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Thread: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

  1. #1
    Registered User Gregg Miner's Avatar
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    Default Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    THIS is interesting, and first I've heard of such a thing with these instruments. I'd love to hear from any Shutt owners who have seen this feature. It's owned by Mike Lettieri who just emailed me about it (being the default Shutt historian over at Harpguitars.net).

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    Through the F-hole you're looking at an extra "rim" that I can only imagine was meant as some form of "tone reducer" (the disparaging term some use for the Virzi, perhaps more accurate here). Mike describes it thusly: "The secondary wall runs from the bottom of the f holes all the way around, from bass to treble side. It appears to be anchored at the starting points via a thin vertical block and at the tail block, tho its hard to see and confirm. In addition, it does not make contact with the top or back plates. There is a 1/8" gap all the way around. It's like a double wall. Looks to be about a 1/8" space between it and the actual sides of the instrument. The only holes I can see are near the f holes. There a 2 of them one above the other, and they are approx 1/4" in diameter. It shows no signs of being opened up either. And if someone did add it, bravo to them for their creative experimentation."
    Of course, I urged Mike to tear it apart, but he passed... Incidentally, though I haven't updated my Shutt article, I've seen a few clues that are leading me to believe that the jet-black-top Shutts may be the ones built by Harmony (at least one showed a heel stamped by them when taken apart for restoration), while the lighter bluish-gray finished tops may point to Shutt and his helpers in his home. Just a working theory. This then could be a Harmony-built. Original experiment? or after?

  2. #2
    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    I never saw Harmony as being the bastion of experimental instrument design, they were always more of a company that was about production numbers and musical instruments as a commodity but Shutt obviously was a cutting edge type of builder so if it's original I would probably be more inclined to attribute it to Albert and his company than to Wilhelm Schultz and company. I've never seen this before either.
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  3. #3
    Registered User slimt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    I had a Harmony Shutt. , Never seen anything like that inside.

  4. #4
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    Hi Greg,

    I've had the chance to examine several of the 'artists model' the 'A1-A3' designs and maybe a dozen of the Harmony factory made 2-shoulder design. And I haven't seen the detail you describe in any of them.

    What model is the instrument you describe in the original post?

    And for those who don't know, you can find the Harp Guitars story on Shutt instruments, HERE.
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  5. #5
    Registered User Gregg Miner's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    Quote Originally Posted by BradKlein View Post
    What model is the instrument you describe in the original post?
    Ooops, forgot to mention!...it's an A2.

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  7. #6
    Registered User Gregg Miner's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    For those who haven't seen an A2...this is Mike's, with the baffle. I call this a "jet black, likely-harmony-built" instrument.
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  8. #7
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: Shutt mandolin inner baffle

    Quote Originally Posted by Gregg Miner View Post
    For those who haven't seen an A2...this is Mike's, with the baffle. I call this a "jet black, likely-harmony-built" instrument.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I THINK it's fair to say that the baffle you describe was likely not in most A2 models. Sorry for all the qualifiers, but the scholarship is still pretty rudimentary on this revolutionary designer's instruments.

    Given his willingness to seek patents, I wonder if it (the baffle, not the instrument) is the work of Albert Shutt.
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