Bacon mandolin

[vegas]

And now its gone?

I'm wondering why this one ended up in a pawn shop? I know it's possible, but for an instrument of this quality, not the usual course of things.

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I saw it today also and was thinking about dropping by the pawn shop to check it out. Interesting that it's gone so quickly.. probably snatched up by one of the bidders from the last go around?

[Jim Garber]

I'm wondering why this one ended up in a pawn shop? I know it's possible, but for an instrument of this quality, not the usual course of things.

Don't you watch Pawn Stars? They have had a few quality instruments there. I bought a Vinaccia mandolin from Good Will and my best Gibson guitar at a flea market.

[vegas]

Don't you watch Pawn Stars? They have had a few quality instruments there. I bought a Vinaccia mandolin from Good Will and my best Gibson guitar at a flea market.

I LIVE in the town with the Pawn Stars shop. I went there on a regular basis prior to the show which changed everything. It was once a good shop. Now it's just another tourist attraction. Every single show is scripted and contrived. Tourists line up to visit the place now and there is a velvet rope with security to supervise. Drunks stumble back and forth on Las Vegas Blvd to visit and they now make something like $15K a month just selling T-shirts.

Occasionally, good deals can be had at pawn shops or flea markets which is why I sometimes visit them but better instruments usually end up in the hands of knowledgeable dealers of musical instruments. The uncharacteristic finish on this Bacon and all the drama with the prior auction winner "not completing the transaction" make me question what is going on here. I suspect this instrument has serious issues.

[Jim Garber]

I used to live in Brooklyn in the bad old days when it wasn't as cool as it is now. Some of my friends had their nice instruments ripped off and there were always a few pawn shops they ended up in.

BTW I did hear from the guy who won that Bacon and you are correct that it had some real issues incuding structural ones that made him question whether it was worth it and he realized that he paid way too much for it to be a wallhanger.

[bmac]

Good deals can be had a pawn shops but the dealer has the same access to information that you do... So normally he offers stuff at pretty close to (used) retail value. of course it is always possible for a dealer not to do his research and sell something below value. I guess that is what we all are looking for. I enjoy working on old wrecks so instruments in damaged condition get me interested because those looking for perfect have already lost interest.

[vegas]

I used to live in Brooklyn in the bad old days when it wasn't as cool as it is now. Some of my friends had their nice instruments ripped off and there were always a few pawn shops they ended up in.

BTW I did hear from the guy who won that Bacon and you are correct that it had some real issues incuding structural ones that made him question whether it was worth it and he realized that he paid way too much for it to be a wallhanger.

I'm always a little suspicious of those stories about how wonderful Brooklyn is these days. It's not like drugs suddenly became uncool. I never lived there myself but had friends over the years who grew up there and watched the changes. It really was at the center of the "melting pot" for so many newly arriving immigrants going all the way back to the beginning but when crack hit, people tell me it turned into a war zone. That's pretty much the story in many inner cities.

Thank you for letting me know the story on the Bacon. My experience is the scores in pawn shops are few and far between these days with respect to high end most things. I have the Eastman copy of this model and it is a wonderful instrument to play.

[vegas]

Good deals can be had a pawn shops but the dealer has the same access to information that you do... So normally he offers stuff at pretty close to (used) retail value. of course it is always possible for a dealer not to do his research and sell something below value. I guess that is what we all are looking for. I enjoy working on old wrecks so instruments in damaged condition get me interested because those looking for perfect have already lost interest.

A good rule of thumb used to be whatever they had, they paid 10 cents on the dollar for so you had some idea of what they had into it and of course the longer it sits on a shelf, the more motivated they become to move it. One of the shops here even has price tags which indicate what the price will be in the future if it doesn't move by a certain deadline. Maybe that's the industry standard these days.

[CanadianBacon]

I'm having our 1921 Bacon Artist repaired but I'm missing the tail piece. It was my Grandfather's instrument and somewhere along the way, the original was replaced with a non original. Do you know if there is any chance of finding one? We're spending a fair amount of money fixing it but this instrument has a huge sentimental value to the family and it would be awesome to get it back as close to original as possible.

[Jim Garber]

Nice alias, CanadianBacon! Good luck on finding that. Lyon & Healy tailpiece covers are quite hard to find but Bacon mandolins are even rarer. Most of the tp covers are on the original instruments and unless you can find one in poor condition with the tp cover. You never know tho -- one may turn up. There is always a chance.

I have an amateur model but it does not have the ornate tp cover. I have a catalog page on this thread showing a professional model and that one does not have the cover either. So you can see how truly rare this might be. Perhaps you could have a metal artisan recreate one for you?

[CanadianBacon]

The place doing the repairs said the same thing, may have to have one made. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes peeled as well, never know! Thanks for the help

[Jim Garber]

Sorry, I meant to link to this thread for the catalog picture as well as one of the tailpiece on my Bacon. BTW if you need a larger pic to copy the tailpiece I can post or send it.

[Marty Jacobson]

The place doing the repairs said the same thing, may have to have one made. Oh well, I'll keep my eyes peeled as well, never know! Thanks for the help

Having one made to exactly duplicate the original will be prohibitively expensive. One could be machined with the details in the right place by a good CNC-equipped metal shop, though.

[bluesmandolinman]

I'm having our 1921 Bacon Artist repaired but I'm missing the tail piece. It was my Grandfather's instrument and somewhere along the way, the original was replaced with a non original. Do you know if there is any chance of finding one? We're spending a fair amount of money fixing it but this instrument has a huge sentimental value to the family and it would be awesome to get it back as close to original as possible.

I do have a Bacon Artist tailpiece cover which I would consider selling for the right price. These are extremely rare so don´t expect it to be cheap.
If you are interested send me a PM ...

[Jim Garber]

I do have a Bacon Artist tailpiece cover which I would consider selling for the right price.

Yikes, Rene! Did you have a Bacon that imploded or just came across the tp cover?

[bluesmandolinman]

Yikes, Rene! Did you have a Bacon that imploded or just came across the tp cover?

Hey Jim, no imploded Artist... that would be horror !

No the tailpiece cover came on a Mandolin Banjo. Was kind of overdressed on that MB so I put it aside and put a clamshell tp on it. Looks better to me.

Will take photos of the Artist TP at the weekend and place it here. It´s a beauty in EXC+++ condition.

Cheers, René

[Jim Garber]

That is the way I got my L&H tp for my first one. Ebay seller had a Martin 2-15 with an L&H tp cover. I bought that mandolin, replaced the tp cover with the proper scallop one and sold the mandolin for a little more than what I paid. I was lucky there.

[bluesmandolinman]

here it is, the tp is in unusual good condition as is the mandolinbanjo with ohsc, looks unplayed ,

looks almost like new nice shiny plating ( if you see anything else it´s a reflection when taking the photo )

this is in the same league as the L&H tailpieces but much rarer !

[CanadianBacon]

That's the one.

[CanadianBacon]

I just heard choirs singing and a collective gasp...

[Marty Jacobson]

No, that was your wallet crying... :-)

[Gibson John]

Does anyone know what years Bacon produced their three mandolin models?
Also certain Bacon mandolins have a label with a serial number & the signature of William Place, Jr. on it, did he sign all models or just certain ones or certain years? Did all Bacon mandolins have a labels?
If you have a Bacon mandolin or know someone who might be interested in selling one please post it.

Thanks,
John

[Jim Garber]

Most I have seen have been labelled 1921. I am not 100% sure but I know the Pro and the Artist models had labels signed by Place. I am not so sure about the Amateur. The one I have does not have any label but I am not sure if it never did.

[Gibson John]

Jim,

Thanks, a while ago I was looking at a Bacon Professional model that I didn't purchase but it didn't have a label or serial number. Maybe it was produced after 1921??
I'm looking to purchase either a Professional or Artist model & trying to locate as much information on Bacon as possible.
If anyone has any type of info on the Bacon please post it.

John

[pheffernan]

A Professional model just turned up at Elderly: http://elderly.com/vintage/items/90U-6486.htm