Re: Does anyone have info about these bowl-back mandolins?
Originally Posted by
marcusvolk
..... It felt lighter than it looks, which was a turn off. Plus it looked like there was something like solidified chew spit inside lol.
"Lighter than it looks" should be a turn on when it comes to a bowlback mandolin. The dried tobacco chaw is another thing.
I nice light bowl should mean a resonant sound chamber. That mandolin is likely 100+ years old. If the "light" construction was going to cause problems, it would likely have done so by now. The Globe was likely made by one of the East Coast builders but it certainly has its bits of Italian influence: fretboard end cut to the curve profile of the soundhole and the cross section of the neck. Looks like maybe a tulipwood strip around the the bowl where it meets the top.
I've often wondered whether these might have been imported and relabeled or made by folks just over from Italy and thus some of the detailing shows that influence. Italian bowlbacks from this era are even lighter.
I'd go with the Globe in a heartbeat, all things equal when comping the two. At the asking price it should be readily playable with good action, etc. The CL photos look pretty good, though not conclusive.
Wouldn't be a bad place to begin a mandolin relationship.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
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