View Profile: allenhopkins - Mandolin Cafe Forum

Aug-05-2022, 12:14pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Information on Michael Kelly Mandolin in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Weber's a much superior instrument, hand-carved, top-notch US manufacture. MK's are passable Asian-made mandolins, emphasizing attractive...

13 replies | 1755 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 2:29pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Stephen Foster on Mandolin & Tabs at a Jam? in Old-Time, Roots, Early Country, Cajun, Tex-Mex

Try the Civil War version: "Let us pause our game of poker, take our tin cups in our hand, While we all stand around the cook-tent door -- Where...

16 replies | 5821 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 2:23pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread What is a method? in Theory, Technique, Tips and Tricks

Lots of vintage instruction books are labeled as the "XXX Method for the Mandolin." Usually refers to the musician/teacher who had them printed.

6 replies | 433 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 2:18pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Regal Octofone in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

Me too. Mine needed a headstock repair, and a neck re-set. I had a carbon fiber bar installed in the neck, which had warped enough to make the...

13 replies | 857 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 2:04pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1929 Martin Style C Mandolin with side crack - Worth fixing? in Vintage Instruments

From the catalog pic of the Style C in Longworth's Martin book, they came with "cloud" tailpiece covers, engraved. Can't make out the engraving...

17 replies | 1260 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 1:53pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Devastating floods in Kentucky in Builders and Repair

Museum of the Mountain Dulcimer in Hindman is now "Museum of Soggy Splintered Wood," or nearly, I'm told.

8 replies | 708 view(s)

Aug-04-2022, 1:27pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Dose anyone know anything about this mandolin or its value in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Well, perhaps I should be careful; 'tis not my Cafe role to give etiquette tips (that's the moderators' job). However, I sometimes wonder if we get...

35 replies | 2177 view(s)

Aug-03-2022, 1:04pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1929 Martin Style C Mandolin with side crack - Worth fixing? in Vintage Instruments

Crack's still visible, but to me that's "instrument history," not a defect, once repaired. Absolutely beautiful instrument! If you can dig up one...

17 replies | 1260 view(s)

Aug-03-2022, 12:54pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Dose anyone know anything about this mandolin or its value in Looking for Information About Mandolins

We have a tendency to get a bit facetious in responding to what I'm sure is a serious inquiry from someone who doesn't know a lot about mandolins,...

35 replies | 2177 view(s)

Aug-03-2022, 12:38pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Comments on the Value of Gibson A4 Mandolin with hard case in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Quick glance at current ads shows a range from $1,850 for a used black-top at Guitar Center, to $6,300 for a snake-head on Reverb. Most of the...

23 replies | 690 view(s)

Aug-03-2022, 12:25pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread High e-string keeps snapping, help? in General Mandolin Discussions

J R, get back to us and tell us where on the string the breaks occur: at the tuning peg, at the nut, at the bridge, at the tailpiece, or all over the...

19 replies | 873 view(s)

Aug-03-2022, 12:22pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Picking Fiddle Tunes? in General Mandolin Discussions

Not on a fiddle. Proper question: "Is there any additional money in second position?"

46 replies | 2132 view(s)

Jul-31-2022, 12:21pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1898 Martin Style 6. What should I do? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

And yet we all are familiar with Monroe's Mule Spinner Blues, right? Or did I get that wrong...?

32 replies | 1326 view(s)

Jul-29-2022, 11:32am

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1898 Martin Style 6. What should I do? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Again consulting Longworth's book, he shows 39 Model 6a mandolins made between 1903 and 1920. Here's what Longworth wrote about these instruments: ...

32 replies | 1326 view(s)

Jul-28-2022, 3:17pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Can anyone please help to identify this? Thanks in Looking for Information About Mandolins

I'm guessing Supertone, like this one Jake Wildwood shows. Supertone was a label used by Sears Roebuck for catalog sales of instruments, often made...

4 replies | 660 view(s)

Jul-28-2022, 3:09pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1898 Martin Style 6. What should I do? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Well, I've had good experience with Bernie Lehmann at Lehmann Stringed Instruments here in Rochester. Basically, he builds guitars, but he's done...

32 replies | 1326 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 3:26pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Cute lil' bowlback on ebay in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

I have a Holdrio Piccolo "pocket" mandolin. Price was right: my great-aunt gave it to me. Top's scuffed up, but has some fun quasi-Ethiopian...

11 replies | 1731 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 3:17pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 3-point Gibson conversion from 1972 on eBay in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

Wonder where the Handel tuners went? The seller says they replaced "50-year old" ones, but the Handels would have been closer to 100 years old. ...

24 replies | 1137 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 3:02pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Larson Brothers? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

On the "Larson sound" question: my Stahl mandola, pretty clearly Larson-made, has a real bass emphasis. Hard to ID the body wood, due to the very...

20 replies | 984 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 2:48pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Antique guitar shaped mandolin - info?? in Vintage Instruments

These guitar-shaped mandolins are often called "mandolinettos." The prison-labor attribution is believable, but the inmate would have had to obtain...

7 replies | 445 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 2:38pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Jerry Capehart in Vintage Instruments

Eight-string ukuleles are often called "taropatches." The 12-string mandolin, or "mandriola," is often found in this country made by Oscar Schmidt...

3 replies | 295 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 2:30pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Is this really a Gibson? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

There could be some relation to the "Platonic form" of an object, that somehow exists apart from the physical manifestation, but which the physical...

30 replies | 1579 view(s)

Jul-27-2022, 2:13pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1898 Martin Style 6. What should I do? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

You have a real rarity; per Longworth's book, only 106 Style 6 mandolins were made over 25 years, 1896-1921. I think you should contact a vintage...

32 replies | 1326 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 10:03pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Vega Mando Banjolele in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Here's a fairly old thread on Vega Style K's. Style K was a basic-level Vega instrument, no tone ring. It's not a "banjolele," if it's set up for...

3 replies | 281 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 9:46pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Is this really a Gibson? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Yeah, yeah, but when is an instrument, originally made by Gibson, no longer eligible to be advertised as such?? There are thousands of "Gibson"...

30 replies | 1579 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 9:33pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Avenue Guitars in Colorado? in General Mandolin Discussions

Oh, where were these guys when I was at Ft. Carson, 1965-67? Had to go clear to Denver to buy stuff at Harry Tuft's Folklore Center.

19 replies | 1064 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 9:30pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Picking Fiddle Tunes? in General Mandolin Discussions

Fiddle was the main melody instrument in traditional string-band music, and that music was largely, though not exclusively, based around a dance tune...

46 replies | 2132 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 9:16pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread What's the best way to dust my fretboard? in General Mandolin Discussions

Not to be a smarta*s, but I'd keep 'em in their cases. For reasons including, but not limited to, dust protection. You can find at a general...

43 replies | 1396 view(s)

Jul-26-2022, 9:12pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Need advice between two guitars. in Equipment

Since you've made your choice, I won't offer a lot of analysis. Fender Redondo has a larger body, and a cutaway to make reaching higher frets...

8 replies | 641 view(s)