Report from the field. I had nly been to their now-closed store on 48th Street. The store in Soho has been there for about 10 years but I hadn't been there.
They have a respectable selection of new and used acoustic instruments but the mandolin supply has dwindled. Gordon, one of the very knowledgeable salesfolk says they are expecting shipments from both Eastman and Collings. I will have to check back in sometimes. They have some high end and quality guitars including some boutique makers like Goodall, Froggy Bottom and Lowden.
Today they has only two interesting vintage instruments. One was a 42 F-5 which was in good repaired condition and very playable. They even had it strung with D'Addario NB strings. Nice of them to accommodate my playing needs without even knowing I was coming.
The second mandolin was Butch Baldassari's custom-painted 1919 A-3. Evidently it bounced around the vintage scene after Butch passed away and somehow Rudy ended up buying it as a present for his wife. It was a decent sounding A but nothing to separate it from normal ones except the fancy paint job and rhinestones. So it has historic and collectible status.
Gordon said it was in the vault for years but I think Rudy is ready to sell but at a pretty substantial price.
Neither of these appear on their web site, for some reason. I should have taken some photos. Sorry.
Some previous threads mentioning Butch's mandolin:
And here is the cover of BB's album with that mandolin.
Bookmarks