Gypsy mandola on ebay

[Eric Selinger]

Hi, everyone! This listing is back on Ebay this evening, for one of two twin Gypsy mandolas. I bought the first one; it's en route, and should be here this week. I'll report on the instrument when it arrives, but wanted to point this out if anyone wants its mirror image (spruce / maple with walnut around the soundhole, rather than spruce / walnut with maple, which was my pick of the litter).

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/BUY-ONE-UNIQUE-SMALL-BODY-MANDOLA_W0QQitemZ150155279765QQihZ005QQcategoryZ10 179QQssPageNam
eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">Gypsy Mandola</a>

[Eric Selinger]

It's here! Showed up today, beautifully packed in its hard shell case, and that in an oversized box. Good work by the seller, and good timing, since the local floods seem over for a while. (Even the best-packed instrument would have floated off, Winnie the Pooh style, a few days ago.)

So...first impressions:

I've only played two mandolas before: an Eastman in a store with strings too dull to judge; and a Weber Gallatin that I loved, and which made me hanker for this voice from the middle, but which was also way out of my price range. I'm amazed at how rich this Gypsy sounds, especially with the (for a 'dola) short scale, and how easy it is for me to play. The bass and midrange have a lively, bright attack; the treble is sweeter; overall, with a set of new strings, there's just a touch of jangle, too, so that it's more like an octave or zouk than I would have expected. The instrument has some real heft to it: feels solid, heavier than I expected; notes hold and ring for ages.

I bought the spruce-over-walnut of the pair, with maple soundhole and headstock overlay. The tuners are golden, as is the tailpiece, giving the whole instrument an unusual (for me, at least) blond on blond layering to the eye. (My wife's first reaction, when she saw it, was "That's a really pretty one.") A wider, thicker neck than my Mid-Mo M-4; I don't know how it would compare to a Big Muddy 'dola, but it feels great to the hand. It makes me want to try one of the Gypsy mandolins, too.

I'll need to put on a strap button--there's none at the tail--but other than that, I don't anticipate any setup or other issues to address at the moment. At $525 with shipping, I feel like a got a real bargain here. Best of all, my jones for something with a lower voice, but not too big, seems to be satisfied. I can't wait to spend some hours playing it, him, or her (my daughter hasn't decided yet) and getting to know the new set of chords, timbres, and tones--

A big thumbs up, and a great way to end the summer!