I have an old Bowlback Mandolin I acquired from a music store in San Francisco in the 1990's
I have decided I should sell it but I done know anything about it.
If anyone can give me any information I would greatly appreciate it.
I have an old Bowlback Mandolin I acquired from a music store in San Francisco in the 1990's
I have decided I should sell it but I done know anything about it.
If anyone can give me any information I would greatly appreciate it.
Bowlbacks fail to sell weekly on eBay. With that said this one has some bling so it might be a little more attractive to someone. Post a picture of the string height near where the neck meets the body so we can see if it's still playable. I'm assuming there are no markings inside or out. If there are, what are they?
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Even though it does have that pearl fretboard, it is really a mid-grade mandolin. The fretboard would be a royal pain for a luthier to work on. In any case, as Mike notes, even though it is probably not worth the price for re-fretting.
Jim
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19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Several details are very much like an 1890s Sears & Roebuck mandolin that I have. Agree with Jim, probably not more than a mid-level instrument. Impossible to tell the maker (unless there's more info inside), but probably one of the big ones like Lyon & Healy or Regal.
Condition seems good (although as Mike points out we could use a string height picture). Opinions vary greatly as to the value of vintage American bowlback mandolins, but I'm convinced they're on their way up.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
That is the reason I had a closet full of them (still have a bunch more). Many people would just assume that they were all junk or wall hangers but I wanted to see first hand which were the ones that stood out, even the least expensive ones. Washburn, Martin, Regal Indianopolis, Vega are among the best of the American ones.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
But lets add to that by saying that you didn't pay much for that closet full of bowlback mandolins.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Well... the closet was not cheap.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
"......Post a picture of the string height near where the neck meets the body so we can see if it's still playable.....
"
What Mike said.
This looks to be in fairly decent shape, I suppose owing to being kept in a case. Maybe the frets can just get dressed for playability rather than redone?
I've never played a mandolin with an MOP fretboard so have wondered what that feels like. Not enough to enlarge my own "closet", mind you.
If it is indeed playable, with the bling and case, this could possibly fetch $200-250, maybe more.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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With regard to fret dressing - they are usually too low for a really effective dressing - so I generally prefer to refret these. In fact refretting is a lot easier than you might think: you remove all the MOP, level the underlying board, and then reconstruct. This is provided no one has has been messing about with super glue or epoxy "repairing" loose MOP - in which case all bets are off!
With regard to what they feel like: no different to anything else. Provided you keep your nails well trimmed, all fretboard materials feel the same IMO.
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