1929 Sadik Buyukcaglar on e-bay (Turkish Mandolin)

[LadysSolo]

Okay, I think this looks kind of neat for the price. I am sorely tempted, but would not mind if someone else bought it (I don't need another mandolin but ....) It's item # 252516760998. Any opinions? (I haven't figured out how to import pictures from e-bay yet.) I am still thinking about it......

[brunello97]

Okay, I think this looks kind of neat for the price. I am sorely tempted, but would not mind if someone else bought it (I don't need another mandolin but ....) It's item # 252516760998. Any opinions? (I haven't figured out how to import pictures from e-bay yet.) I am still thinking about it......

Here you go.

Not sure how your computer set up works, but you should be able to "right click" and save an image from the eBay ad and attach to your message. That's what I did.

Just my dos centavos, but this looks muy sketchioso, especially the action. Not to be snarky but this appears a fairly low grade mando despite its exotic origins. For $35 I'd invest in some Dogal Calace Dolce strings for one of your bowlbacks and a nice Portuguese vinho verde for a late summer afternoon.

Mick

[Jim Garber]

Good advice from Mick, as usual. I do love the blingey pickguard, tho.

[Bruce Clausen]

Anyone hear know Turkish? Label probably says the company was founded in 1929. Pretty hard to imagine Istanbul had 5-digit postal codes and 6-digit phone numbers back then. No. 89 is the street address, not the model.

I agree that the mando itself looks mighty basic. So yes, some good strings and a nice vinho verde instead...

[midwinterspring]

Anyone hear know Turkish? Label probably says the company was founded in 1929. Pretty hard to imagine Istanbul had 5-digit postal codes and 6-digit phone numbers back then. No. 89 is the street address, not the model.

I know a bit of Turkish, but it's not much help here. I think you're right about the company founding year and street address. Not sure about the phone number. I don't know about the evolution of phone numbers in Turkey, or anywhere else for that matter, but since the label only indicates the founding year of the company, it's not unlikely the mandolin itself was made at a later date, so six numbers doesn't seem all that dramatic. Sicil means something more like registration, so I don't think it refers to a postal code. More likely some kind of registration number for the company.

I don't know anything about the different makers behind the old Turkish mandolins, but here's a video of one fellow who plays on the ferries here in Istanbul. He uses these old local models:



Of course, I have no idea about the particular mandolin you are looking at. But for $35, it's not a very big risk. It wouldn't be an exorbitant amount if it was just being sold as wall decoration.