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Thread: broke back mandolin on Ebay

  1. #1
    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
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    Default broke back mandolin on Ebay

    How the heck do you suppose this happened?!!

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/29424009281...kAAOSwl85gyUUf
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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    "It has damage to the back" ... Ya think?


    Unless my weary eyes are deceiving me, that looks more like a deliberate cut than an accidental break. There's no damage to the sides. Possibly something was stuck in there that had to be removed but wouldn't fit through the soundhole. I wonder if the mandolin had been used as a drug mule.

    At any rate, the player will be able to hear his/her playing better with that "vent" there.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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  5. #3
    Registered User TheMandoKit's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post

    Unless my weary eyes are deceiving me, that looks more like a deliberate cut than an accidental break. There's no damage to the sides. Possibly something was stuck in there that had to be removed but wouldn't fit through the soundhole. I wonder if the mandolin had been used as a drug mule.
    Yeah, it looks more than a little suspicious as an "accident." A pic of the sides would be useful, to see if there are any cracks consistent with a break.

    In any event, I guess a new back would be in order. Or the parts bin.
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    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Jealous cowboy?
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

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    Registered User WELSrev's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post
    "It has damage to the back" ... Ya think?


    Unless my weary eyes are deceiving me, that looks more like a deliberate cut than an accidental break. There's no damage to the sides. Possibly something was stuck in there that had to be removed but wouldn't fit through the soundhole. I wonder if the mandolin had been used as a drug mule.

    At any rate, the player will be able to hear his/her playing better with that "vent" there.
    Probably dropped their pick in there and had to get it out

  9. #6
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Must have been a really big pick.

    "Hey, buddy! Can't get yer pick outa there? Hol' on a sec. Lemme get muh Skil saw."

    And from now on, that problem is solved - in advance!
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

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  10. #7
    Registered User John Rosett's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    That thing really needs a tone guard...
    "it's not in bad taste, if it's funny" - john waters

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    Barn Cat Mandolins Bob Clark's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    It's the ultra-distressed model.
    Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album

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  14. #9

    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Looks like someone badly needed the Eastman label. Or perhaps it is still there? A mystery, really.

  15. #10
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Is a fireplace poker included?
    Not all the clams are at the beach

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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    I will say that Eastman did a nice job on the inside of that mandolin.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
    --M. Stillion

    "Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
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  18. #12
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Yes, that can be clearly seen, with a largely unobstructed view.

    Quote Originally Posted by John Rosett View Post
    That thing really needs a tone guard...
    I think it's a little too late for that.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  19. #13
    Jo Dusepo, luthier Dusepo's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay



    (sorry, couldn't resist)
    I am a luthier specialising in historical and world stringed instruments. You can see more info at my website.

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  21. #14

    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by John Rosett View Post
    That thing really needs a tone guard...
    The back cut-out could be a revolutionary and very practical option for musicians who, for whatever reason, prefer to not install a traditional toneguard and yet still wish to reduce contact between the mandolin and the player.

    The highly detailed professionally drawn illustration below shows a man preparing to play a mandolin that has this groundbreaking new feature. As you can see from the illustration, this concept could be particularly useful for certain body types. Patent pending.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by Dusepo View Post


    (sorry, couldn't resist)
    Jo, I can see you are very good on the computer. I couldn't begin to do that.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

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  25. #16
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    I see that it sold to a single bidder for $225.

    You could fit a length of piano hinge and store all sorts of things inside.

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  27. #17
    Registered User Simon DS's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by JL277z View Post
    The back cut-out could be a revolutionary and very practical option for musicians who, for whatever reason, prefer to not install a traditional toneguard and yet still wish to reduce contact between the mandolin and the player.

    The highly detailed professionally drawn illustration below shows a man preparing to play a mandolin that has this groundbreaking new feature. As you can see from the illustration, this concept could be particularly useful for certain body types. Patent pending.


    Click image for larger version. 

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    Sometimes I write posts and later, within the one hour editor’s reprieve, I decide that though what I have written is amusing to me, it may not be amusing for everyone!
    Of course, looking at your wonderful artwork, it could be anything! Maybe it could also be a young, malnourished gay woman of colour with a alcohol-induced bloated, ulcerated liver.
    No, it’s an old white guy like me! Funny.



    Thinking about why the ebay mandolin looks like that.

    You know at the factory, the first mandolin that came off the production line?
    It ran maybe twice the price.
    Maybe this is the last mandolin off the production line, and they ran out of wood.
    Last edited by Simon DS; Jun-28-2021 at 7:35am.

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  29. #18
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    I see that it sold to a single bidder for $225.

    You could fit a length of piano hinge and store all sorts of things inside.
    It reminded me of those old trapdoor banjos.
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

    My website and blog: honketyhank.com

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  31. #19
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by HonketyHank View Post
    It reminded me of those old trapdoor banjos.
    I have one of those Hank, great little banjo.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  32. #20

    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by Ray(T) View Post
    You could fit a length of piano hinge and store all sorts of things inside.
    Ha! I like that idea. Little clips to hold lightweight items inside, such as spare battery for digital tuner, spare picks, a spare string or two. Fastened so as to prevent unwanted vibration.


    Quote Originally Posted by Simon DS View Post
    Thinking about why the ebay mandolin looks like that.
    Quote Originally Posted by vic-victor View Post
    Looks like someone badly needed the Eastman label. Or perhaps it is still there?
    There is *a* label visible in one of the pics, but I can't tell if it's an Eastman label. Zoomed and lightened for clarity, although not much help:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Quote Originally Posted by TheMandoKit View Post
    A pic of the sides would be useful, to see if there are any cracks consistent with a break.
    Well this isn't the side, but a zoomed-in and lightened view of the back. Looks to me like the center seam has come apart and is damaged in one spot (beyond just a normal glue seam failure). Have to click/tap the pic a few times to make it big enough to see:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Although hard to say which came first, the sawing off of half the back or the center seam problem.


    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear View Post
    I wonder if the mandolin had been used as a drug mule.
    Hm. An interesting possibility.

    Variants being, perhaps, someone wishing to quickly hide something embarrassing so that their parents won't catch them with it, wouldn't even have to be anything illegal, could be various unmentionables...

    Junior: "Uh-oh, Dad's coming! Quick, hide that!"
    Friend: "Where?"
    Junior: "I dunno, just hide it, hide it NOW!"
    (Dad opens door) ... no time left to even reach for a pocket to hide the item...
    Friend slips item through ff-hole of Dad's mandolin that the friend was playing when Dad showed up, probably thinking of an earlier time where they'd hid something in a round-hole guitar and easily fished it out later.

    ... but then they discover that retrieving items through ff-holes is more difficult than they'd anticipated...

    Junior: "It won't come out. Now what do we do?"
    Friend: "Well, your dad never plays that mandolin anyway, he's got plenty of others, would he even notice if it went missing?"
    Junior: "Nah probably not. Hey he's got a buncha tools out in the garage, right? So I've got an idea." (proceeds to garage with the poor unfortunate mandolin)

    (above outrageous storyline inspired by stories I've been told of some of my SO's grandkids when they were, shall we say, going through a phase of various types of inappropriate behaviors.)


    Quote Originally Posted by Simon DS View Post
    Sometimes I write posts and later, within the one hour editor’s reprieve, I decide that though what I have written is amusing to me, it may not be amusing for everyone!
    Not sure I understand the context, as I didn't see your post before you edited it... not sure if you're referring to your post or mine. But yeah humor is tricky and we all get it wrong sometimes. We want to entertain, but sometimes people aren't entertained, for reasons we can't foresee.


    Quote Originally Posted by Simon DS View Post
    artwork
    Probably the most primitive thing I've drawn since I was 3 years old. Phone notepad/drawing app, move finger around phone screen to try to make a drawing. Maybe should have waited until later in the day when I was back at my computer (better tools) which could have produced a clearer result, but I figured I'd forget. Seemed like a good idea at the time...


    Quote Originally Posted by Simon DS View Post
    it's an old white guy like me! Funny.
    Simon! You're not old. Nor do your videos give any indication of a music-inhibiting tummy.

    Anyway the idea of tummy vs mandolin, was inspired by seeing (a) my SO who is in fact an old white(ish) guy with a medium-large tummy, although he hasn't sported a poofy hairdo since the 1950s and he doesn't play mandolin, and (b) numerous MandolinCafe posts over the years by men (or posters using male-sounding names) who volunteer that they have a large tummy that interferes with holding their mandolins and/or necessitates the use of a toneguard.

    Although, some time after the edit/delete option was no longer available, it occurred to me that the pic could be misconstrued in ways that I hadn't intended, even though I'd specified in my post that the drawing represented a man. In any case, it was too late to change it at that point.

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  34. #21

    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by HonketyHank View Post
    It reminded me of those old trapdoor banjos.
    Ah yes, good point!

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
    I have one of those Hank, great little banjo.
    I briefly had a trapdoor mandolin-banjo, many years ago. I don't know/don't remember if that trapdoor rim was originally paired with that mandolin-banjo neck or if some previous owner had swapped necks/rims, you know how it is with banjos, easy parts interchangeability. Oftentimes you can tell by looking at it, if things have been swapped around, but it was so long ago I don't remember the details. I just remember it was loud and wouldn't stay in tune (hide head, constantly changing head tension with temp/humidity changes, especially irksome playing outdoors with sun/clouds/wind that come and go as you're trying to get through your set).

    In any case, on the few occasions I played it, I didn't find any particular need to open the trapdoor, as there was already plenty of volume even with the trapdoor closed.

    Although I'm not actually sure if the trapdoor was for volume control or some other purpose (I've never researched it nor heard anything about it), perhaps some utilitarian reason such as the old trick of putting a light-bulb inside the rim on humid days to dry out (tighten up) the head? Before the advent of weatherproof plastic heads, of course.

    Anyway back to the topic here, perhaps someone got drunk one night and decided to create their very own trapdoor mandolin? Then they woke up the next day, realized they'd made an oopsie...

  35. #22
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Quote Originally Posted by JL277z View Post
    ... they woke up the next day, realized they'd made an oopsie...
    The most baffling aspect of this, to me, is that this was done deliberately, with a tool of some kind. This is not the result of an accident, which, while tragic, would be understandable. Stuff happens. This didn't happen, though - it was done. Wonder why?

    Quote Originally Posted by Simon DS View Post
    Sometimes I write posts and later, within the one hour editor’s reprieve ...
    It's actually a three hour window for editing, after which whatever is is, and forever shall be, as is. Just in case it ever comes up.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  36. #23

    Default Re: broke back mandolin on Ebay

    Could this be how Eastman deactivates instruments that aren't up to snuff? Akin to Gibson running over guitars with a bulldozer (but more gentle)?

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