Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
I've got a feeling all these and surely more questions will be answered in the listing. That should be coming soon, I imagine, once the owner or broker tracks down all the info and works it all into shape. It's been in the shop for over three weeks. I think Mr. Coyle may have gotten this or that a little wrong. I'm trying to picture this being "in storage under a house" ... :confused: This would be in central CA, east of the Bay Area, so not blazingly hot climate.
BTW, there's another video of Mike Marshall playing it, this time with Caterina playing mandolin.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Chances are good that it's already spoken for, or that Mr. Coyle will choose to keep it.
For those who keep count, there are 7 signed K-5's in the archives. I will assume that there are also a few that aren't listed there. These are rare instruments indeed.
Strings?? I'd start with .020 - .030 - .042 - .062, see how the instrument reacts, and move up very cautiously on anything that's flabby. It might be necessary to go to a .064 on the C's, but it's better to err on the light side, especially to start with.
I've seen the D'Addario mandocello set ruin a K-1 in no time flat. I've also seen both their mandola sets damage the old Gibson mandolas. Think about it-- why do we see so many H-1's and 2's with sunken tops?
FWIW, I string my mandola 12 -20 -32 - 49 or 50 with good results.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
I generally go 70-46-32-20 on the Andersen mandocello; it has a truss rod, but then again, so does the K5. Perhaps I should lighten up.
I don't think Stevie's going to keep the K5; it's a consignment, after all, and I presume the owner has been made aware of its value.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Try it and see what happens. Strings are still cheap enough to experiment a little.
If you do, let us know the results.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
journeybear
.....It's not as if anyone can just call up Levenger or Simonoff....
What?????
Yes you can.
Both of those guys are very approachable, easy going people who are very passionate about instruments and love to chat it up.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
If you say so. Maybe you can, maybe Stevie Coyle can, if you're all part of a certain community, or if you happen to actually know them, and they you. I don't think I can, nor can Joe Blow from Kokomo. Maybe that would change if I were to have the good fortune to come into possession of such a fine, rare instrument as this, which they would surely find interesting, and had access to their numbers. None of that is the case, though.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Banana's phone number is right there on his website, although he says he prefers getting in touch by email.
https://www.vintageinstruments.com/
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Huh! And so is Siminoff's, at his website. Well, I'll be! I'd have thought people of a certain level of prominence in their fields would prefer not to be bothered by random people calling out of the blue, though that may be just me and how I value my privacy. But if that random person were to have discovered himself to be the owner of a fine, rare instrument such as this, I suppose that would be a welcome call, indeed. I stand admonished and a bit abashed. That said, I still think someone not conversant with the world of mandolins would do what this person did, and take it to the nearest fine instrument dealer.
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Did the serial number pop up?
and yes- banana, roger, darryl.. all those guys are very easily reachable, especially with mandolin-related malarkey :)
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
I'm flabbergasted. I would not think folks of their stature in the mandolin community would want to be bothered by cold calls about this or that. But then, they're in business, so they need to be available for such opportunities when they arise. Obviously, this instrument is an extreme case, not an exemplary one, and any one of them or like them would love to have been the first call. They wouldn't be; the nearest high-end-ish store would be, I'd think. And/or I thought. I can only imagine what went through the owner's mind when he opened the case and did a little googling. :disbelief:
In the aftermath and ongoing wow of Joni Mitchell's appearance at Newport on Sunday, this is perhaps even more mind-boggling. :disbelief:
As to the serial number: No mention in that video. I just assumed Coyle has seen it for him to specify 1924. I wonder what is taking so long for a listing to be generated. It showed up at his shop nearly a month ago, now. Guess they're taking their time, proceeding cautiously in order to have everything in order first for this once-in-a-lifetime situation. It's hard to be patient, isn't it?
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
If you've got the lettuce for a K5, you've probably got the lettuce for a plane ticket to the Bay Area to go see Stevie about it...
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
journeybear
I'm flabbergasted. I would not think folks of their stature in the mandolin community would want to be bothered by cold calls about this or that. But then, they're in business, so they need to be available for such opportunities when they arise. Obviously, this instrument is an extreme case, not an exemplary one, and any one of them or like them would love to have been the first call. They wouldn't be; the nearest high-end-ish store would be, I'd think. And/or I thought. I can only imagine what went through the owner's mind when he opened the case and did a little googling. :disbelief:
I sit on the end of the inbox for the mandolin archive. Every so often it *is* a loar that folks are asking about, but it's just as much fun when it's an A2 or a jr or pretty much any other old gibson instrument. I enjoy learning about them and it's great fun to let people know what they have and how it links to the past etc.
Most of the guys I've met in this world are the same way!
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Alrighty then. Hope that's all settled. Now, does anyone want to talk about the mandocello anymore? :confused:
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Has anyone been to see this cello, or do we know if Stevie still has it?
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mrmando
If you've got the lettuce for a K5, you've probably got the lettuce for a plane ticket to the Bay Area to go see Stevie about it...
Or it’s all you’ve got, and the kids new shoes have to wait another 6 months?
Re: Previously unknown Loar K5 Gibson mandocello shows up!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
David Lewis
Or it’s all you’ve got, and the kids new shoes have to wait another 6 months?
I could make shoes for the kids out of my old mandocello...