Blog Comments

  1. Beanzy's Avatar
    It has no labels or identifying marks inside. But I think it definitely is one of the Alulu instruments from Taiwan.
  2. Jass Zinger's Avatar
    Hey, bit late to the party. Do you know what make this is? It has exact same body shape and hardware as the Alulu mandocellos, just with more inlays.
  3. Beanzy's Avatar
    Thanks Jim.
  4. Jim Garber's Avatar
    Nice Calace and happy birthday to it, Eoin!
  5. Beanzy's Avatar
    Just got back & measured it Jim
    Scale length is bang on 58cm. body top from tailpiece to neck join is 50cm
    Overall length is 97cm
    Widest part of top is 35cm
    top to bowl deepest point is 21cm
  6. Beanzy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber
    Eoin: what is the scale length?
    Hi Jim , apologies for the delay replying, I'm not very good at staying current on tge various social media.

    As a guess from memory I would say it's somewhere between 58-60cm, whereas the Oakwood I had been using was 64cm. I'm away for work at the moment so can't check, but will do when I get back at the weekend and give a definite measurement then.
    I put Dogal Calace mandoloncello strings on it and it sounds great, a very good low C and much more singing sound higher up the fretboard. I have to adapt the C strings as they're made for a much longer scale so they don't taper in time for the tuning peg hole. so I have to unwind them and make a new taper to go in the peg.
  7. Jim Garber's Avatar
    Eoin: what is the scale length?
  8. Beanzy's Avatar
    I'm tempted to say it's a bit like holding a small dustbin with a neck, but actually it's not too ungainly.
    I use a section of non-slip material laid on my thigh and lower stomach to stop any movement, so it's very well behaved really.

    I had been playing an Oakwood with a 26" scale, but this is a lot shorter. I prefer the sound from this one and it's a lot more nippy to get around.
  9. Jim Imhoff's Avatar
    I've had a cylinderback, a K2 and now a K4, but I have to wonder what it feels like to hold let alone play a big bowlback.
    Beautiful, probably sounds great.
    Jim
  10. Beanzy's Avatar
    Sure Jim, no problem. I'll just need to fit it in the gaps between work.

    I'll start with the Antonio Petroni no.50. Made in Rome 1865. Label inside says prize winner at the Paris Exhibition of 1867. (tried putting in more piccys here but they don't seem to work in answers to a post, just in the original post :/ )
    Quoting the catalogue "This instrument was said to have been made for Queen Margherita of Italy (1851-1926) but its case bears an incorrect version of the Italian royal coat of arms - the heraldic cross is like a Swiss cross, when in fact it should span the whole shield" . My reading of it is that it can't have been made for her as queen, Italy had only just come under the rule of Victor Emmanuel, who's son Umberto, prince of Maples (her 1st cousin) she contracted to marry in 1868. So if it was made for her it was as Princess of Savoy. I'll have a rummage further into the history when time allows.

    Catalogue link ; http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O5...troni-antonio/
    Updated Nov-02-2016 at 12:44pm by Beanzy
  11. Jim Garber's Avatar
    Please, Eoin! More photos and also some explanatory captions, please! Thank you in advance. Why is it called the Furniture Stores?

    I had a friend who worked as a curator for the Metropolitan Museum in New York and I got to look at a photograph some of the treasures that were there.

    That large-looking mandolin/mandola with the Preston tuners looks amazing.
  12. Beanzy's Avatar














    Updated Jul-09-2016 at 10:53am by Beanzy
  13. Beanzy's Avatar
    Top underway.


    Updated Jul-09-2016 at 11:15am by Beanzy
  14. Beanzy's Avatar
    Carbon fibre splice dressed with mahogany in maple neck
    Updated Jul-09-2016 at 11:13am by Beanzy
  15. Beanzy's Avatar
    Well we're underway with the woodwork;
    Single piece maple back and two piece Swiss pine front.


    Rim in single piece from point to point.


    Updated Jul-09-2016 at 10:56am by Beanzy
  16. Beanzy's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron McMillan
    Maybe I missed an earlier discussion about the mandolin concerned?

    Good luck with your order. I'd like to learn more
    Thanks Ron, I've been muttering about it in random posts every now and then since about 2012, but haven't been in a position to really go for it until now, as much through trying to decide what matters for what I want to play on the mandolin and how to design solutions for my chubby hands.

    I'm getting Phil Davidson to make it and he's been very accommodating and creative with incorporating my ideas into something practical to build.

    Pic of the only physical reality yet
  17. Ron McMillan's Avatar
    Maybe I missed an earlier discussion about the mandolin concerned?

    Good luck with your order. I'd like to learn more
  18. CrocatoanPicker's Avatar
    Wow. that's a beautiful Mandolin....or Mandolute. i haven't seen that bowlback style in my searching for a propper mandolin ..(i'm new to the instrument, and only have a $50 Rogue Mando for now).
    You have me searching for that style now !
    it looks to be pretty old with all those alterations you speak of over the years.
    Nice find !
  19. Beanzy's Avatar
    I've done a bit of fret levelling and cleaned it up. Took some photos of it in the sun. It's the most amazing sound for a bowlback mandolin. I'm still trying to decide how to describe it.



    Updated May-29-2013 at 5:03pm by Beanzy
  20. Beanzy's Avatar
    Thanks very much for that Jim. I'd say it's definitely the original of what they've based that 13 on. Even the arm rest pattern is the same cut out and shape.

    The label says 58-A so that may be what they used to call it. I read before that they changed the numbers not too long ago. The woods look old enough and the plate housing the tuners has been removed so the plastic tuner buttons could be a retro-fit. It had a bodged zero fret and the frets are really high, straight up with no widening into the mushroom top shape like modern frets.

    I'm 90% sure this one is 1977 from that label. The tag in the shop said 1922, and it could possibly be read as that, the writing looks too ambiguous to my eye. I'm away from base this week but I'll get some clear pics on a proper camera if I can borrow one. I'd love some opinions once I get them up there.

    The top has two tiny circular ring imprints where the extremities of the bridge would have been so I think it had one of the old style bridges originally. I've seen some where there are two metal caps in the bridge which bite down when the strings are tensioned perhaps it had those.

    I've got some ivory from an old crappy 1960s ornament at home that was going to the car boot sale, so I'll use that for this and the bridge I'll be doing for the Stridente I bought for £10. A friend just gave me some mahogany from an old library shelf and he has some ebony off-cuts coming through so once I know shapes etc I'll be able to make something up in the proper material but salvaged stuff.

    There's a couple of cracks in the finger-plate but these don't go to the wood.

    I reckon once I get the action sorted it'll be a long-time workhorse this one - whatever it is & whenever it is from.
  21. Jim Garber's Avatar
    Hi: I was just wondering about the model designation, Does it say 58A on the label. I see a model 13 on the Calace site that resembles yours and have owned some older ones but never heard of a 58A. Check out the document labeled "Mandolini 13 e 15" on this page.