Wonderful acquisitions, Sue. As someone with a serious case of GAS/MAS, it’s probably good that I don’t live closer to Nebraska. I’m kinda lusting after the Gibson mandobass currently listed in the classifieds by Steve Hansen. It would look great next to my matching blacktop Gibson mandocello and mandolin. Still keeping my eye out for the appropriate H2 mandola to complete the set.
- Denis
Yeah, if you think "MAS" can be an issue, consider General Instrument Acquisition Syndrome...
What's always attracted me, is an instrument that's a bit unusual, more nearly unique. A four-foot-long ukulele, a tiple, a resonator tenor guitar, a gourd banjo, a late-1890's Autoharp, a baritone concertina -- something like that.
As mandolinists, we are offered a steady stream of F-5 clones, some wonderful, some ordinary, some "mandolin-shaped objects." Nothing wrong with that; the F-5 Gibson is perhaps the most influential mandolin design of the past century. But the Octofone came and went, leaving a few remnants behind, so acquiring one at a reasonable price, getting it fixed up, and playing it at jams and performances, seems oddly satisfying. And my oft-repaired '30's Regal taropatch has become my regular performance ukulele, cracks, replaced bridge, and all.
As I sneak up on age 80 (hope I make it, come on Moderna vaccine!), I slowly divest of some of my accumulation. But a nearly one-of instrument -- Stelling Longhorn banjo (supposedly only four made), Larson brothers mando-bass, or something similar, still will lead me to acquire it.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Bargain found (and not too far either?): https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/171672#171672
1924 Gibson A Snakehead
2005 National RM-1
2007 Hester A5
2009 Passernig A5
2015 Black A2-z
2010 Black GBOM
2017 Poe Scout
2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
2018 Vessel TM5
2019 Hogan F5
It's about 2-1/2 hours away. I messaged him a bit ago
We'll see what happens.
Looks like it's going to happen. Sending him a deposit.
Already passed the hurdle of mentioning it and hearing about how many instruments I already have.
I played the investment card.
Well, since the basic model Octofone sold by Regal for under $20 "back in the day," your "investment" has seen a certain level of growth already...
Under the heading of "protect your investment," I'd only renew my caution that the Octofone is a very lightly constructed instrument; it was inexpensively designed and built, not of the finest woods, and prone to neck problems -- either warpage, or distortion of the neck-body joint. String 'er lightly, use some care, and she'll produce a lot of volume.
I had the fretboard pulled on mine, and the dyed whateverwood replaced with ebony; at the same time, I had a carbon-fiber bar installed in a channel routed out of the neck, to add stiffness. Got a deal on the repair, around $200-250, but it still pretty much doubled the price. Still, it was worth it.
Also, tuners and tailpiece (which can be manipulated to accept either ball-end or loop-end strings) are on the cheapo side. Mine are serviceable, and I don't intend to replace them, but they're "economy class" at best.
As I mentioned earlier, I have mine strung GDAE like an octave mandolin, but with "octave" stringing on the 3rd and 4th courses, somewhat like a 12-string guitar. The lighter octave strings are "up" when the instrument's in playing position, so that the pick hits them first on a down-stroke. My string gauges are .011/.011 plain on the 1st course, .020/.020 plain 2nd course, .016 plain/.030 wound 3rd course, .018 plain/.045 wound 4th.
And, what about a case, you may ask? Are you getting one? Mine had an ill-fitting pre-WWII chipboard guitar case, so I now keep it in a 3/4 size Strunel guitar gig bag. Wonder if there were fitted Octofone cases when these were new, or whether they got stuck in low-end guitar cases? Anyone know?
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Ah, it's not really an investment. I feel like that's just something to say when your partner says you have enough instruments. I haven't bought anything high end at all, so far, though, and I don't think I would lose if I decided to shuffle the mix.
I also told him (my DH) that there was only one other that I was interested in for now, and he quickly picked up on the "for now" and said, "This isn't going to end, is it." Probably not, said I.
I don't know as this one is a bargain. I think it's a decent price, though, compared to what I've seen since I started thinking about these. I don't guess there's too many octofones out there that have had the neck reinforced like Allen's. This one's had the neck reglued and bolted, some braces glued, frets leveled and it's been wearing very light strings. He says it's been stable since it was worked on about 5 years ago. And I like that the work was done by Jake Wildwood.
Thanks, Allen, for the specifics on your strings. That's probably how I will string it up.
It comes with a poor fitting chipboard case. I'll have to see it, but maybe I will do some modifications with foam and cloth. I saw one, I can't find it now, that had an old case that flapped open at the bottom and the instrument slid in. That didn't look super awesome either. The new (non-Regal) ones have nice custom TKL cases, but they don't sell them separately.
I'll probably drive up middle of next week, so I'll keep ya posted.
One ploy is to infect DH with the same mania. I convinced my wife to get a uke, and she liked it well enough to buy a guitar. (Wonder what's next? )
D.H.
Ha ha, not much chance of that! I love him, but he's very left brained and thinks I've gone off the deep end
Saw this today on reverb
A bit "whipped" for $600, IMHO, but I love the ol' original chipboard case -- which is in much better shape than the Octofone itself...
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
I like the case, too. Do you think the folks whose octofones fell apart largely threw away their cases?
Yeah, probably. Usually there was an extra charge for the case, so not everyone bought one. The case is of peculiar design (designed to fit this peculiar instrument); it wouldn't work for a banjo or guitar, most probably. So if you didn't have an Octofone, no use keeping the case.
Chipboard cases are a really interesting subject; some are much better made than others -- covered, lined, carefully stitched -- and can last a long time. Others are pretty much "throwaways," designed for cheap instruments and not likely to last. I have cases of both types for some of my older instruments, such as bowl-back mandolins, three-quarter size guitars, etc., because they're the only kind I can find for those instruments.
If I ever found an Octofone case available, even a chipboard one, I'd snap it up if it were realistically priced. Not likely to go after the one on Reverb, at that price, just to get the case, though.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Took a ride up to the NH Mushroom Co in Tamworth NH this morning. Yeah, I did come home with mushrooms.
Also came home with this Octofone. (I met the seller at the mushroom farm.)
This was worked on 5 years ago by Jake Wildwood. You can see his original writeup here
It unfortunately no longer has the hair over 1/16" action that it left Vermont with at the time. It was at least 1/8" untuned at the 12th fret. If I hadn't been able to reach Jake by phone, I'd have left without it. We talked it over, and it will be going in for the full "Allen Hopkins treatment" of reinforcing the neck and replacing the fretboard. So I won't have it to play with for awhile, but it'll be in good shape when I get it back.
Oh, and the case is crap. Ugly and musty and poorly fitting. So I'll have to figure something else out.
Last edited by Sue Rieter; Jun-09-2021 at 3:15pm.
Yours is pretty nearly identical to mine -- same soundhole purfling, same tailpiece, same low-budget tuners. Hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
It'll be even more like yours after it comes back from the hospital with it's carbon fiber rod
Jake was like, that's what these really need but people usually don't want to do it.
I'm expecting it to be alot of fun, and I'll be happy that it is more resilient. I'd been thinking it might need the reinforcement at some point, but wasn't expecting it to be right out of the gates.
Really makes me wonder sometimes how Octofones were strung when originally sold. The name was supposed to indicate "eight instruments in one," tenor guitar, tenor banjo, ukulele, taropatch, tiple, mandolin, mandola, and mandocello, according to Regal's blurb. Of course, one would need to use different strings and tunings to set one up as one or another of this list. (Besides, how can a big mandolin-type instrument be a "tenor banjo?")
The instrument's so lightly built, and so prone to neck issues, that I'd guess it was strung quite lightly as well. It's one that a modern player needs to "baby" a bit. I assume the contemporary version built by the Octofone Guitar Co., with a pin bridge, rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and super-engraved Korean tuners, is built to handle regular guitar or tenor guitar strings -- though I don't see a truss rod, come to think of it. I also was a bit bewildered by their description of the spruce top as "moon wood" --
Top and internal Bracing – MoonWood – Spruce-from the Swiss/Austrian/Italian Alps- The MoonWood is harvested once a year when there is a full moon. At this time the moisture is pulled from the tree into its roots. Also the leaves on the trees form a canopy which allows the leaves to have full direct sun throughout the day causing the grains of the wood to be their straightest. This forest is located above 10,000 feet and is the very same forest that Stradivarius used to make his famous violins nearly 200 years ago.
Sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me. Anyway, the new guys want $2400 for their version, which I would calculate, based on the Regal catalog listing shown on this website, is either 80 or 160 times what the original Octofone cost. Sure, there's been inflation, but still...
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Ha! I would really like to hear what the dendrologists among us think of this. Sounds like marketing for those of a certain esoteric mindset.
Is it harvested on a certain full moon, ie. the "Full Tree Moon" or something like that? Can it be any full moon? Why just once a year? Winter v. summer? Enquiring minds want to know ....
I think I'll go over to the builder section and ask ...
Last edited by Sue Rieter; Jun-12-2021 at 8:44am.
I once got an email advertising "Cuban organic water".
D.H.
Also, since spruce is an evergreen, I believe it has needles rather than "leaves."
And, there's a full moon every month, not once a year.
Picky, picky, picky...
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Brought the Octofone up to Vermont today. I think I'm going to get it back sooner than I thought. He took the strings off, and the neck was straight without strings on, so it looks like it's not going to need any planing, just the cf rod inserted. Fretboard came right off very cleanly (I watched him do it, which was cool), so since the frets are in good shape, we will keep the same fretboard for now. He will also put in a wedge between the neck and the body to correct the angle; he just has to loosen the bolt that he put in last time, and put the wedge in there. After that, it will get a new (adjustable) bridge and then it will be done. He said he was expecting it to need more work than it does.
While hanging around a bit, I got to play a 20s Martin Style B mandolin that was very nice. It was interesting in that it had all these names scratched in the surface front and back; I guess that was a thing among college students back in the day. You might think something like that would be off-putting, but I didn't find it so. I also played a 1917 Army Navy pancake mandolin. Good thing the latter was not available, or I would have been sorely tempted. Boy oh boy, did I like that one. If I'd gone up there with one new instrument and came back with another, I would have been in trouble.
Sheesh going up there is like putting a kid in a candy store and saying, go ahead and have a taste
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