# General Mandolin Topics > Looking for Information About Mandolins >  Stradolin

## Lee Callicutt

So, the Stradolins have begun to pique my interest of late. Can anyone point me to a website with definitive information and/or pictures of a Stradolin collection?

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## MikeEdgerton

There isn't a definitive website as their really isn't a definitive Strad-O-Lin story. Strad-O-Lin was marketing company that farmed out the manufacturing. The question of who built them is grist for many discussions, most of them with nothing to point to that proves anything. There are several threads here that you can find by doing a search using the keyword Strad-O-Lin.

Take a look through these threads. They all mention Strad-O-Lin.

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## Lee Callicutt

Thanks, Mike.  Yeah, I've done that search, as well as scoured the internet a good bit on my own. I was just hoping someone had "that" elusive website by "that" obscure collector. There appears to be a nice one on e-bay right now.

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## Lee Callicutt

> There isn't a definitive website as their really isn't a definitive Strad-O-Lin story.


I should have added that this is probably part of the appeal!

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## MikeEdgerton

They're cheap and some of them are actually pretty nice mandolins. Is the one you're looking at the one that the seller bought from Elderly? That's similar to one I sold about three years ago.

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## atetone

I have 3 Stradolins and the main thing that I know about them is that they vary greatly in construction quality even if they do look identical in a picture.
You have to be very careful that you don't buy one sight unseen #and then find out that it is entirely laminate (plywood), except for the neck.
That did happen to me on one occasion. No biggy because I didn't pay very much, so little harm done, but it is easy to be fooled by these mandos.
I can't remember who it is but a member here on this board has a fantastic looking Stradolin that is all solid woods with a very nicely flamed back. It is the only one like that that I have ever seen pics of.
It is definately a huge step above most of them.
I would jump at a chance to get one of that high calibre but I don't imagine that there are many like that kicking around.

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## MandoBen

Here is a pic of the loudest and best sounding Strad-O-Lin I have ever heard... mine!

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## MandoBen

Check out the back

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's mine

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## MikeEdgerton

And the back

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## MikeEdgerton

I've never seen another Strad-O-Lin with a two-piece back and with this much flame. The sunburst is also pretty unique.

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## atetone

Oh boy,,, now I feel silly.
Mike your mando is the one I was just referring to!
That is the best looking Stradolin that I have ever seen.
I would really like to know where that one was built and who built it.
It is in an entirely different league than any other Stradolin that I have seen.
There has to be a good story behind that one.

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## atetone

Mandoben, nice old Stradolin! #I played one of those 2 points like yours a while ago.
Sounded pretty good, felt really good and comfy too.
I didn't buy it because I thought it was priced too high, but I was sorely tempted at the time.
Those are funky old mandos. Lots of vintage vibe going on.
I still want one but I am keeping my eye open for one that is more reasonably priced.
I am pretty sure that the one that I played had a solid spruce top and a laminated back covered by a flamed veneer.
You never know with these old Stradolins though,,, yours could be solid,,, they vary a lot.
Does yours appear to be a solid maple back?

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## croonerexpress

my very first mando was a stradolin that i got from david grisman. i told him i was about to buy one and he said to email him and ect ect.

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## MikeEdgerton

> Mike your mando is the one I was just referring to!


I'd like to know who built it as well, and I've never seen another one anywhere close to it and I've owned a few... maybe quite a few. I had one Orpheum branded Strad-O-Lin genre mandolin that was close but still way off.

The general ideas as to who built these instruments that have been previously listed here and anywhere else has no real backup, not a branded instrument or any business records. I found one branded Strad-O-Lin genre instrument that "might" be the Rosetta stone but I've never been able to find anything else to corroborate that theory. I do know that this company was building this style mandolin from the 20's up into the early 60's but I've been told they never built for any other companies. The person passing that information along was born in the late 40's or early 50's and might not know the whole story. It would also fall in line with some other published anecdotal information regarding Strad-O-Lin and where they were built. More on this if I can ever uncover any more information.

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## Lee Callicutt

> Is the one you're looking at the one that the seller bought from Elderly?


Yeah, that's the one I was referring to. I'm just starting to do my research, and not really inclined to actually buy anything too soon. 

Thanks for all the information. Mike, maybe you are the one to do the definitive Stradolin website? I knew there had to be a knowledgeable older gentleman out there, and it sounds like perhaps you found him.

Oh yeah, there are occasional scenes of one being played on the current Transatlantic series.

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## MikeEdgerton

I've only seen two or three with the pointed fretboard end that the one you're looking at has. It still has the original pickguard and tailpiece cover as well.

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## Steve L

For what it's worth to the Strad-O-Lin saga, we had one of their student sized acoustic guitars come through the shop and the label read "Made in Taiwan". This thing was at least 25 years old.

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## MandoBen

acetone, 
my strad is laminated back and sides, but it does have a solid spruce top which appears to be carved, not pressed/bent like many later strads. 
I play it all the time and when I take it to jams it really puts a lot of Gibson F5's in their place

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## atetone

MandoBen, I was curious about the back on yours. I didn't think those 2 points had solid backs but I would not have been shocked if you had said that yours did.
You never know, and if I were to stumble across one with a solid back it would be very difficult for me to pass it by.
I am going to keep my eye open for one like yours.

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## MandoBen

Anytime I want anything, I just post in the wanted section of the classifieds. I always get at least a dozen replies from people with great things to offer, and I feel very comfortable doing deals with other cafe members. I'm sure someone out there has an old Strad to sell you that they don't need anymore.

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## Bruce Clausen

Solid maple back, cut off the axis of the grain, probably due to a flaw in the piece.

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## Bruce Clausen

Nice maple in the neck, too.

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## steve in tampa

I 've got a A from the 30's with a one piece back, beautiful birds eye. Darker sunburst. Plays like a dream and has a kind of "haunting" tone to it w/ 74's . I think I gave 300 for it a couple of years ago.

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## atetone

Bruce, that sure is a nice one also. Nice woods.
It confirms that you never know with the Strads,,, anything from all laminate except the neck, to very nice solid woods.
To some degree they are a roll of the dice if buying sight unseen.
You need to do your research well when buying them.
Bruce, do you have a picture of the top of that one?

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## Bruce Clausen

atetone (how do you pronounce that?): I see you are in BC. If you're in or near Vancouver, PM me and I'd be glad to get together over some Stradolins. By the way, I guess you know that Rufus Guitars in Van. is a reliable source of Strads. Chuck always has five or six on the wall. Mine came from his stock a few years back.

BC

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## atetone

,Bruce, I live in the West Kootenays,,, a veritable mandolin wasteland except for at my house and a couple of other mando addicts spread around the area.
I usually get down to Vancouver once or twice a year and always make a trip to Rufus.
As a matter of fact, the 2 point Strad that I mentioned playing earlier was at Rufus.
I was tempted to buy it but didn't like the price. I have thought about that mando quite a few times since then but if I remember correctly he wanted $800 for it which I consider to be too much for that particular one. (laminated back and sides).
It was a cool old mando though.
Next time I am down there I'll take another look at his stock. Maybe something will catch my eye.

You asked "How do you pronounce "atetone"??
Well,,, it was like this,,, I had to come up with a moniker so under great duress in what seemed like a very good idea at the time, I figured that the "ate" part would signify the 8 strings of the mandolin and since my name is Tony that the "tone" part would signify the shortened version of my name and as a bonus signify the "tone" of the mandolin. Thus,,, atetone. Very profound.
Well, to make a long story short,,,, after some proper diagnosis and minimal treatment, I am feeling much better now . 
I haven't had a drink of alcohol in almost 3 years either so that might have something to do with my improved outlook on reality also. 
I am afraid that I am stuck with the name now though, but it is one of those life lessons well learned,,,
 Never, Ever, make up an online name after spending the previous 10 hours in the pub.

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## Lee Callicutt

I'm at least going to start collecting all the pictures of Stradolins that I can come across in the interest of research and posterity.

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## Maxwellt

My first mandolin was a Strad-O-Lin, but I didn't know it at the time. #When I bought it in 1972 it had "Armstrong" decals on the headstock. #It was a great mandolin and I played the tar out of it for years. #Then one day I had it over at a friend's fiddle shop, and he said "There's another name under that decal." #He could see a little paint peeking out. #So I went home and steamed the decal off, and sure enough it said "Strad-O-Lin" in the prettiest script you ever saw. #I then wrote the mandolin brothers and they told me the basic story about jobbers and no one knows who made what and such.

Well, recently there was a 1937 catalog for sale on ebay and it had both Armstrong and Strad-O-Lin mandolins listed. #The catalog showed several models of Armstrong and Strad-O-Lins, and the Armstrongs were 20 percent more expensive. ($5.00 or $6.00)

I guess I reduced the value of my mandolin by taking the label off, but I learned a lot more about Strad-O-Lins than I ever would have learned about Armstrongs. #The catalog is still out there under 

[I]here..

Now my original Strad-O-Lin was a wonderful mandolin, but several years ago I bought another off of ebay that blew it away, and I play it all the time now, even more that my Gibsons.

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## allenhopkins

There was an earlier Strad-O-Lin thread, which I'm too lazy to look up, that discussed possible manufacturers of their mandolins. Two firms mentioned, both in the New York City area I believe, are Hoverick Bros. and Homenick Bros. The very similar names probably mean that it was one or the other, and apparently no one's sure which. John Bernunzio once advertised a Strad-O-Lin that he said was built by Hoverick Bros., but with names so similar, it would be easy to mix them up.

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## Jim Garber

Here is my Weymann-labelled SOL with nicely flamed maple neck.

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## Jim Garber

This is a composite scan of 3 Strad-O-Lins listed in a circa 1935 Progressive Musical Instruments Company (P'Mico) catalog.

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## Jim Garber

This is a scan of part of a page from a circa 1940 Bugeleisen & Jacobsen (B&J) catalog. The descriptions are toward the bottom of the page.

I am pretty sure I have a few more pages of these S-O-Ls but I have to do some excavating. More soon... if you want.

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## jmcgann

Stradolin lovers should be aware it is the mandolin of choice of Russ Barenberg- that's good caché!

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## Jim Garber

I recall Russ playing an upper-end SOL many years ago at Neffa outside of Boston. I remember it being blonde and flamey and I have been looking for a similar one since.

BTW he is featured in the current Acoustic Guitar magazine. The only photo tho of his mandolin showed a snakehead Gibson.

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## Lee Callicutt

> Stradolin lovers should be aware it is the mandolin of choice of Russ Barenberg- that's good caché!


Yeah, I think that's who I spotted playing one on Transatlantic Sessions.

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## Lee Callicutt

Thanks for all the informative responses. The catalog pics are especially helpful. Thanks, Jim.

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## Lee Callicutt

Charles Johnson at Mandolin Headquarters has one with script lettering and DeArmond pickup that he seems to think has a solid top and is from the fifties if anyone is interested -- a bit pricy for me, though as I tend to be a bottom feeder!

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## Bruce Clausen

Yours is a beauty, Jim! I haven't seen many with real binding. Any idea when it was built? And thanks for the catalogue material. Mine looks much like the Artist model from 1935 (same head logo and purfled head, same fingerboard markers), but I don't think it could be a carved top. I wonder if "graduated top" meant a top tinkered with a little after pressing. My bridge is the short chunky adjustable bridge with big wheels, not like either type in these pictures; fingerrest is the larger style, screwed directly to the top; tailpiece is "kidney" type. No label, date, or model number, but I imagine it must be from this period.

BC

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## bsnider

Hey check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_78cdmMR0s
Russ Barenberg playing his Strad with Ricky Skaggs.

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## MikeEdgerton

> There was an earlier Strad-O-Lin thread, which I'm too lazy to look up, that discussed possible manufacturers of their mandolins. #Two firms mentioned, both in the New York City area I believe, are Hoverick Bros. and Homenick Bros. #The very similar names probably mean that it was one or the other, and apparently no one's sure which. #John Bernunzio once advertised a Strad-O-Lin that he said was built by Hoverick Bros., but with names so similar, it would be easy to mix them up.


I've been wondering when someone would bring up those names. The problem with the Bernunzio theory is that there isn't a single mandolin branded with their name that I'm aware of. Stan Jay or Stan Werblin (I can't recall which Stan) guessed that they might have been built by Oscar Schmidt as Schmidt had many plant in the New York Metropolitan area during the Strad-O-Lin years. According to the Mugwumps site someone recalled being in the Strad-O-Lin factory in NYC. Assuming they were made in the New York metropolitan area is probably valid as Strad-O-Lin was also located in the area. 

There is however another New York firm that has been around since the early 1900's (maybe late 1800's) that built a mandolin that is the same as a Strad-O-Lin and put their brand name on it. My friend Jim Garber has offered the opinion that these mandolins could have been built by more than one manufacturer and that is always a possibility. This one though is the only Strad-O-Lin genre mandolin I've ever seen that had a brand name of a builder that might have actually built it on it. The Weymann and Orpheum branded instruments were obviously farmed out. This one was built by Favilla. The Favilla Brothers have a long history in NYC. The grandson (or great grandson), Tom Favilla is still alive. I sent this picture to Tom and he said that it was a model that Favilla had been building since the 20's. To throw a wrench into the theory he also said they never built them for anyone else, but then again Tom entered the Family business in the late 50's and may be unaware of everything the family business did in the 30's and 40's. This mandolin has the same fittings under the pickguard that my labeled Stad-O-Lin has, along with the other features, including the tailpiece cover. In my opinion Favilla built these mandolins. This is the Rosetta stone so to speak.

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## MikeEdgerton

Here's a side by side with a branded Strad-O-Lin:

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## MikeEdgerton

> For what it's worth to the Strad-O-Lin saga, we had one of their student sized acoustic guitars come through the shop and the label read "Made in Taiwan". #This thing was at least 25 years old.


The Strad-O-Lin brand name was resurrected in the late 60's-70's time frame and put on some very cheap imported instruments. A while back there was a music shop selling one of these as a 30's Strad-O-Lin on that well known auction site. The buyer bought it thinking he had a 30's instrument.

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## bsnider

So who has a theory on why these instruments sound so good? Given what appear to be their rather modest design parameters, they're incredible overachievers.

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## Givson

Stradolins were built lightly, with minimal bracing. #Many have solid spruce tops. #They are now 50-75 years old. #All of these factors contribute to their excellent sound.

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## MikeEdgerton

The Strad-O-Lin genre mandolins were generally well built. Here is a thread with pictures of a Strad-O-Lin oval hole with the back off. The neck joint is pretty clean, unlike the neck joints on most of the Kay mandolin's I've seen. These mandolins were built well with decent wood (not always exquisite wood) and have managed to hold up over time. Not every Strad-O-Lin is great but on a whole they are quite decent.

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## Bruce Clausen

Mike-- Thanks for your knowledge and insights. Since we're in Research mode here, I'll just add a footnote to your comparison above of an old Strad and a later import. Jim's 1935 catalogue images show two f-hole models, one with the bridge across the bottom of the f-holes, the other (the "Artist" model) with the holes themselves lower on the body, and the bridge nearer the center of the holes. This is the model with the so-called graduated top.

BC

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## MikeEdgerton

That's actually pretty interesting. The f holes are much lower on that model. I've never seen one of those.

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## Lee Callicutt

Here's a pic of one I've come across searching the net, from the Jim Fisch collection.

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## Jim Garber

Another observation:
I think there are at least two distinct f-hole shapes. My relatively fancy Weymann and Mike's last pic posted (and prob a few others) have round holes for the top and bottom ends of the "f". Others have comma-shaped tops and bottoms. Not sure if that is a brand distinction or era related.

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## MikeEdgerton

> Here's a pic of one I've come across searching the net, from the Jim Fisch collection


I'm going to hazard a guess that the intonation on that puppy is off.

Jim is right, there are two types of f holes. I classify them as the round hole and the teardrop hole models. I have yet to figure out when that change was made or if it stayed constant. Mine has the round holes and the same logo as the models shown above with the teardrop shaped holes. The logo changed a few times as well.

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## Bruce Clausen

Here's the f-hole on my Strad (the Artist model from Jim's catalogue), with the comma ends. #I wouldn't be surprised if the crack in the photo was typical of this design. # # --BC

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## Chernott

Here's a pic of a mandolin I picked up on eBay a couple of days ago.  It's supposedly made by Wm. J. Smith Music Co, NY.  It looks like a SOL to me.  What do you think?  I probably wasted $175!

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## Chernott

Here's another try at sending the URL of a pic of the mandolin I got on eBay:
http://www.corgis.biz/Mandolin.htm

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## Bruce Clausen

Sure looks like a Strad to me.  For those interested in these lovable old beaters, our Stradolin social group is shaping up as the definitive place on the web for sharing info and photos.  See ya there.

BC

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## rmccready

Just found myself a nice Stradolin at a very reasonable price.  Thanks for all the posts here, which have helped me identify it as a Stradolin Artist Deluxe.  I cannot find a date stamp, so I'm guessing mid-1930s.

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## fernmando

Beautiful, rmccready!!!

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## rmccready

Thanks.  I'm really happy with this instrument.  The tone is rich and full, and I believe everything on the instrument is original.  It's in excellent condition with just some minor blemishes.  As far as I can tell the top, sides, back and neck are all solid wood - no laminates.

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## Bruce Clausen

Looks terrific!  Slightly different fittings (bridge, tailpiece, fingerrest) from mine and one or two others I've seen, but looks just like Jim's catalogue image in post 32.  I imagine this is from the earliest batch. Hope you'll put together a sound clip of some sort when you get a chance.

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## Patrick Hull

RMcready, is that purfling on the Stradolin?  That looks very nice. Congrats!

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## rmccready

Yes, there is purfling on the front and back of the body.  The stripe around the headstock is merely decorative.

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## ukeman

> my very first mando was a stradolin that i got from david grisman. i told him i was about to buy one and he said to email him and ect ect.


I wonder if it's the one I sold Grisman years ago on eBay, a 2 point "Florentine" model Stradolin.  It was my son's first mandolin.  After he got his Gibson A-4 I put it on eBay and "DAWG" bought it.

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## Groove

Here is a facebook page i found : 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strado...18108464972662

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## nobanjotom

I have a Strad that is all solid woods. It is A style with pretty good looking curly maple back and sides. It is a yellowish natural finish. Sounds pretty good for an A.

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## Mike Bunting

> Sounds pretty good for an A.


That's funny!

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## Capt. E

> This is a composite scan of 3 Strad-O-Lins listed in a circa 1935 Progressive Musical Instruments Company (P'Mico) catalog.


I just purchased a Strad-O-Lin "Artist Deluxe" as shown in the 1935 Ad posted here. Says it is all solid woods, graduated (read "carved") spruce top, maple sides and back and cost $30 new. Going to be fun comparing it to my 1937 Gibson A-00 which probably sold for around the same price.

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## rkbowen

I just received a Strad-O-Lin yesterday... the seller said that it has been in the family since 1946 when their father (supposedly a professional musician) had bought it after leaving the military. Other than the MOP fret markers and the round holes as opposed to commas, it is pretty much identical to the Favilla shown above in post #41.



It has a spruce top and maple back and sides - all solid, no ply. The seller said that it has been "mounted" and hanging on the wall for decades, as a family heirloom. It is in great shape for something from 1946, and appears to be all original.  The red blotch on the celluloid tailpiece is a piece of paper that someone had placed between the metal and celluloid - I assume to dampen vibration from strings. The color is a bit off, due to the compact fluorescent lamp above...

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## MikeEdgerton

> ...it is pretty much identical to the Favilla shown above in post #41...


When you compare the blocks under the pickguard on that Favilla and the tailpiece cover as well to yours and to my Strad-O-Lin (on the first page of this thread) they seem to be identical. To me that's one of the reasons I suspect Favilla built at least some of these if not all. They had the factory capacity to produce these mandolins.

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## ukeman

My son's (now 35) first mandolin was a "Florentine" 2 point Strad-o-lin.  When we found him a 1919 Gibson A-4 a few years later, I put that mandolin on eBay.  Dave Grisman bought it. (Yes, THE Dave Grisman).  I also once had an all-solid wood Strad-o-lin "A" style, spruce top, flame maple back and sides.
I just got an old archtop guitar today that's unmarked, but has Strad-o-lin style "F" holes.  Trying to find out if it's a Strad-o-lin too.

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## MikeEdgerton

Post a picture. Lot's of companies used the segmented f holes.

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