And, to be fair, I haven't. After all, this tenor lute looks nothing like a guitar:
I'm interested in Vega stringed instruments in general: guitars, banjos, mandolins and even amplifiers. I've always wanted a cylinder-back mandolin - and I still do - but didn't expect to find one of these rare hybrids. I was worried that the small body would produce a thin, quiet sound, but it's actually louder than many tenor guitars I've played and the low string gives out some pretty strong bass frequencies. This may be in part to the non-original bridge; I've ordered a banjo-style bridge which is more period-correct and I'll see how the sound changes. Aside from the bridge and the tailpiece cover, everything appears to be original. There's a top crack from where the pickguard pulled open the grain and a filled hole in the headstock (probably to attach a strap), but generally it's pretty clean for its age.
I've been doing a bit of research and came across an article from March of 1926 announcing this particular model, plus a catalog page from (probably) 1928:
I'm not sure how long Vega kept producing tenor lutes, but I assume that it wasn't long since so few of them have popped up.
The body is 12.5" wide; does anyone know if that's the same as Vega's mandolas or mandocellos?
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