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Any differences of A-model vs. F-model, gloss finish vs. matte finish, binding vs. no binding, and other basically non-acoustic features, are insignificant compared to the differences among...

In my experience, two factors cause instruments to go sharp: increased humidity and increased temperature, both of which can cause wood to expand and stretch strings out a bit more. I keep most of...

If you can forego the esthetic lure of the F-model scroll, many Cafe-ers have been quite satisfied with the Eastman MD305 A-model. Bernunzio has just received a case of them, priced at $509 each. ...

Unscrupulous types who counterfeit paper money, don't make $1 or $5 bills. They make $50's and $100's. That's where their profit is.

I'd expect that a "mandolin counterfeiter" would build a...

Replying to a 2012 post may be a bit beside the point, but I just traded in the 1954 F-5 I owned for 44 years, and it gave me good service all through that period. Each instrument is an individual,...

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of Strad-O-Lins that were "ugly ducklings" compared to some of my fancier instruments. Ditto for a whole bunch of Regal run-of-the-mills that did the job -- uke,...

Mike, not sure that your solution completely addresses Tim's problem. Shrinking the cavity of the winder will prevent the tuner knobs from slipping around inside it, burt won't reduce its outside...

You have a bargain luthier if he gave it a complete re-fret and will sell it for 100 buxx. Maybe he just replaced first-position worn frets.

Harmony mandolins were cheap instruments. The ones...

You guys are cruel, CRUEL!

Every instrument has its place, somewhere.* I played my Vega Little Wonder MB in a klezmer band, on certain tunes; it held its own with clarinet and accordion. I...

Gold Tone makes a decent one, the MB-850. Goes for around $640 US new. There are many many used ones all over the market; you can pay a lot for an old Gibson or Paramount, or a few buxx for a Bruno...

I've built cases for a National Triolian, a Washburn bowl-back mandola, a bowed psaltery and a Polk-A-Lay-Lee. I would be embarrassed to show any of them to Cafe members. Definitely "heavy boxes,"...

Vernon Derrick wrote Arab Bounce when working with Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys. I think I learned it off a Martin LP, 'way back when.

What "resonator?"

The manufacturer just drilled a bunch of "screen holes" around the perimeter of a cheap mandolin. The "resonator" Blue Comets at least have a body that looks like it has a...

Elderly used to sell a little wire rack called the Harp Handle; I bought one and have used it for over 20 years, and Dunlop still makes 'em. It's light and simple, and if you keep the wing nuts and...

As an ex-banjo player, you may play a bit of bluegrass (excluding Dueling Banjos, which only got popular in bluegrass when it got into the Top 40 courtesy of Eric Weissberg -- although the Dillards...

Speaking as a long time harmonica-ist:

Marine Bands are good harps; they've been around for a century or so. Only drawback I've found is that the wood dividers between the holes can get moistened...

And just to add confusion and complexity (always my forte), I purchased a Weber Gallatin "sopranolin" that's tuned CGDA, an octave higher than a mandola. I guess the violin equivalent would be the...

The spacing of the frets reflects the proper notes of the scale. If you put frets further apart, you get different notes. As John H says, you can remove the frets you don't intend to use, but then...

"Washburn" was originally a brand name for the big Chicago music firm Lyon & Healy; it was George Lyon's middle name, and L & H used it to label their higher-end line of stringed instruments. The...

Thanx to all who've posted; the Stelling's as ornate and full-voiced as I expected it would be. And yes, I did keep a ukulele -- I actually have a half-dozen: Martin Sryle 0 soprano, Regal 8-string...

I put in a link to the pics on Bernunzio's website; it's marked "Sold" as of 3:30 p.m. today.

Forty-four years ago I purchased a Gibson F-5, Serial #A17518, from Stutzman's Guitar Center here in Rochester. My first (turned out to be my only) bluegrass band had just broken up, but I knew that...

Exactly the response one would expect.

I got Dick Spottswood's The Blue Sky Boys for Christmas, and frankly, was disappointed. It turned out to be largely transcribed quotes from interviews with Bill Bolick (Bill and brother Earl were...

Having just turned 77 New Year's Eve, I find this thread's title ominous