Printable View
This is pretty cute, and the case looks nice, too.
Attachment 202079
https://www.ebay.com/itm/13414594399...Cclp%3A2563228
Correct me if I'm wrong, though, this action does NOT look like "The action is high but could be adjusted thru the bridge," as the ad copy suggests. :(
Attachment 202080
I don't think the Golden Gate Bridge would get that playable.
It is nice looking with the tiny rosewood bowl and zero fret.
Minimum $470 with shipping?
This will sit around unsold for a long long time.
Maybe forever.
You could spend a lot of time and effort trying to get it playable.
From my experience with a few of these, they call them "pocket" mandolins for a good reason.
They sound as if you are playing a mandolin in your pocket.
I never have really understood these, though I have found them intriguing to look at.
The mandolin is already a pretty small instrument.
If you want something smaller, that's what harmonicas were invented for.
Mick
I have a German made early last century pocket sized mandolin. It is a little bigger than that, and needs a set up - though the action is almost right on. I figure don't give up, it has every chance of sounding great and being a lot of fun to play.
I also have a Weber Gallatin Sopranino, which is a small mandolin tuned CGDA, a fourth above standard tuning. (Or an octave above the mandola.) Here is a pic comparing in size with my Gibson A2. I play this often and like the option of the high voice.
That's a silly price for a pocket mandolin.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sue Rieter
They are rare but not very :)
Attachment 202088
:))Quote:
Originally Posted by brunello97
Looks to me that somebody has already had a go at sorting the neck out. You can see the shim on the side view of the neck. Wall hanger or firewood? The case is probably worth something.
"Cute" is not the term I would use for any musical instrument that I would by in order to play. "Cute" is better for puppies, babies, and kittens. Even the most playable of these is not exceptional soundwise and this one has had reptile dentistry applied to its neck joint. I might buy something like this to decorate a wall if found at a flea market for $20. Other than that, Sue, walk the other way. You have some excellent mandolins to play. I am sure they each have cuteness in their own way. :)
I’ll buy cute, if the definition includes the vast array of decorative stuff found on, especially, mandolins. Inlay, rosettes, butterflies and completely decorative use of wood doesn’t count for playability. We don’t see ornament like this in many other types of instruments (electrics and cheap ukuleles excluded); sobriety in design is the rule. It happens that ornamented antique instruments are often connected with actual sonic worth as indicators of build parameters, but we distrust some modern, specifically Asian examples as just vulgarity. Funny thing.
So if an unusually diminutive mandolin appeals because it is small, I think it’s ok to say it’s cute.
I do agree that this particular one is a $20 flea market candidate, not worth repair, and hope the Ebay sellers weren’t themselves conned in paying more for it, and if not, are not trying to con a buyer. But a picture of a kitten sleeping in the case….
I am not saying at all that one should never use the term cute only that in this case it may be only cute with no other redeeming characteristics. Hey I own two cute, adorable, cuddly, dainty, little, petite, piccolo mandolins. See below next to full-size Vega bowlback. Hey, in comparison to our six-string fretted brethren mandolins will always be much cuter and more cuddlier. :)
Attachment 202110
:)):)):))Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Garber
Jim, trust me, I have no personal interest in that particular instrument, and I saw the nonstandard alligator lutherie. I just got a huge kick out of the fact that the seller would claim that action like that could be adjusted away. Ha ha, over 1/4" and only a few frets down.
Perhaps it should have been listed in the "Won't get a bid or a buyer" thread rather than extolling it's cuteness ;)
Yup, I think it is the only redeeming characteristic in this case! :grin:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Garber
I haven't got one, but from what I understand about how you hold one, "cuddly" could potentially be used as an adjective for a bowlback :cool:
Ha, ha, thanks for a good laugh at the end of a long day of graphics editing!
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 marquetry on it.
Mine's German-made, but US-labeled, so an import. It has virtually no projection at all. I keep it 'cause I keep stuff, especially instruments. Wish I had the case this one comes in, but not enough to pay over $50 for it.
These are oddities, not really serious instruments for the serious mandolinist. Something to complete a collection, or display as part of a "The Many Wonders of the Mondo Mando" expo. Much different from the Weber "sopranolin," which is a well-made, pro-quality instrument -- although I don't play it often.
You want cute?? Here's a whole draw of cute pochettes from my visit years ago to the back rooms of the Metropolitan Museum in NYC>
Attachment 202356