Blue Bell Mandos

[Scotti Adams]

..While in the Bill Monroe Museum last week there were 2 of these mandos in display cases along with a "Pickett" mando as well. All F5 styles..no doubt mandos that were givin to Bill "Down through the years"....there was also a fairly older Gibson F5L just wasting away there too. For those of you who have never visited this museum you owe it to yourself to do so...its located in the little hamlet of Beanblossom Indiana...in the southern part...Brown County.

[Scotti Adams]

..you mean I have finally stumped you guys?

[jim simpson]

Humbly, yes!

[Scotti Adams]

..I think I seen a pic of a very young Grisman playing one way back when....or was that a Blue Comet....Alan..where ya at?

[John Ritchhart]

Were they made in Brenham, Texas?

[fatt-dad]

At least I know where Brown County, Indiana is. . . . .

[mandoryan]

There was something on Co-mando a while back and somebody has one that went to the Aurther Stern pickin' party and mando tasting. There was a semi-revealing pic of it on there. Maybe somebody could post a note on comando and ask for some info?.....

[SternART]

Nahhhhhh, none have ever appeared at any of my Comando pickin parties. But I did own one for several years coming up. Back in my youth a Blue Bell was my first F5. I used to be archivist for the DGQ, made live tapes of gigs when they were starting out, and Todd Phillips built & repaired mandos in the back of my art studio. Anyway the DGQ goes to Japan for their first tour there, and lo & behold in the dressing room was a Blue Bell as a gift to them. It wasn't that great but Todd took the back off, regraduated the top & tone bars & basically hot rodded it into a quite decent but still not great F5. I ended up with it. Played it a coupla years and sold it to a fella Billy Iberti, a friend of Todd's. There was a second one from the DGQ that I believe went to Fret's magazine's photographer Jon Sievert. Hmmmmmmm come to think of it, John WAS at a Comando party, maybe there was one there and I missed it. Those are the only two I've seen. Pretty decent but not fabulous Japanese mandolin.

[cameron]

One of the first F-5 style mandolins I ever played was a Blue Bell;it belongs to a friend of mine in New Mexico. I get to play it when I go for a visit. I think there are ads for Blue Bells in the old FRETS or Mandolin World(?) mags(?)

[OdnamNool]

..I think I seen a pic of a very young Grisman playing one way back when....or was that a Blue Comet....Alan..where ya at?

Well...as usual... #I don't know what the heck you all are talkin' about... #The "Blue Comet" I know... #is a train!

[OdnamNool]

Woooooo Wooooooo!!! #Clickity clack...clickity clack...wooo wooooooooooooooooooo!!!! #Hrrrrrnnnnnkkkkk! #(clickity-clack-clickity-clack...) #Hrrrrrnnnnnkkkkk! #(oops...gettin' carried away, here...) #

[mrmando]

Hey look, a Blue Bell on eBay from Japan ... was up for a few months but finally gone:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Bell-F1...EAAOSwe7BWzbLi

[mrmando]

And hold on to your hats, kids, but here's a Blue Bell electric (someone just sent me the photos):

[Jim Garber]

This is a thread started 19 years ago but relevant to this mandolin. There is an F-12 being sold on ebay with some fuzzy small photos and an entertaining Japanglish description: https://www.ebay.com/itm/266263462776

F-12 located in an expensive and high-ranking model with a list price of $ 120,000 at that time (Starting salary of college graduate around 1978 ¥ 94,600, milk ¥ 55, kake soba ¥ 250, ramen ¥ 280) It is one of the dignified players conditions that shows traces that have been used for many years. It has a mellow sound with a sense of elasticity It's not a lively sound like an overseas mandolin I think that the atmosphere of Gibson F-5 at this time is well reproduced. (The F-5 at that time was 10 times the price of this mandolin ... I also feel the times.) There are many repairs and replacement parts such as binding reassemble, fret replacement, and tail piece replacement. It is a domestic vintage that can be used enough. It seems that the fingerboard end is also processed. I think that it is good as an overall condition without so many necks, floating, body deformation. Please contact us for details. Hard case attached (there is a part of the inside)

An old listing of another one on Reverb from 5 years ago: https://reverb.com/item/10857722-vin...w-case-f12-mij

[MikeEdgerton]

I think this belongs in the This weeks mandolin that won't get a bidder or a buyer thread. Holy cow. Great description.

F-12 located in an expensive and high-ranking model with a list price of $ 120,000 at that time (Starting salary of college graduate around 1978 ¥ 94,600, milk ¥ 55, kake soba ¥ 250, ramen ¥ 280) It is one of the dignified players conditions that shows traces that have been used for many years. It has a mellow sound with a sense of elasticity It's not a lively sound like an overseas mandolin I think that the atmosphere of Gibson F-5 at this time is well reproduced. (The F-5 at that time was 10 times the price of this mandolin ... I also feel the times.) There are many repairs and replacement parts such as binding reassemble, fret replacement, and tail piece replacement. It is a domestic vintage that can be used enough. It seems that the fingerboard end is also processed. I think that it is good as an overall condition without so many necks, floating, body deformation. Please contact us for details. Hard case attached (there is a part of the inside)

Only $1,184.87 USD with free shipping.

[Jim Garber]

I was going to post it there then I did a search for this brand which I never heard of. I would love to have a mandolin with "dignified players condition."