandolin. The first time I tried it, the heavier strings sat on top of the...

Hello,
I recently bought a Oscar Schmidt bowlback mandriola. Beautiful instrument that rings like a bell. I'm in love!

I have tried several times to string it like a mandriola, with the top...

I tried a few configurations to get the lower octave strings, but now it's gggdddaaaeee, and it holds a note forever; it has beautiful resonance.

It's completely see through (the inserts) so I wouldn't think Pearl or MOP, it's glass, as I don't think lucite or clear plastic had been invented back then.

It has such beautiful and extended...

I posted the "bridge glued down" thread.
I successfully removed it. I've not seen one like it, it appears to have a glass inset. The rest is ebony. Anyone know anything about it?

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Thanks for your suggestions. I wanted to try a different string configuration so I loosened them, and noticed that the bridge wasn't touching on the end. I slid a regular envelope under it (just...

I guess I didn't specify, it's a vintage instrument, not new. It's 1900 or so.
I gave the bridge a sturdy wiggle: that sucker is glued down fo sho.

Problem is, the bridge position seems to need...

I received the mandriola yesterday, and removed the funky strings.

I had (have) several partial and complete sets of strings, including some bulk .09 and.14 strings. I managed to string it with...

I received my new Oscar Schmidt mandriola yesterday. (Not new, new to me, ... meaning impulse eBay purchase)

The strings looked old so I restrung it, and even managed to make the third strings an...

Hi, I just (in the last hour) bought a 12 string Oscar Schmidt bowlback.

I have pored through the Forum, but haven't yet found what to buy for strings. I have sets of mando strings here, but the...

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If you want to create new and bizarre mandolin shapes, go for it! You'll have a very limited market, and a lot of people will frown on strange shapes, but you might just stumble on something that...