Re: Unknown Suzuki bowlback (MR-300)
I think the 70s-era Suzukis are more often the good ones. I've had a few, among the ones I tend to collect for students. I've heard about bent necks, but am thinking that's likely because of the echo chamber effect here. The bending-neck problem happens often, on old bowlbacks, because today's strings are too heavy. The Suzukis were somewhat heavily-built, but not impervious to this kind of overstringing damage.
Just this week I got a lovely early Vega, and the strings measure 10 to 39 (ouch!). The lower strings are too thick for the bridge slots, and are binding. Neck has pulled forward a bit, but no way to tell if that's recent, or from years of use. It plays OK as is, but will probably need elective surgery to be its best.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
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