Flatbacks of note

**brunello97** · Feb-08-2008, 9:35am

Very interesting mandolin, Martin. #(I love the name Porfirio Martins.) #The headstock, tuners and fretboard recall Sicilian work, but the neck heel is more guitar-like. #The choice of woods seems New World. #Part of the evolutionary chain, I suppose. #I've got some pretty old Jacob recordings, though none as old as this piece for sure. # #I've often thought that the bandolim was reminiscent of the German style 'bulgeback' mandolins as you call them. # The Paracho mandolin I have seems to have characteristics of all three-but I have no idea where that tradition arrived from. Lots of double strung instruments across the spectrum of Mexican music.

Mick

**Martin Jonas** · Feb-11-2008, 9:33am

Yet another interesting German mandolinetto here. Fascinating detailling: I've never seen wavy binding like this and the headstock and neck shapes are fairly curious, with little or no taper. Lovely wooden case, too.

Martin

**Martin Jonas** · Feb-11-2008, 9:37am

Who said the Vietnamese had no mandolin tradition? #Here is an old flatback made by the great-great-grandfather of Antonio Tsai's plucky inlay artists in Hanoi back in 1922! #Looking at the headstock, their tastes in decoration were just as flaky then as now.

Martin

**billkilpatrick** · Feb-11-2008, 10:34am

... more "batty" (diner-dinner-dinner-dinner) than flaky - wonderful all the same.

**brunello97** · Feb-11-2008, 1:38pm

Now there's a version of the bis 'bottle opener' headstock I sink my fangs into....This was no doubt the Max Schreck signature model.

Martin, where do you find these things? The mandolinetto is very charming.

Mick

**Neil Gladd** · Feb-11-2008, 2:54pm

Originally Posted by (brunello97 @ Feb. 11 2008, 13:38)

This was no doubt the Max Schreck signature model.

It looks more like the Adam West signature model. Holy headstock, Batman!

**RSW** · Feb-12-2008, 6:40am

Better be carefull when you tuning the inner courses, you may end up playing your mandolin only at night.... gee, can we see what's below?

**billkilpatrick** · Feb-12-2008, 6:45am

just saw it on german ebay ... of note, to be sure. you'd want to be careful tuning it.

incidentally ... just in case my arrested sense of humor went way under your head(s) - down around the ankles somewhere:

question: how does alfred call batman to the dinner table?

answer: he opens the door to the bat cave and yells "dinner-dinner-dinner-dinner ..."

i've got more of these if you want.

**Jim Garber** · Feb-12-2008, 8:03am

Originally Posted by (martinjonas @ Feb. 11 2008, 09:33)

Yet another interesting German mandolinetto here. Fascinating detailling: I've never seen wavy binding like this and the headstock and neck shapes are fairly curious, with little or no taper. Lovely wooden case, too.

Martin

Martin:
Do you have larger pics of this? From the small ones on eBay it looks like std checker binding.

**Martin Jonas** · Feb-12-2008, 8:18am

No, I don't, but I don't think it's normal checker binding either. The soundhole rosette, at least, looks like there are black triangular spikes sticking out from the soundhole, with the space in between being the spruce of the soundboard, rather than MOP or other binding material. The binding around the edge of the soundhole looks to me like triangular black and white pieces, but that may be an optical illusion. Close-ups would clarify this, but at least on the Ebay photos it looks very unusual to me.

Martin

**JEStanek** · Feb-12-2008, 8:52pm

I really like the look of that headstock. It's almost worth the price as a wall hanger at the moment. Is the celluloid thing shaped like a L&H style A tailpiece supposed to be decorative, a string dampener, a broken tailpiece?

Jamie

**Jim Garber** · Feb-12-2008, 8:58pm

Originally Posted by (JEStanek @ Feb. 12 2008, 20:52)

Is the celluloid thing shaped like a L&H style A tailpiece supposed to be decorative, a string dampener, a broken tailpiece?

That is a standard accessory for these bowlbacks that didn;t come equipped with attached armrests. I guess it prevented your sleeve (or cufflinks) from getting caught in the strings or from rubbing your right forearm raw.

Oh man that Fledermaus mandolin will give me strange dreams. For some odd reason I can figure it out. Since Vietnam was a colony of France it looks like it has some french influences and maybe even was made in France and imported to Hanoi back then. Or the maker emigrated over there. I wish that the label were more intact. Other than the bat-stock it looks somewhat like some of the JTL flatbacks I have seen. Perhaps the vietnamese luthier copied one?

**brunello97** · Feb-24-2008, 7:03pm

I guess there are variants of the two-point design still to be explored. Here is one to check off the list.

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-MANDOLIN-UNUSUAL-Shape-Needs-HELP_W0QQitemZ300200654106QQihZ020QQcategoryZ10179 QQs
sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage....iewItem</a>

Mick

**Jim Garber** · Feb-24-2008, 10:20pm

Lowell Levinger has one.

**billkilpatrick** · Feb-25-2008, 3:47am

seems to be a design/function breakdown here ... they remind me of those brooms in "fantasia:"

**Jim Garber** · Feb-25-2008, 7:59am

Or someone who is experimenting with Photoshop!

**David Newton** · Feb-26-2008, 10:47pm

This one is perfect for whatever you guys are doing here. What is it your doing?

**Jim Garber** · Feb-27-2008, 2:28pm

Originally Posted by (brunello97 @ Feb. 24 2008, 19:03)

I guess there are variants of the two-point design still to be explored. Here is one to check off the list.

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-MANDOLIN-UNUSUAL-Shape-Needs-HELP_W0QQitemZ300200654106QQihZ020QQcategoryZ10179 QQs

sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage....iewItem</a>

I actually had a weak moment and bid at last minute for this one. Luckily (!) someone else was crazier than me.

Maybe I should have Dave Newton make me a high quality one. Sure is ugly and odd tho. Right up my alley...

**Bill Snyder** · Feb-29-2008, 7:23pm

For some reason that mandolin (not Dave's the one above that) makes me think of the penguins in Mary Poppins.

**billkilpatrick** · Feb-29-2008, 8:36pm

Originally Posted by (jgarber @ Feb. 27 2008, 14:28)

I actually had a weak moment and bid at last minute for this one. Luckily (!) someone else was crazier than me.

... wish i could say "i don't know what you're on about ..."

- been there!

**Jake Wildwood** · Mar-06-2008, 10:27am

Hi there everyone...

Was told I might like to post this mandolin here.

J. Gindlesperger of Kansas City built this for my Great Uncle around the turn of the century (we believe late 1890s).

This was my first instrument, believe it or not, and remains my favorite mandolin I've ever played -- I get others and find myself selling them because I don't play them! Just recently I reset the neck and cleaned up all the hardware and this is the result. Plays like butter and sounds like diamonds!

But all that aside -- anyone know anything more about Grindlesperger? Seen any others? I know he also made guitars.

Jake

**billkilpatrick** · Mar-06-2008, 10:27am

the flatback below is made by ozark in romania (i think) and is sometimes called a "portugese" mandolin. they're usually made from solid wood; very well priced and pop up often enough on european ebay sites.

why is it such a turkey?

ozark make other models as well and i'm sure for what they are, they're all very good instruments ... but this model, for me, has all the allure of a soviet-style tenement in cold-war, east berlin.

**JeffD** · Mar-06-2008, 11:27am

Originally Posted by (brunello97 @ Jan. 20 2008, 11:06)

Pau ferro (from my limited research) is not from the proper rosewood (Dalbergia) family and hence not directly related to the cocobolo(s). #I've seen a few references to its species name, Machaerium #schleroxylum, appearing the most often. # The name Caesalpinia echinata shows up for pau ferro often,

I just had this conversation (or one just like it) with a fly fishing buddy. The guy knows the latin name for all the 17,000 bugs I call mayflies.

**Jim MacDaniel** · Mar-06-2008, 11:43am

It isn't German, but I don't think Chris Baird built a large number of them, and my Arches flat-top has a flat-back as well so I think it adds value to this thread.

#

This is by far my favorite mandolin I have ever owned to date. It is a wonderful player, has great tone, is exceptionally well made, and is beautiful to look at as well IMHO...