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Thread: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

  1. #1
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I'm pretty sure I can identify who built the Beltone and Blue Comet mandolins with the holes around the outside edge. I would have guessed it was Regal, this pretty much proves it. Regal didn't have to buy anything private label.
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    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    Formerly F5JOURNL Darryl Wolfe's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I think mine is a regal...I'll have to check. I know it does not say Blue Comet and sortof wondered why..good subject
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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Regal, Blue Comet, Medalist, Beltone, Artistic... prob a few more names out there, too.
    Jim

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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    What was there a function/purpose for the outer band around the body? looks heavy

  5. #5
    Mandolin tragic Graham McDonald's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    What I didn't realise until I got a good look at a Blue Comet recently is that there are two separate air chambers. The upper one with the f holes is, as far as I could tell, is not connected to the lower one. It looked like a solid sheet of plywood between the two sections with the little grommet soundholes on the edges of that piece of ply the only openings to the lower section. Interesting idea...

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  6. #6

    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    "What I didn't realize until I got a good look at a Blue Comet recently is that there are two separate air chambers. The upper one with the f holes is, as far as I could tell, is not connected to the lower one. It looked like a solid sheet of plywood between the two sections with the little grommet soundholes on the edges of that piece of ply the only openings to the lower section. Interesting idea..."

    I was not aware of that either. I sure would like to buy one of those. out of pure curiosity. Besides, I admire any product which violates the normal expectations of what a mando should look like.

  7. #7
    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I wonder if the patent for this design could be found for the leading particulars and the designer's name? I got to play one once in Pensacola Florida that was brand less but really sounded pretty good. It sounded to me more like an oval hole than a F hole. I also wonder if a luthier could give the design some advantage by using a solid carved with reflex/flex perimeter for more response between upper and lower chamber?
    "A sudden clash of thunder, the mind doors burst open, and lo, there sits old man Buddha-nature in all his homeliness."
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    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    This design might have been the first Tonegard.
    "A sudden clash of thunder, the mind doors burst open, and lo, there sits old man Buddha-nature in all his homeliness."
    CHAO-PIEN

  9. #9

    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by hank View Post
    This design might have been the first Tonegard.
    The Original Tonegard -- ensures that no tone is accidentally produced. :-)

  10. #10
    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    There's a Regal brand starting under $175 and a Blue Comet branded one starting at $800 on the Fleabay auctions.
    "A sudden clash of thunder, the mind doors burst open, and lo, there sits old man Buddha-nature in all his homeliness."
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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I had one many years ago but sold it. I believe they were not solid wood and, at least the one I owned. lacked a lot in the tone department.
    Jim

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    Registered User Petrus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I had an Artistic brand; I call them quasi-resonators. The second body seems to be intended to be a sort of wooden resonator. It was mediocre at best, and very heavy.

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    Registered User Petrus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Here's a photo I found from the 1940s showing a member of the Don Reno group playing one in studio.

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  14. #14

    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Cool pic. What's up with the jodhpurs? I've seen pics of Bill Monroe wearing them, also. Stage clothes, obviously. Kentucky=horses=Bluegrass? Kinda reminds me of MC Hammer and the harem pants craze of the 80's.......
    Last edited by Jeff Mando; Oct-04-2014 at 5:35pm.

  15. #15

    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by Petrus View Post
    I had an Artistic brand; I call them quasi-resonators. The second body seems to be intended to be a sort of wooden resonator. It was mediocre at best, and very heavy.

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    I don't think you folks are giving these things their due. Since there appears to be absolutely no way you're going to get any part of it to vibrate with the strings, stick some pickups in it, plug into a Marshall and have at it. Looks like a perfect feedback buster!
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  17. #16
    Registered User Petrus's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    Cool pic. What's up with the jodhpurs? I've seen pics of Bill Monroe wearing them, also. Stage clothes, obviously. Kentucky=horses=Bluegrass? Kinda reminds me of MC Hammer and the harem pants craze of the 80's.......
    Exactly. Jodhpurs were the parachute pants of the '40s.

    IIRC, some state troopers to this day continue to wear a sort of modified jodhpurs, just not as extreme as the originals.

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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    Cool pic. What's up with the jodhpurs? I've seen pics of Bill Monroe wearing them, also. Stage clothes, obviously. Kentucky=horses=Bluegrass? Kinda reminds me of MC Hammer and the harem pants craze of the 80's.......
    Monroe was a trend setter.
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    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Hmmmmm... jodhpurs and Blue Comet mandolins... a match made in heaven?
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    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    You gotta admit the jodhpurs really show off their leather stompers. Polo anyone?
    "A sudden clash of thunder, the mind doors burst open, and lo, there sits old man Buddha-nature in all his homeliness."
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    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Reno was going to be Monroe's banjo player in 1943, according to his Wikipedia bio, but enlisted for WWII instead. When he came back Earl Scruggs had the job, though Reno did play a bit with Monroe 1948-50. He probably took the jodhpur look from Monroe's band; though I believe Monroe had dropped the costume by the mid-1940's; did Flatt and Scruggs ever wear them? I wonder…

    Reno was about 16 when Monroe first recruited him, and I have heard he had to lie about his age to join the army and fight in the Pacific theater.

    As for the mandolin design, it appears that the "front part" of the mandolin has a back, and that the "resonator" is attached behind it. Therefore, all that the so-called "resonator" can amplify, is the vibration of the mandolin's back -- unlike the banjo resonator, which directly reflects the vibration of the banjo head. So you have a weighty appendage to the mandolin that provides little acoustic benefit.

    You can often assess the value of certain design features of instruments, by noting whether they produce general acceptance, large sales, and emulation by other builders. The Blue Comet design is 0-for-3 in those regards. These mandolins were apparently made in significant numbers originally, since they keep showing up here and there, but they certainly didn't "catch on." So we're left with a heavy, dull-sounding mandolin, that some sellers apparently think has "vintage" value -- but I don't see anyone actually playing one.
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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I have one that looks almost exactly like the one in Mike's picture, branded as a Beltone.

    I have suspected a space behind the "back" as seen through the front, but never had this confirmed.

    Its a fun instrument - but mine at least doesn't have a sound you would write home about. I think they look real cool though, and I really enjoy mine.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

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  23. #22
    Henry Lawton hank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    I found this under Wiki Resonator Mandolin.


    "Blue Comet mandolin. This one was manufactured by the Regal Musical Instrument Company.
    Blue Comet is an inexpensive 1930s brand of mandolin manufactured by the Regal Musical Instrument Company in Chicago, Il that featured an extra wooden sound chamber encircling the body. Somewhat resembling a banjo tone ring, this chamber contained several small soundholes with metal screen covers. While the sound chamber may indeed affect the tone or volume of the mandolin, Blue Comets do not contain resonator cones and are not truly resophonic. They are usually dark brown with F holes. Similar mandolins were sold under the Beltone brand and a couple of other brand names."
    "A sudden clash of thunder, the mind doors burst open, and lo, there sits old man Buddha-nature in all his homeliness."
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    Full Grown and Cussin' brunello97's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    ....So we're left with a heavy, dull-sounding mandolin, that some sellers apparently think has "vintage" value -- but I don't see anyone actually playing one.
    That's what I know, Allen.

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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    As for the mandolin design, it appears that the "front part" of the mandolin has a back, and that the "resonator" is attached behind it. Therefore, all that the so-called "resonator" can amplify, is the vibration of the mandolin's back -- unlike the banjo resonator, which directly reflects the vibration of the banjo head. So you have a weighty appendage to the mandolin that provides little acoustic benefit
    I wonder if anyone has ever tried to cut a hole in the "back" of the "front part" of the mandolin, to improve the sound?

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  28. #25
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Beltone, Blue Comet, etc Mandolins

    Dayton actually built mandolins with two chambers well before the Regal/Beltone/Blue Comet came along and added the holes in the second chamber. I recall seeing a mandolin with a second chamber and a hole in what would have been the middle plate but can't seem to find it right now.

    For what it's worth, there are a couple of guitars in the CF Martin Museum that were built with this same Format with the holes. Interestingly enough it didn't have a sound hole in the front. I can't remember the name of the company they were built for. It's in the middle of this group. I took this picture in 2003 if I'm to believe my earlier post on the cafe where I posted it.
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    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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