Mandobass VS Upright bass/ bass guitar

[Jim Garber]

I concluded that these must have been the product of Orville's eccentric imagination.

I don't think that Orville ever made a mandobass. These came much later -- not sure when the earliest ones were but i would say teens. I don't know if I ever have seen one in the first decade.

Of course, I could look it up in the archives...

[Fran]

I think there is more future and fun in playing mandocello than a bass mandolin, if you want to accompany bluegrass or folk musicians! Or else, get a washtub bass or tea chest bass: that has volume and character! And it's cheap to make...

[multidon]

So Jim, does that mean there's such a thing as a Lloyd Loar signed mandobass?

[s11141827]

The Mandobass is basically just an Enormous Acoustic Bass shaped like a Mandolin.

[MikeEdgerton]

They really aren't that big. Smaller than most uprights. As for years of production, the Mandolin Archive lists their earliest as 1912 and their latest at 1931. I believe they were making Kalamazoo labeled models later than that but that's a fleeting memory on my part. The Kalamazoo models had F holes if I recall.

What is listed in the Archive doesn't necessarily mean they didn't make them earlier or later it's just what DanB has compiled.

As far as Lloyd Loar signing any mandobass labels I can say I seriously doubt it. I've never seen a signature label in any oval hole mandolin family instrument and this has a fairly standard looking label just like the A models had.

http://www.mandolinarchive.com/perl/...s.pl?mandobass

[L50EF15]

RetroFret has one in stock:

https://www.retrofret.com/product.as...ando-Bass-1920

Maybe I will try it soon.

[Jim Garber]

One thing I don’t think was mentioned in this 12 year old thread was that the scale on these is over 42” vs. a standard long-scale electric bass is 34”. So many electric bass players might find it more difficult when switching over to mandobass.

[mildini mandolini]

I own a Gibson mandobass and I do love playing it. I have Thomastiks flat wounds on it and it is very nicely playable and has a great sound. You can push the sound with a pick if you want but for the music jams I attend it is enough. It would not stand on its own in a bluegrass band but with mandolins and guitars it is great. Of course it’s expensive compared to a standup bass but someone has to love them.