Mando-Bass

[Eugenio Palumbo]

I'm looking for a mandobass for sale, can anyone help me?

[MikeEdgerton]

You should place a Wanted ad in the Classifieds.

[BradKlein]

Also, it's best not to start the same thread in multiple places on the cafe (as you have with this post). This place is more of a community than simply a 'want ads' site.

[F-2 Dave]

The last time I was at Carter's they had one. Kinda pricey, very cool.

[pheffernan]

There's one listed in the classifieds for $10,000 USD: https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/112201#112201

And, as if that sum wasn't expensive enough, Reverb has one for $15K: https://reverb.com/item/107428-1929-...odZzcMXA&pla=1

They do have a cheaper alternative for $8550 https://reverb.com/item/3108650-1920...dobass-style-j as well as a relative bargain at $6K https://reverb.com/item/2339077-1917...le-j-mandobass, but that one is only available for local pickup in Pennylvania.

When you add in shipping to your stated location in Italy, you are looking at one expensive proposition.

[Phil Goodson]

Mando basses are historically very cool. Honestly, I've been disappointed with the sound of the few that I've seen and plucked.

[BradKlein]

The one on the classifieds for $10K is on ebay for $6800. I think anyone who really wants to sell a Gibson J-bass would happily accept $3-6K, the higher prices are folks who aren't really trying to get the deal done. At least it's my strong suspicion that there have not been many 5 figure mandobass sales.

[pheffernan]

The one on the classifieds for $10K is on ebay for $6800.

And that's the Buy It Now price: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mandobass-by...8AAOSwCkZZQt1n

The bidding starts at $3500, although there's no telling where the reserve is set.

[mrmando]

I should hate to think of what it would cost to ship a mandobass to Italy. Maybe you could put an outboard motor on it and ride it home.

[brunello97]

I should hate to think of what it would cost to ship a mandobass to Italy. Maybe you could put an outboard motor on it and ride it home.

Probably wouldn't fit in the overhead compartment on most air carriers, either.

Mick

[mrmando]

Seriously, DHL will probably ship it, but it will need a nice strong crate, and I can see the freight charges being above $500. I don't know for sure, since I've never shipped anything overseas that was bigger than a mandocello.

[allenhopkins]

Almost no one made mando-basses other than the Gibson J's, and they supposedly only made a couple hundred of them. So they're rare, and mostly in the US, making it hard to obtain one in Italy. There are examples by Stahl and by Vega, but they're even rarer.

Pamela's Music in the UK had, years ago, a Pagani mando-bass, four courses double strung, and shaped like a bass fiddle. Long since vanished from their website, but shown and described, along with other examples of the mando-bass, in this article. Wouldn't hurt to contact Pamela's, since they seem to run across a wide variety of instrumental oddities.

The Portuguese firm Soares'y Guitars makes a great variety of odd and unusual instruments. Reviews suggest that they're decently made, not too particular in terms of fit and finish, but playable. Might be worth contacting them and seeing if they have something, or would make something, that would be close to what you're looking for.

I'd say that buying a Gibson J in the US, and shipping it to Italy, would be pretty costly. There may be few alternatives, however.

[mrmando]

Pretty confident there are more than 200 Gibson mandobasses. Why, I can think of five in Seattle alone.

[BradKlein]

Just to be clear, the one on eBay and in classifieds is among the best looking I've seen for sale in the past 10 years. A great addition to any completist's Gibson collection.

[mandroid]

^^^^ May be better to buy it, in USA, fly to pick it up and buy it a seat for it, next to you ,
for the return flight to Italy..

[Jim Garber]

Just to be clear, the one on eBay and in classifieds is among the best looking I've seen for sale in the past 10 years. A great addition to any completist's Gibson collection.

That is a nice-looking one with original armrest bar or whatever you call it. The one I had was black.

Seller is located in Islip, NY so probably not too far from John Monteleone's shop. Local pick-up only — say hi to John.

[ollaimh]

would not an acoustic guitar bass fill the same role in a band as a mando bass? not nearly as cool i know but those gibby mando basses are very expensive and not that great for tone.

[ukrobbiej]

You need one of these



Easier to play, and beautiful, beautiful tone.

Robbie

[BradKlein]

Acoustic bass guitars are much quieter in my experience than bass mandolins. But almost all have electronics on board, so that's not the issue. I once spoke to Paul Ruppa of the Milwaukee Mandolin Orchestra, and asked why they didn't just use a double bass since it's easily available, widely played, highly evolved? His answer, "It's a MANDOLIN Orchestra, Brad." End of conversation!

If you're just looking for a handy acoustic sound in the low register, there's the amazing little U-bass. But it's just not the same thing.

[allenhopkins]

Pretty confident there are more than 200 Gibson mandobasses. Why, I can think of five in Seattle alone.

Gruhn's take on Gibson/Kalamazoo mando-bass production (from this Vintage Guitar article:

Spann has located production records that list 39 units, but there were very likely more, since his reconstructed serial number list contains only approximately nine percent of serial number units produced by Gibson prior to 1935. Spann has 100 percent of the serial numbers after 1935, having extracted them from shipping ledgers. While he speculates that as many as 400 mando-basses were produced, so few have emerged compared to other models produced in quantities of a few hundred, that the number was probably not more than 200 and may have been less. We simply do not have truly accurate records for total production. Spann has documented 21 Kalamazoo mando-basses (style KJ) and speculates as many as 40 could have been produced sporadically between 1933 and ’37.

This is what I based my estimate on.

[Jim Garber]

When I first joined the NY Mandolin Orchestra, there was a gentleman named Mike who used to play bass for them for many years until he moved to FL. He actually played a contrabass balalaika (3 strings EAD). I asked hi why and he said he used to play a Gibson mandobass but it didn't have the volume and projection that this CB did. He played it with a square of shoe sole leather about 1/4" thick and even tho he was the only bass he boomed through the room.

When he left Larry Cohen played that CB for a while but missed the G string so I lent him my Gibson. Unfortunately, heat in his apartment caused the top to separate soI had it repaired and then it happened again. Eventually I sold it.

Paul is a stickler for historical accuracy. The Milwaukee Mandolin orchestra has quite a bevy of Vega cylinder back instruments including his mandobass.

[brunello97]

Seriously, DHL will probably ship it, but it will need a nice strong crate, and I can see the freight charges being above $500. I don't know for sure, since I've never shipped anything overseas that was bigger than a mandocello.

I love the idea of a Gibson Mandobass getting crated up and shipped (via boat, ideally) over to Italy. There's a great little short story / book in that tale.

Mick

[your_diamond]

Acoustic bass guitars are much quieter in my experience than bass mandolins. But almost all have electronics on board. If you're just looking for a handy acoustic sound in the low register, there's the amazing little U-bass.

ABG's are quiet, but these old italian made (not the new Chinese copies) EKO BA-4's & BA-6's are the loudest, especially when fitted with Thomastik Piezo Phosphor Bronze Bass Strings (AB344 or AB346 / expensive). These were handmade by one man (Alfredo Bugari) and they do come up on the european ebay sites every so often. To save on shipping to Italy. I have bought and sold 6 of these (including the BA-6 ON EBAY). Lovely Basses. A pickup wouldn't hurt if you are competing with a Banjo, Violin or mandolin (& hey, it's the 21st century so get electric already). Worth a look. http://www.ekobass.co.uk/about.html
Italian EKO Six (6) String Acoustic Bass Model B.A/6 Serial 191179 eBay http://r.ebay.com/IjO6DJ

[your_diamond]

Italian EKO Six (6) String Acoustic Bass Model B.A/6 Serial 191179 eBay http://r.ebay.com/IjO6DJ

This bass sold. Did anybody here get it?

[mandroid]

The Norwegian Group Katzejammer uses a Bass Balalaika https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux33sSnSYfw