Need help identifying this mandolin

[Denman John]

Hi,

A friend recently gave us a mandolin that his mother used to play back in the late 60's/early 70's. I was told that she bought it in a pawn shop back in the day and its been sitting in a case for quite a number of years. There is no label on the inside and part of the label decal on the headstock has come off over the years.

From the pictures, does anyone know what it is? It's actually a really nice sounding and playing mandolin, although a couple of the tuners have become stiff. It has a nice open sound that sounds great on Irish numbers. Does anyone know what kind of replacement tuners would work on this mandolin?

Thanks in advance!
John

[EdHanrahan]

"B & J Certified Musical Products", maybe? Possibly a local music store's add-on decal, but that's just a guess.

The "split" f-holes hint at an economical but highy regarded Strad-O-Lin, but I'm no expert. Those folks will probably chime in soon, yea or nae.

... what kind of replacement tuners would work on this mandolin?

Most likely the ones that are on it now, per Cafe member Paul Hostetter ...
http://www.lutherie.net/tuner.maintenance.html

Hope this helps!

[MikeEdgerton]

Are there any numbers stamped inside the f holes? The tuners are the more modern style worm over style tuners. There are quite a few options. You need to make sure sure the spacing post center to post center is 29/32" (23mm). I'm pretty sure it will be. Also, the tuners that are on there have some resale value. Many times the holes for the posts are not drilled correctly in the headstock. You could possibly make them turn easier and hold better by servicing them and adding a bushing.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's not a Strad-O-Lin genre mandolin. If there are no numbers inside we go on from there. The stick-on decal label shows this as a mandolin built "for the trade", to be labeled or not labeled by whomever was selling it.

[allenhopkins]

If it is "B & J," that's Bugeleisen and Jacobson, a major 20th century music distributor -- and apparently still active in Canada. B & J didn't build instruments, but cataloged and sold instruments, accessories, sheet music etc. from a variety of manufacturers.

The segmented f-holes with the comma-shaped segments at the end, are seen on Kay and Regal instruments. I'm guessing Chicago made, mid-20th-century, sold by B & J or some other distributor. This Yahoo Answers page mentions an S S Stewart guitar with a "B & J Certified Musical Products" label, so I'd say Ed's guess is spot-on.

[Denman John]

Thanks for all the information. For an economical instrument, it sounds and plays great. The neck is straight with nice med/low action that is very comfortable to play and the tone is surprisingly good. I oiled the tuners and they seem to be a little better, but time will tell.

B&J sounds about right as the mandolin has resided in a case in Canada for at least 40-50 years. Thanks again for your help with identifying this mandolin.

John