Aging mandolins

[re simmers]

I sold a 1991 Flatiron F-5 about 2 yrs ago. I had bought it new in '91. It had 20 yrs of a LOT of playing in all kinds of weather. It had no finish checks, no structural damage, no truss rod adjustment, and no repairs. I had it refretted in 2004. That was it.

I've been noticing ads for quality mandolins that mention finish checking, truss rod adjustments, even neck resets on 10-15 yr old mandolins.

Was my Flatiron a fluke? Or have these other mandolins experienced some unusual flaws? What's the norm?

This is not an insult to these quality mandos. It's just different from my one experience with keeping a mandolin for 20 yrs.

Bob

[OldSausage]

Most people say that they take very good care of their stuff. But somehow it is not true. I'm the same. Whoops!

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

I think each person treats their instruments differently. And depending on the purposes that they are used for, I can see a huge variance in the range of wear and tear theses instruments are subject to. Some play them gingerly inside the houses only, some take them to jams or festivals and leave them lying around, and some gig with them professionally and travel with them everywhere they go. I applaud you for taking such good care of your wonderful instrument. I recently bought a '91 Flatiron A5 Artists that belonged to a professional musician. He giged with it a lot, and played it pretty hard. He even had people signed the back of the mandolin, which tells me that he viewed the instrument purely as a utilitarian tool rather than an object of affection that I tend to view my instruments. Different stroke for different folks I guess.

Incidentally, the former owner met Sam Bush one time and asked him to sign the mandolin where there was none previously. Sam played it, and remarked how nice it sounds. He then declined to sign it, and said if the owner would bring him a beater instead, he would gladly sign it for him.

[Willie Poole]

As you know I am no expeet on these things but I believe most of the checkering is caused by too much finish on the mandolin and then being moved from different climates like cold to hot and vice versa....I have an `81 that has a thin finish coat on it and it hasn`t checkered as yet either....

Willie

[mandobassman]

Same here, Bob. I had a Kentucky KM-850 for 18 years and in that time I had one re-fret and that was it. It was sold in nearly perfect condition. I can't imagine finish checking on such a relatively new instrument.

[Ivan Kelsall]

There's a huge difference between honest wear & tear on an instrument & serious neglect. I've been to Bluegrass festivals & seen folk playing high cost instruments in full,hot sunlight. I've also seen pickers playing their instruments in light rain.The Good lord only knows what short or even long term effect that would have on an instrument. I saw a mandolin left lying in the sun at one festival,
& knowing the owner,i picked it up & gave it to him as the back seam was becoming un-glued. I think that the combination of hot sun & moist grass was steaming the back joint open,
Ivan

[jackmalonis]

95% of people report that they believe they're better than average drivers.
And something like 99.5% of people think they're better than average friends!

[UsuallyPickin]

Use , or abuse.... or unused.... all effect the condition and sound of a mandolin over time. Rapid changes from hot to cold or the opposite have a deleterious effect due to the different expansion rates between wood and varnish. And of course too much heat will cause a glue joint to let go. I bought a used 1988 Gibson that has finish crackling and damage where a players sweaty arm hung over the top. Looks well used, sounds better every year. I bought a used 1990 Gibson the had largely been left in the case for .... awhile. It had to be played to wake up. It has over time developed a great pop and ring. Leaving one in the sun or playing one in the rain I can't imagine doing, although "happening" is always possible. I guess life happens to musical instruments too. Whether tools or friends...... Enjoy the process.. R/

[Willie Poole]

I read Bob`s post as only being concerned about "checkering" and not about abuse or playing hard....Some builders apply more clear finish than others and a thick finish is what causes checkering or so I have heard and also seen on some older mandolins...

I don`t believe checkering affects the sound of a mandolin and it also gives it that antique look....

Willie

[sgarrity]

Your Flatiron was absolutely a fluke. Adjusting a truss rod has nothing to do with the quality of the instrument. due to changes in humidity through the seasons I seem to adjust mine at least every year or so. Finish checking depends on the finish used. Many varnishes tend to craze or have very fine spider web-like cracks develop. Lacquer tends to actually crack or check. Look at a Loar F5 or a '20s Fern and you'll see what I mean

[allenhopkins]

Every mandolin -- hell, every instrument -- is unique. Add to that the unique history each one has. My arsenal of instruments range from pristine to dragged-behind-a-truck, based on what happened to them before I got them, and what I've done to them in the course of decades of gigging and jamming.

IMHO instruments are tools to make music (and, in some cases, make a bit of money). I suppose a carpenter could have a hammer or a keyhole saw that he/she had used often for twenty years, that still looked the way it came from the store. Probably more the exception than the rule (or ruler).

Played my new Eastman 615 mandola at a picnic a month after I got it, standing in the sun, and the thin Eastman finish softened and my planted pinky (I know, it's a bad habit -- sue me!) wore through. Got it touched up and a li'l clear mylar pickguard glued over the spot. Abuse? I dunno.

Some finishes are more sensitive to temperature change; some necks pull forward under normal string tension while others don't; some tops split when dried down to 25% relative humidity, others hang together. Some manufacturers glue celluloid pickguards to guitar tops, and when the celluloid shrinks from aging, "E string cracks" result where the pickguard pulls the spruce apart (you listening, Mr. Martin?). It's what happens. If you can discern an overall pattern, you're doing better than I am.

[re simmers]

I now play a Buckeye, the best hoss of a mando, which I've had for 2 1/5 yrs. So far it needs nothing. I'll see if it requires anything in the future.

I played my Flatiron a lot, plenty outside, many times with my sweat running on it. I kept it wiped off, but I'm not a fanatic. It was never rained on, never laid out in the sun, not even in the case. It was never played close to a campfire. But it was not pampered.

Yes Shaun, I guess the Flatiron was a fluke. The truss rod cover was never off. A tool to adjust the rod came with the mandolin, but it was never out of the pouch it came in.

I guess the buyer got a good mandolin for $3,500.

Bob

[Pasha Alden]

I simply cannot imagine who leaves their mandolin or any instrument for that matter dosing in the sun - sorry but that's just me.

There's a huge difference between honest wear & tear on an instrument & serious neglect. I've been to Bluegrass festivals & seen folk playing high cost instruments in full,hot sunlight. I've also seen pickers playing their instruments in light rain.The Good lord only knows what short or even long term effect that would have on an instrument. I saw a mandolin left lying in the sun at one festival,
& knowing the owner,i picked it up & gave it to him as the back seam was becoming un-glued. I think that the combination of hot sun & moist grass was steaming the back joint open,
Ivan

[Chip Booth]

I had a high quality mandolin that I babied for a year and it checkered like the bottom of a lake in the Sahara.

[allenhopkins]

...a Buckeye, the best hoss of a mando, which I've had for 2 1/5 yrs. So far it needs nothing. I'll see if it requires anything in the future...

You'll doubtless take the very best of care of it, but honestly, that's not a guarantee. Every mandolin is different, circumstances can surprise us, and who knows? Your Buckeye may in the future need its truss rod tweaked, or develop a bit of finish checking -- not from any fault of yours.

Hope it stays in top shape for all the years you own it...

[John Soper]

What I hate is the aging that takes place for the mandolin player!

[Willie Poole]

A mandolin player aging is better than the alernative....