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Thread: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

  1. #1
    en kunnskapssøker James Miller's Avatar
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    Default What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Seen this photo of this pirate named Scrum holding an interesting looking mandolin and sort of made me wonder, what mandolin is that??

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    Mangler of Tunes OneChordTrick's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Probably a Shippey, or one from Buchanan-eer, Skipper, Moonstone or Hook?

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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    My guess is a Fylde - built by Jolly Roger Bucknall. They have a crossbone nut and tailpieces of eight.
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    en kunnskapssøker James Miller's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Think the next mandolin I get will have a slotted head similar to that.
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    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Floorstand View Post
    My guess is a Fylde - built by Jolly Roger Bucknall. They have a crossbone nut and tailpieces of eight.
    That's no Fylde. Looks like some East-European/East-German thing - a slotted headstock in combination with steel strings is such a dead giveaway. More prone to breaking, more difficult to restring.
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Probably a stolen one but certainly not one with tuning machines or bronze strings - I don't think they had been invented yet!

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    Registered User Steve VandeWater's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Probably an aarrrrr L Givens
    It ain't gotta be perfect, as long as it's perfect enough!

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    Unfamous String Buster Beanzy's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Apparently they had many types of pegs which always came in pieces of eight.
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    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    You'd think it'd be tuned to aarhh, but it B the C...

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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    That not so Ahrrd if you use the right tuna, otherwise you can get in a pickle. With some rum luck you could frigate completely.
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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    A true modern day pirate would play a fake Gibson.
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Given when pirates (like this romantic pirate era scurvy dog) were around, late 1600' to mid 1700s, a pirate would have had a bowl back mandolin. If you're not gonna go with that, play whatever you want and pirate it up!

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    Eternal Beginner Seamus B's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    I assume that this is made with a nice oscillating wood for sustain -also known as shivered timbers.

    Sorry.
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    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Real pirates play electric guitar anyway.

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    Registered User mtucker's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    More power to Scrum if he's playing that particular mandola. it's in serious need of a few extra strings and a good setup!

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    Registered User Timbofood's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    This one has me stumped!
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  23. #17
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin woudl a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by James Miller View Post
    Think the next mandolin I get will have a slotted head similar to that.
    You will then combine the bother of the tailpiece, with the bother of threading strings through the headstock slots. Seems masochistic, but what do I know?
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    A Gibsen, Eperphone, Colin's, Eastmen, Southfield, Breadlove, etc.
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Maybe they couldn’t find where they buried the lute?
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Whatever kind the pirates would steal from the ships they plundered.

    https://www.quora.com/What-musical-i...ther-seafarers

    "In the movies, I would say the squeeze box. Historically speaking, the braginho or machete, a small, 4 string, Portuguese guitar comes to mind. Portuguese sailors brought these small guitars with them to pass the time aboard ships on long journeys."

    "Daniel Baker, Author of two pirate novels, various articles and short stories
    Answered Apr 10, 2016 · Author has 1.6k answers and 2.6m answer views
    Fiddles, hautboys (oboes), and drums are mentioned in contemporary sources. Captain Bartholomew Roberts' fiddlers were captives, forced to play by the pirates six days a week."

    http://pyracy.com/index.php?/topic/1...e-instruments/

    "Not concertina, nor any of the accordion family. They didn't come around until the 1830s or 40s. There's a thread about that from a year or so around here somewhere.

    For period instruments, there's really just the basics- fiddles, fifes and whistles, drums. And probably not in their current forms either. Hopefully a real expert will see this thread in the next few days. I know they're out there..."

    "A thing to note musicians were often commandeered aboard pirates vessel for their musical skill. Pirate like to part and you can't party without music! I haven't verified it yet but there is a report of a man accused of piracy who was let off because his crewmate verified he was only a fiddler and didn 't commit acts of piracy.

    Fiddles were a staple aboard ships and in the British navy fiddle music was used instead of shanties. I've seen wonderful illustrations of fiddlers standing on a capstans playing while men turn the capstan. So I don't think the sea air will harm your fiddle."

    " there are several remarks of pirates attacking with blaring trumpets and beating drums to demoralize their enemy and encourage their own men."

    "One other instrument that I haven't yet seen mentioned but which can definitely be placed on a GAoP era ship is the hautbois, or oboe. Woodes Rogers had them on his circumnavigation and his musicians used them to entertain some Portuguese monks with a rendition of the English dance tune Hey Boys, Up Go We."

    "Slightly early, but interestnig nonetheless, the stores for Drake's last voyage (1595) included "sundry instruments of music for 8 musicians and 9 trumpeters" and 13 drums. The instruments are described elsewhere as a lute, "hobboyes sagbutes, Cornettes & orpharions bandora & suche like"."

    http://www.cindyvallar.com/music.html

    " Aboard Davis’ Royal Jane, quartermaster John Taylor gave one pirate a cittern, a pear-shaped stringed instrument similar to a mandolin, which he played while his fellow pirates sang. Captain William Snelgrave, who later published an account as a captive of pirates, wrote of his last night aboard Captain Davis’ ship.

    Supper was brought up about eight o’clock in the evening, and the music was ordered to play, amongst which was a trumpeter that had been forced to enter out of one of the prizes. (Pringle, 259)

    What other instruments were popular? Fiddles, bagpipes, drums, concertinas, lyres, and penny whistles. Roberts’ band included an oboe. While music entertained pirates, it also bolstered their courage before an attack and while fighting hand-to-hand aboard the enemy ship, while the combination of music and vaporing terrified their prey.5 Aboard one ship, a captive said the pirates practiced using their weapons “while their musicians play divers airs so that the days pass agreeably.” (Sanders, 118) One of their means of torture also employed music. When pirates captured a captain, they sometimes made him run around a mast while they jeered and prodded him with the tips of their swords and knives, and a fiddler played lively music. This torment was known as sweating, which continued until either the inflictors became bored or the exhausted captain collapsed.

    While the historical record is fragmentary, we do know music played a role in the lives of pirates. How much it do so, however, remains a matter of conjecture."

    So there I found it - "quartermaster John Taylor gave one pirate a cittern, a pear-shaped stringed instrument similar to a mandolin, which he played while his fellow pirates sang"

    the old cittern:



    http://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2544B/lots/184

    English Cittern, c. 1750


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  30. #21
    Full Grown and Cussin' brunello97's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by Beanzy View Post
    Maybe they couldn’t find where they buried the lute?
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    That has to tie the record for the worst / best pun ever on here.

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  32. #22
    Oval holes are cool David Lewis's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by ddminpgfl View Post
    A Gibsen, Eperphone, Colin's, Eastmen, Southfield, Breadlove, etc.
    Don't forget a Lore, or a 'Law-less' (the budget model')
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Regardless of whether or not geared tuners are appropriate for the pirate timeline, I want to know:

    Why are there no buttons on the tuners? See zoomed-in pic below. There are only round shafts or maybe some sort of cylindrical wood or leather covering, but it doesn't look like anything the fingers could grip onto very well. At first I thought someone had lined up all the buttons to face the same direction, but upon closer inspection it looks like they're actually cylindrical, and small diameter. Was the button-less cylinder-shaped geared tuner an actual historical design at one time? (I'm thinking, "Not.") Or is it just an example of Hollywood goofing up on details when building the movie props? Click pic a few times to enlarge:

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    Maybe we're supposed to assume that the instrument was so derelict that all the buttons had fallen off or rotted away. Still, the small cylindrical tuner handles don't seem very practical - did Mr. Pirate use pliers when tuning up?

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  35. #24
    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by JL277z View Post
    Was the button-less cylinder-shaped geared tuner an actual historical design at one time? (I'm thinking, "Not.") Or is it just an example of Hollywood goofing up on details when building the movie props?
    A session player I know has these on his 12-string guitar. I don't know what this is supposed to achieve, but I can ask him (probably see him tonight). But he's probably not a pirate...

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  37. #25

    Default Re: What sort of mandolin would a pirate have?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bertram Henze View Post
    A session player I know has these on his 12-string guitar. I don't know what this is supposed to achieve, but I can ask him (probably see him tonight). But he's probably not a pirate...

    I suppose with super-smooth high-quality high-ratio gears, it might be alright... and that diameter looks better for getting a grip on, compared to the pirate tuners.

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