1923 Loar at auction

[Rich Michaud]

Skinner snagged another Loar to be sold on October 15 in Boston. The description can be seen at the Skinner website. For those of you in the Boston area, you can play the instruments to be sold on the Friday afternoon and Saturday before the auction. Its a kick to check out the instruments and then watch them go on Ebay on Sunday. There is also a Strad violin that should bring a hefty price given that the last one sold for $3.5 million (a record for an auctioned Strad) at Christie's a few months ago. If anyone wants a desciption of the mandolins for sale after I have checked them out on Friday the 13th, please let me know. The true condition of the instruments is often not readily apparent from the descriptions listed in the catalog. (I have no financial interest in any of the items for sale). Rich

[siren_20]

Link, for those who might be interested.

[Tom C]

All I see is some cheap fiddle

[mrmando]

Heh, heh...

The catalog goes up on the site 2 weeks before the auction date, so not till Oct. 1.

Anyone know whether this Loar is previously documented?

[Rich Michaud]

OK, The Skinner list is up. The Loar is #72206, February 26, 1923, it is noted on the Archive as with a virzi, and was refinished by John Monteleone. There is not much else at the auction for mandos-an A4 (1914) and an early A. There is a mando bass. There are some Martin guitars though and of course that Strad.. Rich

[mrmando]

OK, I want the mandobass.

[Jim Broyles]

Only $50-70,000.00

[Darryl Wolfe]

I would like to see some better pictures. It has been noted that Monteleone refinished it, but I see something askew with the peghead. It may have been repaired and or rebound. The tunere button are either replaced or they are simply F4 tuners

[AlanN]

Looks like that latter, with a plate end encroaching above the scroll.

[Rich Michaud]

Am I right that the number 17494 on the mandobass for sale means its a 1914 instument? Rich

[molecan]

Hmm, I'm quite tempted to go over and check that Loar out. The auction is about a 15 minute walk from my house.

[danb]

Am I right that the number 17494 on the mandobass for sale means its a 1914 instument? Rich

Yes

[mrmando]

Items from the Skinner auction are now on eBay, including the Loar.

[DryBones]

OK, I want the mandobass.

Pickers Supply in Fredericksburg,VA has a Kalamazoo Mando Bass in their store window.

[mrmando]

Pickers Supply in Fredericksburg,VA has a Kalamazoo Mando Bass in their store window.

Long drive for me. Does it have F-holes or oval hole?

[DryBones]

Looks like F holes. Here is the link: Picker's Supply Mando Bass

[sunburst]

I would like to see some better pictures. It has been noted that Monteleone refinished it, but I see something askew with the peghead. It may have been repaired and or rebound. The tunere button are either replaced or they are simply F4 tuners

Well, look what showed up at the shop today.
Did some Loars have the tuners in the F-4 position with the convergence toward the nut?
The tuners are just like the ones on my F-4.

[sunburst]

Here they are.

[Ken Waltham]

Yes, the earlier Loars are canted outwards, and, those are F4 tuners. It had an F4 tailpiece, too.

[sunburst]

OK, thanks.
If I only had a memory, I'd have known that. I looked in my Loar pictures folder and found this one that I took of a'22.

[f5loar]

But those '22 tuners have the screwed on pearl buttons like later F5 tuners and the one you have do not so they are F4 tuners on a later F5.
I would suspect insomuch as this one has been totally redone they are not original to this F5 and replaced later as the only tuners somebody could find at the time. I'm surprised Montelone has not come forth with more information about what all he did to this one and why.

[sunburst]

It wasn't the tuners that were making me suspicious, but the drilling pattern of the holes in the headstock. The tuners are obvious replacements.
The owner is going to contact Monteleone and see what he can find out. He's also going to send the pictures I took today to Dan for the archives.