Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 41

Thread: Wurlitzer mandolin

  1. #1

    Smile

    Hello, Everyone!
    A friend of mine just started playing and borrowed a Wurlitzer mandolin from a friend. It's an A-style. Looks like it was built in the 1920's.
    Has anyone heard of this type of mandolin? I can't find any information on it except that Wurlitzer didn't actually make the mandolin...another company made them.
    It sounds really nice.
    Thanks in advance,
    Laura
    "With all those curves, there have to be strings attached."
    ™ - Cool Mandolin Company

    http://www.coolmandolin.com
    http://myspace.com/coolmandolin

  2. #2
    Guest

    Default

    Wurlitzer was a distributor, and as you said they didn't make the mandolins. They were built for them by a number of companies. If you can post a picture I might be able to identify the builder. Most of them were pretty generic. I played a Wurlitzer guitar that was built by Martin several years ago at Gruhn's in Nashville. Beyond that one I've never seen a Wurlitzer instrument that was built by a high-end builder.

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    13

    Default

    I am the friend with the Wurlitzer. I will post a photo tomorrow. My friend is lending it to me for a while. She says it was her grandfather's and she believes it is from 1919. I don't know where she gets that year but that is what is in head. I am looking forward learning more about it.

  4. #4
    Guest

    Default

    That date is possible the Wurlitzer business actually started in the mid-1800's.

  5. #5
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
    Posts
    582

    Default

    Wurlitzer did a lot of stencil horns*, too. I played a Wurlitzer tenor saxophone once, which looked to me like a Conn.


    *In the world of brass instruments, a "stencil horn" is when a manufacturer makes a horn for someone else, changing only the engraving pattern.
    Affordable lots in the Dutch Caribbean
    http://www.bellavistabonaire.com
    Bought a tricordia

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    FL; East Coast
    Posts
    199

    Default

    I had a Wurlitzer electric piano when I was a kid. It looked just like a traditional piano only it was electric and not as heavy... Great for an apartment.
    I've played alot of Wurlitzer Organs through the years! They're very nice instruments.

    I never knew that they made or distributed other instruments except accordians until I read this message thread.
    You just keep on learning at Mandolin Cafe...
    HarmonyRexy

  7. #7

    Default

    As has been said, Wurlitzer commissioned their house brand from a number of different makers. #I've seen many more that look to be by Chicago builders (Lyon & Healy or pre-depresion Regal) than Martin. #Martin only built guitars for Wurlitzer from 1922-1924; I'm not certain when the Martin-made mandolins were commissioned, but I wouldn't be surprised if they coincided.




  8. #8
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    15,859

    Default

    I just searched my computer files and folders, and I can't find the pictures, but I had a guitar come through my shop a year or so ago that had a Wurlitzer stamp and a Martin stamp. (I hope I kept the pics and they are on some sort of storage medium around here somewhere.)
    I had already known of the Wurlitzer/Martin connection, but I'd never seen one with both stamps.
    I'm curious to find out if this mandolin is a Martin or something else.




  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    DeKalb, IL
    Posts
    3,633

    Default

    Well, I don't know that much about Wurlitzer mandos, but my shop is and has been for about 30 years in the old Wurlitzer piano factory in DeKalb, IL. I've wandered through virtually every square foot of it and have never seen one mando part, other than in my shop.

    I did find many years ago, though, a huge Honduran mahogany beam stuck off above a door. About 4" thick. I got quite a few guitar necks out of that.




  10. #10
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Fort Collins, CO.
    Posts
    10

    Default

    Hello, I have a 1920's Wurlitzer Banjo-Mandolin and really love it! Birdseye Maple with MOP fluer inlay in the headstock. I was told by the folks at Spruce Tree Music , where I picked it up, that it looked like a Lyon and Healy manufacture, but I've also seen Stewart Mando's with the same neck from that era.I think what really impresses me is the longevity of many instruments manufactured during the years of the roaring 20's.

    Good luck on the quest! Best, DZ

  11. #11
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Western NY
    Posts
    120

    Default

    I have a late 60's small bodied Wurlitzer acoustic. It has a bolt on neck. It is an entry level instrument.

    Take a look at the top of this page for a write up and photos of a Wurlitzer bowlback.

    http://www.frettd-treasures.com/musmando.html




  12. #12
    Guest

    Default

    According to Mr. Gruhn all of the Wurlitzer's built by Martin had both stamps. I think they just built guitars for them. The majority of the Wurlitzer mandolins I've seen looked like Regal and L&H models as well.

  13. #13
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    13

    Default

    Here is a photo of the mandolin in question. Please let me know if you would like other shots or more detail. My friend who actually owns the instrument will be very excited and grateful for the information.

  14. #14
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    13

    Default

    Hey, how do I post an image?

  15. #15
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    15,859

    Default

    Click this link for instructions. Getting the image to the correct size is the main challenge for a lot of people, and it's hard to explain because there are so many ways to do it in so many different computers.

  16. #16
    Registered User sunburst's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Kentucky
    Posts
    15,859

    Default

    If resizing is a problem, here is Germain's tutorial.

  17. #17
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    13

    Default

    Thanks. Here it is.


  18. #18

    Default

    Definitely a Chicago make. #My money is on a pre-depression Regal for this one. #The proflie is also very similar to some instruments of the Leland brand that in some cases can be definitely credited to Lyon & Healy, although some of them look more Regal-esque. This binding job strikes me as more like Regal.




  19. #19

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by (DiegoMoon @ May 20 2006, 07:48)
    According to Mr. Gruhn all of the Wurlitzer's built by Martin had both stamps. I think they just built guitars for them. The majority of the Wurlitzer mandolins I've seen looked like Regal and L&H models as well.
    I'm pretty certain I've seen some flat mandolins built by Martin for the Wurlitzer house brand: a koa style A comes to mind. I'll try to remember to dig in my old files soon.

  20. The following members say thank you to Eugene for this post:


  21. #20
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Westchester, NY
    Posts
    30,736

    Default

    The Wurlitzer catalogs I have (numbers 111 and 132) do carry Martin mandolins but they are clearly marked Martin. Longworth makes no mention of a Martin made Wurlitzer-branded mandolin tho he does mention guitars and ukuleles.

    The Leland mandolin that Swolock's resembles dates from about 1912-13.

    Jim
    Jim

    My Stream on Soundcloud
    Facebook
    19th Century Tunes
    Playing lately:
    1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1

  22. #21
    Guest

    Default

    I would take that mandolin to be a Regal built in Chicago. You can't just go by the binding, all of the Chicago builders (Harmony, Regal, L&H, et al) were eating from the same trough and buying from the same suppliers.

  23. #22

    Default

    Indeed.

  24. #23
    Registered User trevor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    brighton UK
    Posts
    1,800

    Default

    I just took in a Wurltizer mandolin. I will post some photos, but it might be a day or two.
    It a beautiful instrument with Walnut back and sides, very different from the Martin style shown above.
    Trevor
    Formerly of The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) Brighton England now retired.

  25. #24
    Registered User Ignatius's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Just outside Chicago
    Posts
    122

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by (trevor @ May 25 2006, 12:23)
    I just took in a Wurltizer mandolin. I will post some photos, but it might be a day or two.
    It a beautiful instrument with Walnut back and sides, very different from the Martin style shown above.
    "I just took in. . . ."

    As an owner of two cats, one a stray and one from a shelter, "taking in" has a special meaning for me here in the Midwest U.S.: we take in those things we wish to cherish and care for. What a great way to think about an elderly mandolin!

  26. #25
    Registered User trevor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    brighton UK
    Posts
    1,800

    Default

    Tom,
    You got it, I take them in, look after them for a while then find them a good home, often I miss them when they are gone.

    Can anyone help?



    Trevor
    Formerly of The Acoustic Music Co (TAMCO) Brighton England now retired.

Similar Threads

  1. Wurlitzer
    By BoydWood in forum Looking for Information About Mandolins
    Replies: 21
    Last: Jul-08-2005, 7:28am
  2. Wurlitzer A model
    By lindensensei in forum Looking for Information About Mandolins
    Replies: 13
    Last: Dec-30-2004, 7:45am
  3. Wurlitzer flatback
    By JenWantstaJam in forum Orchestral, Classical, Italian, Medieval, Renaissance
    Replies: 6
    Last: Nov-23-2004, 2:42pm

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •