# General Mandolin Topics > Vintage Instruments >  Worst scroll of the last century?

## Hans

Yikes!

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## Jim Garber

Frightening...

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## Jim Garber

1945 Bloomington Indiana, by J.T. Baker...

Jim

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## Jim Garber

Radio Six mandola (from Harry West's site)

Jim

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## jim simpson

I'm starting to get ill looking at these...

1945 Bloomington Indiana, by J.T. Baker... - Was this made by someone doing time in prison?

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## fishdawg40

The one jgarber posted reminds me of the girl with no mouth in The Twilight Zone movie.

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## Jim Garber

Here is another one called "Der Baskit Kase."

Jim

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## mandopete

Yikes!

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## Nolan

Does this count?

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## mandopete

For some unknown reason this thread is starting to make me think of this...

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gtani7

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## mandolooter

hahahaha

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## jim simpson

This thread is turning into a Nightmare!

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## SGraham

I've seen that Radio Six mandola before, but that closeup of the body made me want to bend over and say something like "Hurrah" without the "H". Whoever made that was committing an act of covert hostility.

Steve

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## Jim Garber

How about the famous artist model from George Seilinshrick?

Jim

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## Jim Garber

This one belongs to a Cafe member. Label is Pook 1908 Winnipeg. Reminds me of Dr. Suess.

Jim

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## Jim Garber

Closeup of body, soundhole and scroll.

Jim

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## Jim Garber

Another scroll from a handmade "beauty."

Jim

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## billkilpatrick

wow!whew!ghastly!

good opportunity to ask the obvious question: what's a scroll for? before seeing the above, i would have thought it was for aesthetics ...

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## Darryl Wolfe

Han's original first post looks beautiful now

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MikeEdgerton, 

Timbofood

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## Hans

Jim, please stop! You are killing me. Have you ever thought of a book?

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## Jim Garber

> Jim, please stop! You are killing me. Have you ever thought of a book?


Hmmmm.... "The Worst Scroll of the Last Century" or, possibly "The Dead C Scrolls" 

Nah!

I prob have a few more to torture you folks...

Jim

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gtani7

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## Jim Garber

Ah yes... the Ray Matty mandolin courtesy of Banana (Lowell Levinger):


Jim

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## Jim Garber

How about a mandocello?

Jim

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## Jim Garber

One more by Garrozzo of Catania, Italy a 12 string something or other.

Jim

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## mandopete

Sick!

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## John Jesseph

Stop! Stop! AAaahhhhhh!!

"Label is Pook 1908 Winnipeg"- the scroll is the best part of that one....

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## Nolan

When does a scroll cease to be a scroll and just become a lump?


Some of the scrolls remind me of elf shoes.

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## Mikey G

These are ghastly! I'm going to have to go in for therapy, or medication, or both.

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## mythicfish

You guys are pathetic. Then again, most elitists don't have much of a sense of humor.
These instruments are like ugly puppies ... how can you not love 'em?

Curt

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## atetone

The scariest thing about these is that I have to assume that the people building them were serious!
I don't want to meet any of them.
Especially J.T. Baker!

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## mythicfish

Of course they were "serious" ... they were doing their best with what they had.
I hope I can say the same about my endeavors.

Curt

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## mandopete

> These instruments are like ugly puppies ... how can you not love 'em?


That's easy - they're ugly!

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## bluegrassplayer

After a search through Mandolin Oddities...

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## bluegrassplayer

and...

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## Soupy1957

I kinda LIKE the "JGarber" Mando Scroll!!
  -Soupy1957

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## bluegrassplayer

...

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## bluegrassplayer

another...

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## bluegrassplayer

...

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## bluegrassplayer

One more.

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## bluegrassplayer

Oh,
I found another one. This one is a Gibson copy.

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## Feanor

gee, I like the Matty... the Mickey Mouse is the worst....

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## jmcgann

gnnnonnng gnnnonnng gnnnonnng

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## jim simpson

I guess this thread would inspire the opposite of scroll envy.

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## Glassweb

Keep em' comin'... I'm loving this...

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## mandopete

I'm getting an upset stomach!

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## billkilpatrick

> I'm getting an upset stomach!


i think there's a gut-related disease beginning with "scrol ..." 

this thread could turn into an "f"-ist rant.

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## om21ed

i think this thread ought to cure any naysayer of ever knocking the use of CNC machine forever

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## Nolan

> i think this thread ought to cure any naysayer of ever knocking the use of CNC machine forever


Amen.

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## bluegrassplayer

Just in the classifieds today...

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## danb

The "Windaroo". Wow, just wow.

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## PhilGE

Not sure of this one's story. Just found it through Google.

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## Clyde Clevenger

Looks like the start of Bobby on the fret-board. Kinda dresses like Bobby Osborne.

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## Mark Walker

Compared to the others, that first one posted by jgarber - the second post on this thread - (with no real 'scroll' to it) looks downright sleek! #

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## Hans

Nice button too!

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## Jim Nollman

Think of it as a very diverse group of people dreaming about the one perfect mandolin.

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WaxwellHaus

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## Dan Cole

Tiny Moore's mando was strange. Here's a photo I nabbed off ebay.

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## Ben Milne

bumping a great thread...

(and a shout out to the search function....)

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## Schlegel

How about this one? off of Ebay.

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## billkilpatrick

...

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## Jim MacDaniel

> Ah yes... the Ray Matty mandolin courtesy of Banana (Lowell Levinger):
> 
> 
> Jim


That's so weird that it's cool.  :Cool:

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bruce.b

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## Bill Halsey

My vote for the all-time worst example of what a scroll is _supposed_ to be would have to go to this example from 225 Parsons St., c.1961 (my guess is that it was a Monday scroll following a very tough weekend)...

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## Ben Milne

> How about this one? off of Ebay.


it looks like a two point but the bass point got a tumour and coundn't stop malforming eventually folding back on itself...  (no offense  intended to the builder of course... it looks like a very skillfully crafted instrument. interesting curves.)

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## JeffD

It does kind of make one a little sick. 

I had to go off to the mandolin archive and look at pics to restore my balance.

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## Steve Ostrander

What about the Mickey Mouse-eared Gibson? Somebody must have a photo of that one...

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## billhay4

How about this one?

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## billkilpatrick

> How about this one?


that scroll is dead, see?

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## man dough nollij

The G,D, and A sounded okay, but I thought it had a dead C.

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## Ben Milne

winner

WORST.  no question. don't even finish the which century question just WORST.

_"could be converted...."_  bwa har har!  
not busy this weekend, i might plant some craftwood trees for future generations.

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## Link

> Here is another one called "Der Baskit Kase."
> 
> Jim


Am I the only one who likes this one?

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## KristinEliza

> winner
> 
> WORST.  no question. don't even finish the which century question just WORST.
> 
> _"could be converted...."_  bwa har har!  
> not busy this weekend, i might plant some craftwood trees for future generations.


And it's "ready to decorate"...how nice...

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## Mandoviol

> After a search through Mandolin Oddities...


I have to say, I kind of like this one; it's got what you would probably describe as a proper scroll (though it's in the wrong place!).

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## billkilpatrick

> winner
> 
> WORST.  no question. don't even finish the which century question just WORST.
> 
> _"could be converted...."_  bwa har har!  
> not busy this weekend, i might plant some craftwood trees for future generations.


b'gad - what a beast! ... looks like something from a hanna-barbera cartoon.

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## Jim Garber

For the posterity... I think we have to post a picture of this one. Three (count 'em ) scrolls!!




> winner
> 
> WORST.  no question. don't even finish the which century question just WORST.

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## Link

Actually, there are four!

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## KristinEliza

He who dies with the most scrolls wins!

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## Mandoviol

> He who dies with the most scrolls wins!


I thought that applied to woodworking tools?

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## Link

If the seller shipped to the US, I might've bid on this one, knowing that I would get mandolin-shaped object-shaped object (sic)... I can imagine the look on the face of the luthier I take it to.

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## j. condino

Here is another Radio Six scroll on a big boy that was posted over at the talkbass.com site:


j.

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## billkilpatrick

makes you wonder if luthiers get tired of getting it right:

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## jerrymartin

More fog! More fog! We can still see it...  :Disbelief: 

Jerry M.

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## Michael Gowell

Wow, a harp guitar with an extra set of ultra-treble strings as well as the usual extra bass courses.  And then he plays with some kind of echo/reverb stomp box.  Tasteful...not.  The ridiculous treble-side scroll is just icing on the cake.

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## Goodin

I am thinking of the movie Beetlejuice now.

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## Steve Ostrander

This is why I bought an A.

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## Andy Fielding

And of course many of you have seen those wildly over-inlaid Taiwanese mandos on eBay... Isn't it wacky that they'd take such trouble to decorate the things, and make such a wacky attempt at a scroll? To me, it just shouts, "Don't buy mesomething is seriously wrong!"

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## f5loar

Looks like an easy on/off strap scroll so maybe it's that way on purpose.  I've seen Gibson scrolls so tight you can't get thin sliver of rawhide into the scroll.

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## billkilpatrick

> And of course many of you have seen those wildly over-inlaid Taiwanese mandos on eBay... Isn't it wacky that they'd take such trouble to decorate the things, and make such a wacky attempt at a scroll? To me, it just shouts, "Don't buy mesomething is seriously wrong!"


... more of a "dingle" than a "scroll."

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## jim simpson

http://cgi.ebay.com/KENTUCK-STYLE-BL...item483b156857

This seems like a nominee. f5loar makes a good point about tight scrolls. I have a Glenn that I can't slip a strap through.

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## billkilpatrick

... the words "berry" and "dingle" spring to mind.

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## Jim Hilburn

Mike Compton did a mandolin tasting at the last Mandofest in Lawrence, where he plays the same lick on a group of mandolins to compare them. Someone entered one of those Vietnamese mando's with all the inlay in the board. It took Mike several attempts since he had no dots to use.

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## journeybear

Here's mine. Top this! Headstock is pretty nice, too.

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## Skip Kelley

> Here's mine. Top this! Headstock is pretty nice, too.


That doesn't have a label signed by Picasso does it?

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## Cheryl Watson

> Here's mine. Top this! Headstock is pretty nice, too.


Oh, dang, that almost makes me sick to look at it. LOL!!

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## Andy Fielding

And of course there are these:



...though I suppose it's a matter of taste...

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## mculliton123

The big Question is not What? but WHY???

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## JEStanek

I dig the Giacomel scroll (from Andy Fielding's post).  Very modern.  Very jazzy.

Jamie

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## Tim2723

> More fog! More fog! We can still see it...


That's not fog, it's weed.

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## journeybear

> That doesn't have a label signed by Picasso does it?


Oh, I wish. This is neither cubist nor fractional (whatever the term is for those multiple viewpoint pieces), it's folk "art" of a rather low sort. The metal piece between the tuners says "By Gibbs" - definitely not Gibbs' son!  :Laughing:

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## Tim2723

Are you serious? Is it really just a piece of art?  It can't actually be playable, can it?

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## Pete Hicks

Thanks, guys.  This thread has made me feel much better.  I thought my hand cut scrolls were the worst around.

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## journeybear

> Are you serious? Is it really just a piece of art?  It can't actually be playable, can it?


No, not without installation of a pickup  :Laughing:  and even then ... But I bought this because it was the cause of such mirth and ridicule, and because I talked the seller down to $70 including shipping. But the frets are set rather whimsically, the bridge is a joke, the body is made of knotty pine about 1/4" thick, probably left over from a cabinetry project, finished with what seems to be shellac - no, it's a wall hanging and conversation piece. And it makes me smile almost every time I see it. It's like that line in Bobby Bare's hit, "The Winner," written by Shel Silverstein:

That woman, she gets uglier and meaner every day.
But I got her, boy, and that's what makes me a winner.

 :Laughing:

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## Rob Brown

The last one looked like a characture of Conan O brien

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## Malcolm G.

Yup, Journeybear, that's gotta be the winner!

Never design ANYTHING on acid!

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## journeybear

I dunno ... horrible and horrifying as it is, it's kind of a ringer because I can't see how it could have been built with the intention of actually being played. It just doesn't seem to qualify as an instrument.  :Wink:

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## David Newton

I would exchange any mandolin shown here for this:

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## billkilpatrick

hope you're no where near that, david ...

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## David Newton

No, but it's raining like stink.
Beautiful scroll though.
I love RLS.

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## sumibuilt

> Yikes!


Ummmmm...is this supposed to be a bad looking scroll....call my eyes untrained..but..

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## journeybear

I know what you mean. It certainly pales in comparison to some of the others - like in posts #3, #4, $14 - a _backwards_ scroll?  :Disbelief:  How do you top that?  :Laughing: 




> i think there's a gut-related disease beginning with "scrol ..."


Spinal, actually: scrolliosis  :Wink: 


[Ed. note: The writer acknowledges that his pun references a serious medical condition and wishes not to offend anyone who may be or may know someone who is so afflicted, and apologizes in advance for any offense his admittedly weak attempt at humor may cause.]

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## Andy Fielding

*JEStanek:* Yeah, you gotta hand it to Giacomel for his sense of adventure. And at $12.5K a pop, they're not nearly as likely to be snickered at as most of this thread's nominees.

Besides, it's not really a "scroll" anyway. More of a hook.

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## Andy Fielding

Or something.

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## mando_steve

> What about the Mickey Mouse-eared Gibson? Somebody must have a photo of that one...


You must be referring to the Gibson A-5 from the 70's. Elderly has one for sale now:

http://www.elderly.com/vintage/names...--90U-5450.htm

They call it a lump scroll. I call it ugly.

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## journeybear

More of a lump than a scroll. And bloody useless into the bargain. Can't even use it as a strap hanger.  :Disbelief:  Well, I suppose you could drill a hole or screw on a button without compromising the aesthetics.  :Smile:

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## Andrew DeMarco

Eeeeeeeeek. This is painful to look at! Like a car accident! I can't look away! :Disbelief:

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## Dick Hutchings

If there was a scroll on the other side it would look like Mickey Mouse.

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## Dick Hutchings

Did I say scroll? I meant, whatever that think is.

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## Ed Goist

> More of a lump than a scroll....snip...


I believe that's know as the *M-style* body shape (for mitten)

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## Rodney Riley

Sticks out like a sore thumb...  :Laughing:

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## JeffD

> ... the words "berry" and "dingle" spring to mind.


In reverse order.

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## Mandoviol

> How about this one? off of Ebay.


I could potentially go for that one.  The scroll is rather bolus-like, but you can bet your strap would never slip out of there.

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## Psyberbilly

> Radio Six mandola (from Harry West's site)
> 
> Jim


Must be from the southern hemisphere ( the scroll goes counter-clockwise)

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## Jim

Looks like a goiter to me.

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## Matt Bowe



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## Dave Hanson

I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

Dave H

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## Mandolin Mick

That was my first thought ... Mickey Mouse ears!!!  :Laughing:

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## jim simpson

Here's an entry that I spotted on Ebay. It's a custom made one-off. I won't attach the listing out of kindness to the maker.

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## billkilpatrick

yep' - that's a brute - nice looking wood though

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## Givson

:Confused: I don't know if it's the worst, but it is kind of ugly.  Radio Six Mandola -from the website of Harry and Jeannie West, harryandjeaniewest.com.

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## Jim Garber

> I don't know if it's the worst, but it is kind of ugly.  Radio Six Mandola -from the website of Harry and Jeannie West, harryandjeaniewest.com.


See my post #4 on page 1 way back in this thread.

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## rico mando

Are you guys just scrolling  on this forum trying to pick a fight

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## billkilpatrick

these make for some grim viewing ...

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## lenf12

I gotta nominate this F-12 currently in the classifieds. The throat going up into the scroll is way out of proportion, methinks....

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

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## Psyberbilly

> 


Follow the yellow brick scroll .........

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## Mike Snyder

The F-12 is oddball, forsure. We expect to see it on one off builds, not a Gibson, even if it was re-topped.

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## Walt

D'Angelico scroll on ebay...
http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-D-ANGELI...item4cf8db1363

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## Jake Wildwood

> Ah yes... the Ray Matty mandolin courtesy of Banana (Lowell Levinger):
> 
> 
> Jim


Unfortunately, I disagree. That thing's cute in a very weird deco way.

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## Masterbilt

> D'Angelico scroll on ebay...
> http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-D-ANGELI...item4cf8db1363


I'd say that lump scroll has class...

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## Jim Garber

> Unfortunately, I disagree. That thing's cute in a very weird deco way.


Jake: I like it also... I would have called this thread "Oddball Scrolls" and being one myself (an oddball) I can safely say that I like some of these for their, shall we say, uniqueness. The Matty falls into that category. Hey, I even like the reverse scroll Regals.

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## Ed Goist

*Owners Manual for the Ray Matty Mandolin*

I'm a little teapot
Short and stouts
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up
I just shout
Tip me over and pour me out

I'm a very special pot
It's true
Here's an example of what I can do
I can turn my handle into a spout
Tip me over and pour me out

I'm a little teapot
Short and stouts
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up
I just shout
Tip me over and pour me out

I'm a very special pot
It's true
Here's an example of what I can do
I can turn my handle into a spout
Tip me over and pour me out

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## Jim Garber

Close but no cigar: KENTUCKY STYLE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN

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## John Hill

Another avatar of ye olde arte of lutherie:



As Chief Wiggam would say, "That's some fine carvin' boys, fine carvin'..."

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## Jim Garber

I like that abbreviated pickguard.  :Smile:

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## John Hill

> I like that abbreviated pickguard.


Super abbreviated. It's like the sun, just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.

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## rico mando

http://www.myrareguitars.com/guitar-...opy-era-02.jpg  and     http://www.myrareguitars.com/guitar-...opy-era-01.jpg

and here is the whole article http://www.myrareguitars.com/1975-mo...lectric-guitar

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## Ray(T)

Yet another guitar - Currently on eBay UK

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## rico mando

> Yet another guitar - Currently on eBay UK


  she's a lefty

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## pager

This reminds me of the movie "The Red Violin".  I am thinking about the start of the movie when the master takes the student builders violin and smashes it over the work bench.  Where was that guy when these came off the line?

jilly

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## Mark Hudson

NOW I understand why they call a guitar an "ax". The best thing you could do with that one is to attempt to chop wood!

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## Ray(T)

> she's a lefty


Sorry!


Can't imagine what the strap button is for!

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## Andrew B. Carlson

The 1968 "f-12" in the classifieds has a funky scroll. Did they really look that way from Gibson? Pity.

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## lenf12

Hi Andrew,

See my post #131. I believe it's the same F-12 re-listed in the classifieds. It sure is a funky scroll.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

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## Janice Hernandez

Hi, I'm new here and this is so hilarious!!!  That last one on the first page by Garrozzo of Catania looks like it was rescued from a compactor!  I would like to reserve my copy of the book: "Dead Sea Scrolls"...sounds like a best-seller!  Of course, it would have to include the fabulous responses!  Dr Suess ... and that elf... I can't stop laughing!

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## Mandolin Mick

Glad that there's photographic evidence for some of these crimes of mandolin fraud ... have any of these builders been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law?  :Wink:

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## billkilpatrick

the words "cake," "this takes" and "the" springs to mind:

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## Jim Garber

Wow, Bill. Cool! An electric coconut uke! Lovely!

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## JeffD

> the words "cake," "this takes" and "the" springs to mind:


It reminds me of the false front buildings of a spooky western town of the turn of the last century.

What is cool here is that everything you need to make a "potentially" decent sounding mandolin is there, and then on top of that the attempt to give it an acceptable shape.

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## Givson

Scroll or no, I think that is a uke.

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## billkilpatrick

almost ... it's a puke

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## Rodney Riley

> almost ... it's a puke


 :Laughing:   :Laughing:

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## man dough nollij

Would that be POO-ca-lay-lee, or PYOOK-a-lay-lee?

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## Vernon Hughes

Just saw this listed on that selling site..No interest here..I think it qualifies..

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## Beanzy

Ouch......... proof that some ideas should stay inside the head in which they were thought.

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## Ben Milne

Ebay special

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## Charlieshafer

> Ebay special


It looks melted. Left in an oven too long? Microwave?

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## Mark Robertson-Tessi

> Can't imagine what the strap button is for!


Tow hitch to drag the thing home after a gig?

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## RayMan7

Not a srcoll, but crazy enough!

http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/drh/msg/2628605670.html

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## Ray(T)

Oh dear!!!!! - http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/...uery=retrieval

Needs a Toneguard to stop the signatures wearing off.

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## Bob Scrutchfield

Figured there was room to add one more to this great old thread. Besides, the examples that were previously submitted are good for another laugh.. 

This odd duck was for sale on Ebay UK a while back.

Not really a scroll on this. But probably worth an honorable mention anyway.
Somehow, at first glance, it doesn't _really_ look like a snake.  :Disbelief:  :Crying:

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## Andrew B. Carlson

That's what happens when Angus Young eats too much chili. The rock n roll is coming out his pores! and...

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## Paul Edwards

I think this is the thread where mandolins go to die.. or it's some kind of purgatory for mandolins the neither heaven nor hell will accept.. I'm laughing and crying all at the same time...

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## Ben Milne

:Chicken:

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## nobullmando74

> That's what happens when Angus Young eats too much chili. The rock n roll is coming out his pores! and...


 :Laughing:  :Laughing:  :Laughing:

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## nobullmando74

Lumpy is an all time classic in this thread IMHO.

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Ed Goist

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## Gregory Tidwell

> Close but no cigar: KENTUCKY STYLE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN


I just saw one of these go n eBay for over $400, IIRC. It was calle da Kentucky as well. Hideous.

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## Charlieshafer

Had to nominate this, currently on ebay

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Jean Andreasen, 

rico mando

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## Mandolin Mick

I haven't looked at this thread in over a year ... some of these are really hideous!  :Disbelief:

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## Bertram Henze

> Had to nominate this, currently on ebay


Now there's a strap hook to solve the eternal imbalance problem. That and the unusually positioned soundhole lend a fascinatingly sinister air of victorian harrypotteresque Hogwartism to the whole instrument (I am quite sure there's a horcrux hidden inside). I imagine if you practise with that, you'll get locked up in the cellar for every mistake. Or you get sucked into the soundhole until you roll the dice giving the correct number to say "Jumanji". That's not ugliness - it's just the dark side of beauty.

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billkilpatrick

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## billkilpatrick

bertram - after reading that i'm sure the vendor is chopping the mandolin up into little pieces and putting them into plastic baggies to be strewn around the city in vacant lots and deserted industrial sites during the hours of extreme darkness.

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## Bertram Henze

Maybe, Bill, but in vain: each shard will reshape into a little even more evil-looking mandolin at the dead of night, growing, bursting the plastic baggie, to be found later by some other unsuspecting vendor...

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## billkilpatrick

... the horror - the horror!

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## Charlieshafer

You two realize that this has become much better than any actual mandolin discussion, don't you.

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## Bertram Henze

Well Charlie, you discovered it - and I wouldn't be surprised if you win the bid. 
When you play it high up the fretboard, I expect that scroll to reach out, snatch your wrist and crush it. Don't come back to us complaining then...

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## billkilpatrick

the heartbreak of scroll ridicule ... "it hurts!"  
like . comment . share.

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## Charlieshafer

> Well Charlie, you discovered it - and I wouldn't be surprised if you win the bid. 
> When you play it high up the fretboard, I expect that scroll to reach out, snatch your wrist and crush it. Don't come back to us complaining then...


Aw, it's already up to $145. That's way over my head, or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it...

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## Charles E.

I think this belongs here...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIBSON-F5-ST...item2ec6ea64d6

Oh my.

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## Marty Jacobson

Oh, it can't be that bad. I mean, it's just been tuned. Says right there in the ad.

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## P.D. Kirby

I've seen uglier scrolls, it's still a contender but add in those pointless points and you got ugly to the tone bars or bone.  :Grin: 

If it's already tuned though I bet he has a high reserve. I'm assuming that's what he means by " it's had a tune up? maybe he got the plugs changed too... :Whistling:

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## Jim Garber

> Oh, it can't be that bad. I mean, it's just been tuned. Says right there in the ad.


This is much enjoyable when some pics are here.

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## Londy

OMG... these are nasty.  Um, i think i just threw up in my mouth. yuck..

----------


## Samuel David Britton

Some of those hurt my eyes, what where they thinking.

----------


## ajr

> This one belongs to a Cafe member. Label is Pook 1908 Winnipeg. Reminds me of Dr. Suess.
> 
> Jim


Jim,
Surely that is a ###### container disguised as a Mandolin.
Where do you get these things? You are the King.
Thanks for all of your great contributions.

----------


## Levi

Behold...

----------


## jso

*The Emperor's New Scroll*

......Then out of the crowd stepped a little boy. Now, he hadn't heard about the Emperor' new scroll. He didn't know that he was supposed to find it a Thing of Great Beauty...so while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing about what such a Very Fine Scroll it was, he just said:

"But really, what _is_ the point of it? After all, it doesn't _do_ anything!"

----------


## Levi

> *The Emperor's New Scroll*
> 
> ......Then out of the crowd stepped a little boy. Now, he hadn't heard about the Emperor' new scroll. He didn't know that he was supposed to find it a Thing of Great Beauty...so while everyone else was ooohing and aaahing about what such a Very Fine Scroll it was, he just said:
> 
> "But really, what _is_ the point of it? After all, it doesn't _do_ anything!"


 Only those of high intelligence can see the  purpose, thus everyone pretends to.

----------


## jso

> Only those of high intelligence can see the  purpose, thus everyone pretends to.


Quite so.    :Smile:

----------


## billkilpatrick

be'gad - what a brute ... looks like the product of steroid abuse

----------


## Jack Roberts

> ...


. 

See post 38. 

I play this mandolin just about every day.  It was hand made by a music teacher out of scrap wood and plastic in the early 50s.  She used it for teaching in the public schools through the 50s and 60s, but gave it up to another school teacher when she could no longer play or teach.  That teacher, Dorothy D., retired long ago, but never learned to play mandolin, so it came to me. Dorothy is now over 90 years old and manages our band!

----------


## Jim Garber

> . See post 38.


Make it easier for everyone by making this a link:  *See post 38*.

----------

Jack Roberts

----------


## Charles E.

One more to add to the group.......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-70s-...#ht_1975wt_917

----------


## Jim Garber

That is a real beauty, Charley! Good for hanging your hat.

----------


## Charles E.

Or holding an unopend can of beer.

----------


## Bertram Henze

> Or holding an unopend can of beer.


...on the body. Plus, a cigar on the headstock.

----------


## 55bar



----------


## Marty Jacobson

Oh, 55bar, that's a low blow!

----------


## Dave Hanson

Low but accurate.

Dave H

----------


## 55bar

Haha, sorry I couldn't resist!

----------

Dobe, 

Michael Weaver

----------


## Jordan Mong

Please, excuse the bump, but I don't understand what was wrong with the original scroll in the OP's post. It looks like an average scroll does.

----------


## mrmando

> Please, excuse the bump, but I don't understand what was wrong with the original scroll in the OP's post. It looks like an average scroll does.


'Twas long ago, but I think the point was that someone on eBay was trying to pass off that particular instrument as a vintage Gibson F5. And while it may look like an average scroll does, it doesn't look like a Gibson scroll does.

----------

Jordan Mong

----------


## Jordan Mong

> 'Twas long ago, but I think the point was that someone on eBay was trying to pass off that particular instrument as a vintage Gibson F5. And while it may look like an average scroll does, it doesn't look like a Gibson scroll does.


That's interesting. I don't think I would have had the eye to be able to tell the difference. Thank you for explaining. Are there scroll measurements? Anyway to be able to tell?

----------


## Londy

After looking though some of these bad scrolls...I think I threw up in my mouth a little...eeek.  Glad I have an A-style.

----------


## Phil Goodson

> That's interesting. I don't think I would have had the eye to be able to tell the difference. Thank you for explaining. Are there scroll measurements? Anyway to be able to tell?


Look carefully and compare to a real Gibson.  The termination of the scroll is oval, not almost circular; the inside scroll binding ends with the point pointing horizontally towards the treble side rather than pointing almost to the tailpiece.   Little details that make ALL the difference!  Several other differences.....

----------


## Eric Michael Pfeiffer

We may laugh about all of these "ugly scrolls" but the truth is some of the best sounding mandolins out there dont exactly have the tightest or purtiest scrolls or craftsmenship....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z61lH-5J27c

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=relmfu&v=PSjJP7W0wa8

As a matter of fact in my experience some of the ugliest looking mandolins were some of the best ones I ever played. Get out there enough and get around and meet lots of different folks and different mandolins you'll soon find out...

Not at all saying that this mandolin in those videos is the ugliest or even ugly...but maybe it doesnt have the most cleanest scroll like a Gibson or Collings or even an Eastman or whatever but you can tell it sounds good..

----------


## Michael Weaver

I missed this thread and wanted it to come back to life.

----------

jim simpson

----------


## Tom Coletti

I thought that the Susan Boyle case was supposed to teach us not to make fun of something for its appearance until we hear what it sounds like :/ 

--Tom

----------

Michael Weaver

----------


## FLATROCK HILL

> I missed this thread and wanted it to come back to life.


You picked a wonderful example for your attempt at resuscitiation!

----------

Michael Weaver

----------


## billkilpatrick

cuuuuute!

----------


## Michael Weaver

> I thought that the Susan Boyle case was supposed to teach us not to make fun of something for its appearance until we hear what it sounds like :/  --Tom


LOL. I think we all know what it sounds like...

----------


## Bertram Henze

> I thought that the Susan Boyle case was supposed to teach us not to make fun of something for its appearance until we hear what it sounds like :/ 
> 
> --Tom


When I get amused about ugliness, it's never about an expected extrapolation on non-visual properties such as sound, smell, taste or feel. Instead, it's about what has been attempted vs. what has been achieved. In the case of a good-sounding mandolin with an ugly scroll, there is a pathetic element about putting in considerable extra work to ruin what could have been a perfectly beautiful and good-sounding A style.
A more telling analogy would not be Susan Boyle singing, but Susan Boyle wearing a thong bikini.

----------

John Soper, 

Michael Weaver

----------


## FLATROCK HILL

> A more telling analogy would not be Susan Boyle singing, but Susan Boyle wearing a thong bikini.


Dear Mr. Henze, 

     I just finished reading the last line of your post. That was a very clever and fitting analogy. While I realize that was only an analogy, I would like to suggest that even the 'idea' of S.B. wearing a thong bikini is a bad one. 
Then I noticed your signature slogan below the post. Yes, the world and my _mental_ retina would have been better off without that one!

----------


## Londy

> I missed this thread and wanted it to come back to life.


Looks like a sharpie made scroll

----------

Michael Weaver

----------


## Paul Kotapish

> 


I have to agree. It's one thing when a funky scroll is the result of rudimentary skills or crummy production. This thing is made with superior skills and expertise, and it's just willfully clunky. The Gibson F design--weird though it is--is a wonderful expression of the aesthetic of its time. Try as I might--and I have tried--I can't get the aesthetic of the Giacomel scroll. The Giacomel octave mandolin without the scroll, on the other hand, almost makes sense to me:

----------

bruce.b

----------


## Jim

Love the Giacomel scroll myself, Very functional strap holder.

----------


## pfox14



----------

Michael Weaver

----------


## Michael Weaver

This design reminds me of something...

----------


## Jim Garber

I find these Regal Reverse scroll mandolins oddly appealing, sort of funky chic.  :Smile: 

If I ever start building I would make an upscale copy of one of these. I esp like the Smurf headstock.  

Regal also made these arched top upper-end versions for the B&D label.

----------


## Vernon Hughes

Here's a real beauty!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-UNKN...item5663e19877

----------


## Steve VandeWater

Here's one.  It's the scroll on a concrete mandolin I just made.  I'm no metalworker and couldn't figure out a way to make it better...yet.

----------


## fatt-dad

I'm so glad you posted this!

f-d

----------


## Bertram Henze

> Here's one.  It's the scroll on a concrete mandolin I just made.  I'm no metalworker and couldn't figure out a way to make it better...yet.


Just made? Are you implying this century we live in will be the last one?  :Chicken: 

Nice F-Skeleton style. Can you cut out christmas cookies with that?  :Grin:

----------


## mrmando

Here's one. 

This was purportedly built in 2005 by a luthier I greatly respect. I have one of his instruments. This looks nothing like any other mandolin I've ever seen attributed to him, but the person who's selling it sent me a photo of the label as well, with the luthier's signature. I'm not going to name him right now. Maybe later. But my goodness, what a hideous scroll.

----------


## Jim Garber

> Here's one. 
> 
> This was purportedly built in 2005 by a luthier I greatly respect. I have one of his instruments. This looks nothing like any other mandolin I've ever seen attributed to him, but the person who's selling it sent me a photo of the label as well, with the luthier's signature. I'm not going to name him right now. Maybe later. But my goodness, what a hideous scroll.


I guess you have to learn at some point. Martin you list some makers in your signature. I know!!! Three Hungry Pit Bulls!!  :Smile:

----------


## mrmando

Yes, but you can understand why I hesitate to criticize their work.

----------


## JeffD

> Here's one.  It's the scroll on a concrete mandolin I just made.  I'm no metalworker and couldn't figure out a way to make it better...yet.


Actually I think that is fantastic. I emulates the scroll and points without attempting to actually duplicate them. Its a great look. It seems to say: "Look, if you wanted the scroll and points they would go here and here and look something like this." 

As the scroll is decoration anyway and doesn't and never had any functional purpose, what you have done is wonderful.

----------


## Jim Garber

> I guess you have to learn at some point. Martin you list some makers in your signature. I know!!! Three Hungry Pit Bulls!!


Great name for a band!

----------


## Dobe

[QUOTE=van1684;1279159]... a concrete mandolin ....

Whaadjya do to that A-jr.?!! :Disbelief:   Do I see a bit of an arch or is it a flattop ? Poured plates ? I imagine it might be a bit like building a carbon fibre mando. Bet she rings like a,,, brick? We need a sound sample ! 4 strings though, wouldn't it be more of a Concrelele ?   :Smile:  Kidding aside Van, I think it's pretty cool.  I hate that you stole my idea for detachable scroll and points. Waiting for the youtube embed.  :Popcorn:

----------


## Charles E.

On eBay at the moment, shudder......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-70s-...item2ed6e96576

----------


## George R. Lane

That is not a scroll, it is the spiral of death.  :Laughing:

----------


## Jim Garber

This is too bad not to show it here in all its glory. Hey, three bids on it already... Don't miss it if you try!!

----------


## journeybear

"Glory" just hints at what that scroll offers viewers. Bold, brassy, brash, unabashed, unshy, obstreperous - it is really very much _in your face!_

----------


## Michael Weaver

Mmmmm it reminds me of cinnamon rolls!

----------

John McCoy

----------


## billkilpatrick

scroll reminds me of the opening sequence to "the twilight zone" ... doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-doo-dee-spwrang ...

----------


## Bertram Henze

> That is not a scroll, it is the spiral of death.


It may be worth mentioning that the horror of misproportion is greatly facilitated by the bridge not properly positioned with the f-holes.

----------


## Vernon Hughes

That would be because the neck joins the body at the 12th fret I suppose.

----------


## Tom Mullen

George---that was a good one. I could not look at that scroll if it were spinning in a microwave.....

----------

George R. Lane

----------


## Jeff Hildreth

To what pitch is the scroll tuned ?

----------


## Bill Snyder

It is not from the last century and it is definitely not the WORST but it is different.

----------


## journeybear

I'm not sure which is harder to take, the scroll or the inlay. Maybe they're both beat out by the zero fret!  :Disbelief:

----------


## bart mcneil

So you asked for a scroll... That is a *MAN'S* scroll!!!

----------


## Charles E.

> It is not from the last century and it is definitely not the WORST but it is different.


Just how wide is that fingerboard at the nut?!

----------


## Jim Garber

> Just how wide is that fingerboard at the nut?!


I noticed the same thing, but it is a 10 string instrument.

----------


## Bill Snyder

This is a from a custom builder in the Builder database that has at least one big fan on the forum. 
No accounting for taste.

----------


## F-2 Dave

> To what pitch is the scroll tuned ?


Do you mean, 'to what tune should that scroll be pitched?'.

----------


## Bertram Henze

> I'm not sure which is harder to take, the scroll or the inlay. Maybe they're both beat out by the zero fret!


I think the zero fret is the one feature here that makes practical sense.

----------


## journeybear

Surely, you jest.  :Laughing:  I know, "Don't call me Shirley!"  :Whistling:

----------


## David Lewis

So, johnny, do you like movies about gladiators? (Now you've started me)

----------

Michael Weaver

----------


## jim simpson

How about a poster featuring all of the scrolls from this thread. A little cropping/editing would be needed, how cool would that be!
(if this has already been suggested, please forgive me)

----------


## jim simpson

Alright, someone had to do it, lol. Here's an example of an ugly poster.

----------

Denny Gies, 

Jess L., 

Jim Garber, 

Randolph, 

Rush Burkhardt

----------


## journeybear

You know, when you put a bunch together like that, they acquire a kind of beauty, as you see the various curves, removed from their contexts. They function on a graphic design level in this way.

I just feel a bit snubbed as my example was not included.  :Frown:  Of course, if it's because it was TOO ugly, I'm gratified.  :Wink:

----------


## jim simpson

> You know, when you put a bunch together like that, they acquire a kind of beauty, as you see the various curves, removed from their contexts. They function on a graphic design level in this way.
> 
> I just feel a bit snubbed as my example was not included.  Of course, if it's because it was TOO ugly, I'm gratified.


It almost made it, I just got tired after 16 edits, lol!

----------


## journeybear

That's all right. A quick emergency call to my therapist and now I'm properly medicated so I can cope.  :Cool:

----------


## Timbofood

You know what, if,you squint a little at the scroll JB, it looks somewhat like bacon! Just had breakfast!

----------


## journeybear

Ooohhh ... bacon .... ooohhh ...

----------


## Timbofood

Yep!

----------


## skip sail

My favorite post yet on mandolin cafe. I am informing steve gilchrist.

----------


## Steve VandeWater

Here's one I saw in a music store yesterday. I've seen the same model at 3 different places recently.

----------


## Vernon Hughes

Another for the archives..

----------

Jess L.

----------


## jim simpson

I vote this my favorite thread.

----------

billkilpatrick, 

David Lewis, 

Ed Goist, 

Jess L., 

John Soper, 

Vernon Hughes

----------


## billkilpatrick

be'gad ... what a beast!

----------


## Al Trujillo

So, are scrolls the equivalent to a human appendix?  There are some ghastly ones on this thread!! 🙈🙉🙊

----------


## Emmett Marshall

I _was_ getting ready to have lunch.  Not anymore!

----------


## Ray(T)

You could have someone's eye out with this one! Methinks that he started carving but didn't know when to stop. Its a "Dixon" whatever one of those is.

----------


## Jeff Mando

I think if you found a super-fluffy, super-long feather boa -- you could use it as a strap and it would fill in the space where nobody would really notice the carve of the scroll!  Then again, you really don't see a lot of feather boas in Bluegrass, do you?   :Disbelief:

----------


## Bertram Henze

> Then again, you really don't see a lot of feather boas in Bluegrass, do you?


Would that be Burlegrass?  :Confused:

----------

Jeff Mando

----------


## almeriastrings

> You could have someone's eye out with this one! Methinks that he started carving but didn't know when to stop. Its a "Dixon" whatever one of those is.


I think I know where they got the pattern for that...

----------


## Jeff Mando

> Would that be Burlegrass?


Possibly Glamgrass or maybe Flying Burrito Grass?

----------


## Steve Ostrander

Some of those don't even make good strap hangers....

----------


## Jim Hilburn

I think my first attempt qualifies here. But in my defense when I did this in 1979 I was relying heavily on the first Siminoff book which didn't feature a Loar accurate scroll. Also I think Stew Mac existed but I didn't know it so to find binding I went to Ome banjos in Boulder. One lesson I've learned is that it's a bad idea to go to luthiers for material because they always have something they want to get rid of. In this case this binding was as stiff and hard as wood. Very hard to bend. I just assumed that's how it all was.
Anyway, I got better as I went along.

----------


## jim simpson

Jim, It's hard for me to find fault with your first attempt. It has to be tough to get right. I really like the vine inlay!

----------


## MikeEdgerton

The average person would think that scroll was fine and next to most of what's out there it is. I wouldn't be embarrassed by that as a player or a builder.

----------


## Bertram Henze

> I think my first attempt qualifies here.


Nope. Different from the standard Gibson proportions, but standing its own ground with a detached elegance - let's call it a French Scroll.

----------


## Explorer

> I think my first attempt qualifies here. 
> 
> 
> 
> But in my defense when I did this in 1979 I was relying heavily on the first Siminoff book which didn't feature a Loar accurate scroll. Also I think Stew Mac existed but I didn't know it so to find binding I went to Ome banjos in Boulder. One lesson I've learned is that it's a bad idea to go to luthiers for material because they always have something they want to get rid of. In this case this binding was as stiff and hard as wood. Very hard to bend. I just assumed that's how it all was.
> Anyway, I got better as I went along.


It's not like there is a set standard. Look at some of the varied scrolls from this company.

Attachment 139624Attachment 139628Attachment 139631Attachment 139632Attachment 139633Attachment 30699

----------


## Wastafair

This could be an excellent candidate:
 :Wink:

----------


## Beanzy

That's more of a tumorous growth than a scroll.  :Disbelief:

----------

Nevin

----------


## billkilpatrick

didn't know willy wonka played mandolin ...

----------


## Bertram Henze

The scroll is not the worst part of that - the tailpiece cover is.

----------

Timbofood

----------


## T.D.Nydn

That is a thick fingerboard, it looks almost as thick as the headstock..

----------


## Jim Garber

Here's a nice beauty, an *F4 "copy" currently on eBay*. Of course, the scroll is excellent but the overall look is based on the golden meanie. I do like the carved ridge on the back. Really!

There is something very charming of these folky mandolins. I would buy it for a song but not the song they are asking.

----------


## jim simpson

> Here's a nice beauty, an *F4 "copy" currently on eBay*. Of course, the scroll is excellent but the overall look is based on the golden meanie. I do like the carved ridge on the back. Really!
> 
> There is something very charming of these folky mandolins. I would buy it for a song but not the song they are asking.


It looks like a poor man's Giacomel, lol!

----------


## Jim Garber

jim simpson: I think Corrado copied that one as a prototype for his model.  :Smile:

----------


## Jim Garber

Here's a lovely *F model mandolin* with a graceful scroll from a mysterious Far East country. Enjoy!

----------


## dustyamps

Nice scroll and scalloped fingerboard.

----------


## dhergert

After reviewing this thread, I've decided to put my glasses down the garbage disposer.  Many of these scrolls look much nicer out of focus.

 :Laughing:

----------

Timbofood

----------


## Jim Garber

dustyamps: that is a wonderfully creative scroll with a thorn coming out of its bottom. It looks like the scroll was squeezed out of a toothpaste tube. Very nice!

----------


## billkilpatrick

> Nice scroll and scalloped fingerboard.



looks like a cinnamon bun ...

----------


## Jim Hilburn

on the oval hole, given how curvy the body lines are they sure did an accurate oval and rosette. I guess that one proves you don't really need a body form.

----------


## Ivory Bridge

The worst scroll is no scroll.... :Wink:

----------


## almeriastrings

> Here's a lovely *F model mandolin* with a graceful scroll from a mysterious Far East country. Enjoy!


Pure genius. They have finally solved the problem that has frustrated mandolin players for almost 100 years.

Now you no longer have to worry if a strap is too thick to fit through the scroll. Should be real winner. The world has been waiting for this.

----------


## dhergert

> Pure genius... ...Now you no longer have to worry if a strap is too thick to fit through the scroll. Should be real winner...


Yup.  Plus you can hook it on your anchor line for those really crowded boat rides.

----------


## Bad Monkey

and it's for sale:
https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/msg/5833999703.html

----------


## dhergert

Hmmm, for the mandolin player who has everything else.  An upper-bout 2-point with a scroll.

----------


## Jim Garber

That is just a Regal reverse scroll probably from the 1930s. They made thousands of them. Certainly an oddball design but nothing too out of the ordinary.

----------


## mando_dan

No way! Those reverse scrolls are very cool looking little mandolins. If a reputable modern builder were to put some together I'd be interested in giving one a spin.

----------

darrylicshon

----------


## cbakewell

> No way! Those reverse scrolls are very cool looking little mandolins.


Absolutely - I have an old Reverse Scroll Regal - it is my 'playing on the sofa' mandolin, and when not in use spends the rest of its time as a pretty wall hanger. My partner says it is a keeper, if only for the way it looks on the wall (although, personally, I rather like the 'boxy sound it has).

----------


## Jim Garber

cbakewell: I like that term "boxy."

----------


## Bertram Henze

> cbakewell: I like that term "boxy."

----------

Jim Garber, 

Timbofood

----------


## Jim Garber

Here is yet another excellent addition to this venerable thread. You can buy it now for $400: *mandolin home made*.

I especially love the super-extended fretboard for those virtuoso players to play those solos. I would not call it a Florida  maybe a Tierra del Fuego?

----------


## HonketyHank

Wow. A four pointer. I could live with the scroll. But not the fourth point digging into my belly button. 

Before you just up and remove the Tierra del Fuego, you might want to consider what happened when the UK tried to remove Las Malvinas. Just sayin'.

----------

Jim Garber

----------


## Andrew B. Carlson

Found at the LGS. (Local grocery store, not local guitar shop). Might be an import.

----------


## Jim Garber

You would have to play that one gingerly!  :Smile:

----------

MikeEdgerton, 

Randi Gormley, 

Timbofood

----------


## Marty Jacobson

> You would have to play that one gingerly!


Nah, just chop away at it...

----------


## Steve VandeWater

I don't know what you did to your hand, but those slices on the tips of your fingers look awful! Maybe time to switch to nylon strings?

----------


## Jim Garber

You could actually use a mandolin to cut that scroll into slices.

----------


## Steve Ostrander

That could also be a contender for worst headstock...

----------


## mrmando

If that's the root, I'm not sure I want to hear the rest of the chord.

----------


## Timbofood

Nice to have so many in the corner today!

There's always a ryzome for a pun!

----------


## Gutbucket

There must be a Society of Dyslexic Luthiers some where on the planet.   Or as on the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer show, the Land of Misfit Mandolins.

----------


## Gutbucket

> No way! Those reverse scrolls are very cool looking little mandolins. If a reputable modern builder were to put some together I'd be interested in giving one a spin.


 Oh you'd stand out all right in a jam.  Like a Limburger cheese sandwich in a crowded elevator.

----------


## ollaimh

jim garners collection of pictures are so ugly they are beautiful.  i hope he doesn't own them all.

----------


## Ibex

Hello fellow mando fans. I'm a long time lurker and stumbled upon this beauty, so I figured it's time to make an account. The guy that sells it is asking for ~$25 plus shipping. Sounds like a deal, right? :Mandosmiley:

----------

Charlieshafer

----------


## Bertram Henze

> ...stumbled upon this beauty


I guess you can stick needles in that to torture other mandolins. Otherwise it looks like something from Backwater.

----------


## JeffD

> and it's for sale:
> https://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/msg/5833999703.html


I think they are cool. I have one in unplayable shape that I hang on the wall.

----------


## JeffD

I was reminded by another thread:

 When I first saw the scroll of an F style I thought it was a ridiculous curly extrusion. And the headstock shape looked like a side view silhouette of a big nosed guy with a cowlick. It has taken some time for me to appreciate them.

 Also, I am not aficionado enough to recognize the eccentrics. More than a few of the pictures in this thread I stare at trying to figure out what is the problem with that.

 It is an acquired taste that most of us have acquired.

----------

Jess L.

----------


## Bill Cameron

That Ray Matty thing is actually kinda cool looking! Terrible dysfunctional design, but proudly wrong-headed. Go big or go home.

----------


## Bill Snyder

> Hello fellow mando fans. I'm a long time lurker and stumbled upon this beauty, so I figured it's time to make an account. The guy that sells it is asking for ~$25 plus shipping. Sounds like a deal, right?


Where is the scroll? Right mandolin to post - wrong thread.  :Smile:  *Here* is the correct thread for this one.

----------

Timbofood

----------


## mrmando

Here is a Shutt Style 3. It may be highly collectible, but not for the scrolls.

----------

Charles E.

----------


## Jim Garber

I love that oddball Shutt! Early mandolin wacky design. Yes!

----------


## Charles E.

That is soooooooo cool!

----------


## CWRoyds

I saw this one on Facebook...
It sure does have a scroll...

----------

Charles E.

----------


## Denny Gies

This thread is just pure fun.  Thanks to all who dug up this pictures.  What a hoot.

----------


## mrmando

> I saw this one on Facebook...


That is the Radio Six mandola from Harry West's shop in Statesville  ... it appears on page 3 or 4 of this here thread.  It looks as though the West family have given up trying to sell it, and just hung it from the ceiling instead.

----------

CWRoyds

----------


## mrmando

> I love that oddball Shutt! Early mandolin wacky design. Yes!


Owner offered to sell it to me, but the photos sure looked as though it needed a neck reset. I sent the photos to Gregg Miner, who has done a lot of research on Shutt. But neither of us ended up buying it.

----------


## Jim Garber

> That is the Radio Six mandola from Harry West's shop in Statesville  ... it appears on page 3 or 4 of this here thread.  It looks as though the West family have given up trying to sell it, and just hung it from the ceiling instead.


Yes, it makes a beautiful chandelier.

----------


## j. condino

'Saw this is on craigslist...

----------


## jim simpson

I love this thread, here's one spotted on fb marketplace.

----------


## MikeZito

> I love this thread, here's one spotted on fb marketplace.


That's too bad - aside from the scroll, I like the look of that one . . .

----------


## J Mangio

Silverangel scrolls are a huge turnoff for me.

----------


## Marty Jacobson

> Silverangel scrolls are a huge turnoff for me.


That's not why you buy 'em... there are plenty of cheap instruments out there with traditional-looking scrolls, but which don't deliver as an inspiring musical tool. I believe our job as luthiers is, first and foremost, to make useful (and ideally inspiring) musical tools. Appearance should be pretty far down on the list of priorities. 

I use David Pye's Requirements of Good Design when teaching my students (with some modifications for modern readability by me):

1. It must be useful for the intended purpose
2. There must be some system of proportions which help the user understand the system (frets, bridge intonation, etc)
3. The system must be durable enough to support the intended use (i.e. playable for decades if not generations)
4. The user must be able to obtain it (i.e. a one-off sculpture or donation isn't as valuable as a low-cost alternative which might impact thousands of people)
5. The user must be able to afford the solution
6. The appearance must be acceptable

Obviously, as the price in #5 increases, the requirement for appearance in #6 increases.

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j. condino

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## Bernie Daniel

I wonder where they get the plans for some of these????

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## Louise NM

> I wonder where they get the plans for some of these????


You think they're planned?

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## jim simpson

I love this thread. Here's a current one from Ebay:

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Sue Rieter

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## Sue Rieter

Jim, thank you for resurrecting this epic thread. I went back to the beginning and chuckled my way through three cups of coffee.

Sue

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jim simpson

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## Jim Garber

Yes and it was started Hans Brentrup, scroll depreciator and builder of fine mandolins and guitars. Sadly he had to stop building due to health issues. I feel very lucky to own and play one of his scroll-less models.

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jim simpson, 

Sue Rieter

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## Charles E.

Blueberry "mandolin" on ebay...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blueberry-N...Cclp%3A2334524

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## Sue Rieter

That's really....   .....flowery.

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## Charles E.

Sue, when I look up synonyms for "flowery" I am not finding "UGLY".    :Wink:

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## Sue Rieter

Did you see the other one, same maker, with the devil on it? Perfect for those who have gone down to the crossroads...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blueberry-N...4AAOSwLndf29L0

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Charles E., 

William Smith

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## Jim Garber

Hey folks: what fun is this thread if we can't document these beauties. At least put a few photos from the listing before they disappear. We need to archive these for our great grandchildren.  :Smile:

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Alfons, 

Charles E., 

Randi Gormley, 

Sue Rieter

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## Dave Hanson

I've got a Gibson F9 with an awful looking scroll, the mandolin itself sounds fabulous.

Dave H

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## Ray(T)

> I've got a Gibson F9 with an awful looking scroll, the mandolin itself sounds fabulous.
> 
> Dave H


Photo?

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## Dave Hanson

I'll have to look into that Ray.

Dave H

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Ray(T)

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## Eric F.

That blueberry is more of a dingleberry, amirite?

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Charles E., 

Timbofood

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## Charles E.

> That blueberry is more of a dingleberry, amirite?


Now that's funny right there.   :Laughing:

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## Jim Garber

> I've got a Gibson F9 with an awful looking scroll, the mandolin itself sounds fabulous.
> 
> Dave H


like this one?

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Don Grieser

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## Dave Hanson

It's worse than that, very small centre on the body scroll and the headstock scroll is mishapen, but it's a great sounding instrument so I can live with it.

Dave H

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## William Smith

> Did you see the other one, same maker, with the devil on it? Perfect for those who have gone down to the crossroads...
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blueberry-N...4AAOSwLndf29L0



Wow I'd never play a mando with a Devil/Demon looking face protruding and a Cross inlay beneath it-too me that's just very evil putting the two together and for the demon to be above the Cross!! No thanks! Just not my thing.

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Sue Rieter

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## Sue Rieter

> Wow I'd never play a mando with a Devil/Demon looking face protruding and a Cross inlay beneath it-too me that's just very evil putting the two together and for the demon to be above the Cross!! No thanks! Just not my thing.


I agree. I wouldn't want it in my house. I can now say that I have seen a mandolin that I would turn down if someone offered to give it to me. Even if it were refinished, I would feel like that was always lurking there.

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William Smith

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## Jim Hilburn

Finally someone got it right.

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## Charles E.

Check this out, worst headstock too....

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/178239#178239

And, if you have a "scroll", why would you need a strap button?!   :Laughing:

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## JeffD

> Hey folks: what fun is this thread if we can't document these beauties. At least put a few photos from the listing before they disappear. We need to archive these for our great grandchildren.


The scroll is the least of the visual problems with this one. The cognitive dissonance here is that all the threatening violent dark imagery is in contrast to how a mandolin sounds. Decorating your electric guitar like this, or your kick drum, but a mandolin?

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## Charles E.

John De Julio....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/32496377426...gw8000xlw00004

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## MikeEdgerton

> John De Julio....
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/32496377426...gw8000xlw00004


For posterity

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trodgers

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## Zach Wilson

> John De Julio....
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/32496377426...gw8000xlw00004


That has a Worst lot of things not just scroll.  :Laughing:

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## Charles E.

In the classifieds....

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/182439#182439

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## MikeEdgerton

> In the classifieds....
> 
> https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/182439#182439


For posterity:

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Denny Gies

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## CarlM

This one came up on a Sweetwater ad today.  It is a Washburn.  While far from the ugliest something is still just not right about it.

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## Jim Hilburn

If your not going to bind them why do it?
But the hard sunburst spreads the unpleasantness around.

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Charles E.

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## Charles E.

> For posterity:


And it sold just like that.

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