I got this mandolin at an auction for a bargain and was wondering if anyone could help me identify the builder/brand/model of the mandolin.
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I got this mandolin at an auction for a bargain and was wondering if anyone could help me identify the builder/brand/model of the mandolin.
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Can you show photos of the back of the headstock so we can see the tuners and the back of the mandolin as well, thank you.
That reminds me of a mandolin I saw once that was made in the Philippines.
I'm waiting for it. When it gets here i will take more photos and show. Thank you!
I'm waiting for it. When it gets here i will take more photos and show. Thank you!Quote:
Originally Posted by NickR
I am just wondering if some Stradolin branded mandolins were made in the Far East. I know some guitars were made there to be branded as Stradolin for sale in the USA but I am not sure about mandolins- and I would expect to see the brand name.
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It seems that, at some point, there was a sticker on the neck.
Was it a small sticker like this example down below in terms of size? The size is mentioned at the bottom of the listing and it is 1 in X 3/16 in. I found a Japanese Stradolin for sale on eBay- so they do exist but this one is different to your mandolin. The tuners on this Stradolin are definitely Japanese- those on your mandolin are probably Japanese but could be Korean, I suppose.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/18475085322...0AAOSwo91gbj9C
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Made-In-Jap...-/233767813217
This isn't a Strad-O-Lin genre mandolin. It's an import. The imported Strad-O-Lin branded mandolins didn't look like this either. Don't assume that it's a Strad because of the segmented F holes.
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...l=1#post451770
Hello Mike! Before buying the mandolin i made some reaserch and i also agree that it isn't a Strad o lin. I'm just lookng for some information about it and, at this this point, i believe it probably was built in Asia (Japan, Korea or Philippines).
Thank you.
I do believe it was built in Asia, I'm just not sure where.
It reminds me of instruments built around 1980 +/- a few years, that were generally built in Japan and Korea.
I don't recall ever coming across any instruments built in the Phillipines.
You might have seen some of the so-called Serviceman's Fender Jaguar and Stratocaster guitars that were complete (yet, terrible) forgeries of Fender's current models in the 60's. These were built in the Phillipines in the 60's to be marketed to American servicemen in Viet Nam. Quite a few were brought home to the USA. I've seen a bunch over the years and have owned a couple. From 10 feet away they looked pretty good, but up close everything was wrong, but kinda close. They only had Nato wood known as Phillipine mahogany to work with, so a maple neck required a creme color finish over the reddish wood. I was told Nato wood grows about 30 feet a season, so there's that. Anyway, interesting stuff. You can read about it online. They (Phillipine bootleggers) also copied Beatles, Stones, etc. records directly from the record itself and these were sold in flimsy plastic covered paper covers and sold to US soldiers in Viet Nam. These also show up in the vintage record market.Quote:
Originally Posted by rcc56
Dear friends, i think i solved the mistery of the identity of my mandolin. I've found some photos and information of a japanese brand called Maruha:
"Maruha Gakki Seizo, (Maruha Musical Instruments Worldwide), was located in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, was founded in 1948 and made primarily acoustic Guitars, however they also made Mandolins and Ukuleles too. As well as Maruha, there is a second branding of Hashimoto or F. Hashimoto, (I have seen both), in Japan that is associated with it and In the US I have seen Guitars branded Domino and Monica, but no other instruments.
It was founded by Mr Fumio Hashimoto, (who designed fighter planes in WWII), and continued in business until the 1980's, (certainly past 1978, the Guitars were all dated and I have seen one with this date), though I don't think they made Ukuleles beyond the early 70's. They apparently built some acoustic Guitar bodies for Teisco and Guyatone as well as for their own products".
Here are some of the photos i found.
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Yes, you may well have found the maker- those f holes suggest the maker might be this Japanese company you have found.