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Thread: Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

  1. #1

    Default Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lovely-Vi...UAAOSwuEBewqwa

    This looks like quite a nice mandolin at a reasonable price. I have not looked at the photos in depth. Here is an article from Fretboard Journal about this maker:

    https://www.fretboardjournal.com/col...notte-mandolin

  2. #2
    Full Grown and Cussin' brunello97's Avatar
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    Default Re: Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

    I just learned that people from Mattaincourt are referred to as Mattaincurtiens...

    Evviva i mandolini francesi!

    Mick
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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

    Quote Originally Posted by NickR View Post
    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lovely-Vi...UAAOSwuEBewqwa

    This looks like quite a nice mandolin at a reasonable price. I have not looked at the photos in depth. Here is an article from Fretboard Journal about this maker:

    https://www.fretboardjournal.com/col...notte-mandolin
    Nice photos. The main difference between the one for sale in the UK (now sold) and the one featured in Fretboard Journal is that the latter used the Gelas system and that is the primary point of interest in the featureed instrument. The UK one is just a conventional flatback, made by what the FJ article calls the French equivalent of Harmony or Kay. Of course, it may still be a very nice-sounding instrument, and certain to be easier to maintain and setup than a Gelas-type instrument (I speak from experience).

    Martin

  4. #4

    Default Re: Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

    Yes, I realise that the Fretboard Journal was about the "double top" aspect of the mandolin, whereas this is a typical European flat back. The article gives some history and context for the firm. I have a Kay 8127 Jumbo guitar made in about 1963- it is the top-of-the-range Kay flat top with X bracing and a solid top- it is a monster. I was amazed by its tone when I picked it up from the seller. I had paid him exactly half what he paid for it in a shop called Andy's 30 years before. He said he had just got a recording contract from Virgin and just liked the look of the guitar and paid, I reckon three times its worth. I did the same, bought an A2 mandolin for about double its true value but Andy was a legend. Anyway, I took the Kay to my bluegrass pick and guys with very expensive Martin guitars were amazed as it sounds so good- the Kay gave their guitars a run for their money!
    Here it is- I don't think that pickguard is original- it is an enhancement from Andy- probably hides some horrific gouge or blemish. I have got an original guard but will probably not try to replace this Gibsonesque guard as I may break the Hippocratic Oath and harm the guitar in the process.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Default Re: Louis Patenotte Mandolin in UK 1940s?

    That mandolin has sold- I am not surprised as I thought it was very good value. With regard to my big old Kay, these guitars came were made at three price points. Obviously, I did not want the bottom one and arguably not the next one up, so I asked the seller: "Is it X braced?" and he replied that it was- so I knew it was the good version. He went on to tell me: "Yes, I bought this guitar at Andy's over thirty years ago..." I nearly did not bother putting in a bid as the thought of it being one of Andy's guitars had me worried. I then thought that although I had paid way to much for my A2, it was a good instrument- so I stuck in my bid and nobody else was interested. It does have an Andy's shop sticker on the back of the headstock which I thought about taking off but then I thought: "It's part of the guitar's history" so I left it there. When I took my mandolin to my luthier because he wanted to see it -as he was going to make some A2 style mandolins, I said to him: "I paid far too much- I bought it from Andy's and I suppose I was ripped off but I don't want to speak ill of the dead." My luthier said: "Don't let that stop you!" He did say, however, that my A2 was the best you had seen in over 20 years, so although I paid too much at the time, I did get a great instrument! I was lucky, I suppose, I could have paid a fortune for a piece of junk but I reckoned it did have great tone and it barked, so it has all worked out.

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