It appears to have the necessary provenance. One assumes that the family members were not keen mandolin players and the instrument has been carefully stored for a century.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Min...f25a%7Ciid%3A1
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It appears to have the necessary provenance. One assumes that the family members were not keen mandolin players and the instrument has been carefully stored for a century.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-Min...f25a%7Ciid%3A1
Yes, it appears to be in very fine and original condition. We do still occasionally seem them in that condition, but less often than we used to.
I hope the seller is not too disappointed if he finds that its value has not necessarily "gone up considerably" from its price as appraised by Mandolin Brothers. It might bring a little more on a good day, but not very much more.
Also being discussed here.
Yes, some fairly acerbic but pertinent comments regarding the seller's view of what it might be worth based on an old valuation from the days of yore. It is indeed very nice but it is what it is and its market worth is only so much even in tip top condition.
This one is living at my house now. Very pleased with this very clean and sweet sounding instrument. Only thing I can find as an issue is it gets a bit sharp as you work your way up the fretboard.
Well done! Have you tried to move the bridge a bit further down the top away from the pickguard? The photos from the listing show the bridge right up under the guard and the scale length may be too short as a consequence making it play sharp. I would sincerely doubt that the mandolin was made with an intonation problem although a bent neck would create problems. However, if the neck is fine then it is most probably a question of trial and error to position the bridge correctly- which may have never been done in the past. After all, the instrument has been stored rather than played.
Another thing to take into account are the stories of the Gibson fret saw spacers being a bit out of wack and placing the frets wrong. Over the years that has come up now and then. I don't recall when it was at its zenith.
I've measured a bunch of them, and the accuracy of some of them leaves much to be desired. However, mandolins made after 1918 seem more prone to having out of tolerance fret placement than earlier ones, and the odds are good that yours is ok and you just need a bridge adjustment and possibly a professional set-up. The earliest one that I have had on my workbench that was a candidate for fret spacing correction was made between 1919 and 1921. I don't remember the exact year, but it was a brown A-2.
Loosen all but the two outer strings, move the bridge back until the fretted note at the 12th fret is in tune with the 12th fret harmonic, and make sure the bridge doesn't lean forward when you tighten the rest of the strings. Repeat if necessary.
I would hope and trust that when the mandolin was assessed by Mandolin Brothers in 2004, it was played and the intonation was assessed as part of their valuation. It's all very well and good being virtually unmarked but if the frets are not where they should be then this should feature in the appraisal and affect the valuation which was a high figure.
I bought several instruments from Stan Jay, I loved the guy and his store but I wouldn't make that assumption. I seriously doubt they would have checked that.
Appraisals are rarely to market value and it sold for about what I would have expected it to sell at $1,227.00. That is actually a premium price.Quote:
...was officially appraised back in 2004 by Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island at $1,500, and in the past 16 years it's value has gone up considerably.
I think that the late Paul Hostetter had done some research of the saw issue and the fret placement. I'll see if I can dig out the threads.
If you have a different gauge of strings, or the humidity has swollen the instrument and changed the action, the intonation will change even if it was right when you bought it.
That $1,227 failed to make the reserve and the mandolin was relisted. The buyer commenting here paid a cool $1,826.
Ok then, maybe I won't part the one I'm sitting on out.Quote:
Originally Posted by NickR
Here's one of the articles that's been floating around on this issue - https://www.allenguitar.com/smakula.htmQuote:
Originally Posted by rcc56
Gentlemen, Thanks for your advice / comments. I was thinking it might need a bit of bridge adjustment. The potential of a fret spacing issue is unexpected. Figuring out the value of anything is difficult, but when I compared the cosmetics of this A to other instruments listed for just a few hundred dollars less I thought it was worth the bid.
The exact positions of the frets on the old Gibsons varies from instrument to instrument. The general tendencies are that the first five or six are a bit far back, 7 through 12 are not too bad, and anything can happen above the 12th fret. I've noted the same thing on their guitars.
A large number of these instruments play well enough as is. Some need correction. Sometimes moving the nut back 1/64" is enough, sometimes 2 or 3 frets need to be moved. The worst I have seen was a very late A-4. I had to replace the fingerboard on that one.
The ear is more forgiving than the science. I have found that most of the instruments sound well enough if none of the frets are no more than +/- 1/64" from their ideal position. My approach is to leave the instruments alone unless the intonation is noticeably objectionable. When it is, I try to find the simplest and least invasive solution to the problem.
Most of the teens instruments I have encountered do well enough if left alone other than making sure that the nut is well adjusted, a good spot can be found for the bridge, and any deep grooves in the frets are addressed.
Mr. Hammers, the chances are very good that your instrument will be fine if you find a good spot for the bridge and have a good repairman adjust the nut.
Thanks for posting. Quite an interesting article.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Platt