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Thread: Is this a serious concern?

  1. #1

    Default Is this a serious concern?

    I recently bought a used Recording King resonator Mandolin from a private owner and noticed after purchase that the neck has a small amount of separation from the base. I also notice a crack on the veneer (if that's the right word) that runs along the side of the neck. Seems like it's been glued to my non-expert eyes.

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    Is this a big enough concern that I should have it looked at? Or perhaps see about getting a refund?

    Yes I should have paid a bit more attention to detail when I looked it over.

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  2. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    That's what I would call an issue.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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  4. #3

    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    Nice, if I can't get my money back is it repairable without spending more than the instrument is worth?

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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    Yea I would consider it an issue. The tension of the strings, which is cumulatively immense, is only checked by that neck joint. The neck joint has to prevent the strings from folding the mandolin in half. Any issue there threatens the structural integrity of the instrument.

    I am even nervous about a mandolin with a repaired neck joint.
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  6. #5
    Teacher, repair person
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    The instrument appears to have a loose neck joint. It appears to be a metal body instrument, which generally would make a repair less expensive than on a standard mandolin or guitar. But I cannot say for sure what is involved in executing the repair without taking one apart. These instruments sell for $599 new. So the answer to the cost of repair question is "maybe."

  7. #6
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    Part of the repair cost is going to be trying to undo the last attempt at repairing it. It looks like they dripped glue into the gap on one side.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
    --J. Garber

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  9. #7
    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    If your resonator mandolin was fashioned after the National model, it should look something like this when taken apart.
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    Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band

  10. #8

    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    My two cents:

    OK, if you hate it for cosmetic reasons, sure, by all means seek a refund or repair.

    But, if you are happy with the way it plays and it isn't loose, then simply enjoy it! If it has the long stick inside like the one Jim pictured, it is unlikely to be a problem.

    Sure, there is a gap. It is a used instrument. I've had instruments with gaps for 40 years that never became a problem. YMMV.

    FWIW, I've purchased many eBay instruments that I clearly was in the right to return for a refund, but I liked them well enough for other reasons that I just ended up keeping them....sometimes we get caught up in the idea of being ripped off and getting justice that we can easily overlook a great instrument that may open some musical doors for us and in the long run can work out better, IMHO.

  11. #9

    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    Mine has an all metal body, at least on the outside. Not sure if it has a long stick
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  12. #10
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    How does it play? If it plays all right I wouldn't worry much. The old ones, as Jim says and shows, had the dowel on the neck. I would think yours being a metal one would too. You would have to take the cone out to see, but it might give you some piece of mind. Be careful tho these can be rattle traps if not put together correctly.
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  13. #11
    Registered User Greg Mirken's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    Necks are not glued to metal bodied instruments. At some point the neck began to pull forward and someone smooshed some kind of glue in there. It did no good, of course. It would not be very expensive to have someone familiar with reso instruments pull it apart to see what's going on inside.
    If it holds tune and doesn't "waa-waa" when you wiggle the neck I wouldn't be too concerned.
    Shade Tree Fretted Instrument Repair, retired
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  14. #12
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is this a serious concern?

    If it exists inside this reso-mandolin, generally the "long stick" would anchor with a screw near the strap button below the tailpiece. The anchor screw might even be in the form of a strap button screw that goes into the "long stick" and holds it in place. You might check to see if that screw (or if it isn't the strap button screw, another screw in that general location) allows you to tighten it without obviously stressing or stripping it. If it does, you may find carefully tightening this screw takes up the slack on the neck and pulls the heel more into place.

    If it has in fact been glued and there is no screw adjustment available as described above, it may be that the "long stick" has let loose in the heel, or the screw is stripped, or it may be that there is some other anchor mechanism being used, which would then require full disassembly to completely diagnose.

    In other words, if it were me, a non-luthier but somewhat handy fellow with instruments and tools, I'd be looking this over very carefully in advance of trying to tastefully fix it myself. My experience with other resonator instruments tells me that neck anchoring tends to be done pretty simply.
    -- Don

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