Re: Mandolin marked with "Italia"
My hunch is that this is a Catanese built mandolin and likely stamped or labeled for sale by others (Cesare) or simply branded "Italia" for export.
This appears to be a very MOR quality instrument, but that might still mean it could be a very sweet sounding instrument. Nice enough details and wood. The fret spacing on some of these MOR bowls can be pretty dicey though, making consistent intonation a rugged task at best.
The key to its potential playability is the neck angle condition, which from the side view appears pretty grim. The thin tops of these mandolins often give way over time and sink in just a tiny bit between the soundhole and the neck joint.
This is often enough for the neck to rotate up out of position while seemingly be intact where the neck joins the bowl. But it can result in the string height / action becoming virtually unplayable.
Take a straightedge and lay it on the nut at one end and the bridge at the other. Post a photo from as dead on a side view as you can get. That should enable folks to venture an opinion about whether this is possibly playable or not.
The way the necks were built in integrally with the bowl staves on these Italian mandolins make them very difficult to repair.
I've had any number of these cheaper Italian bowls. Some can sound pretty okay. Some are a mess.
I hope yours is the former, but the neck looks muy sketchioso to me.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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