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Thread: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

  1. #1

    Default Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    My father-in-law had this instrument above his mantel for ages and got it at a garage sale. I can't even find a serial number on it (looks like there was a sticker/decal on the back of the neck but it came off a long time ago). The only identifying emblem is the "Prestige" logo on the head.

    I was curious about when it may have been made, since I did a bunch of Google searching and turned up nothing.

    https://imgur.com/gallery/AOIHFd2
    Last edited by aero_nerdette; Jul-22-2021 at 11:24am. Reason: adding link to pictures.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    You need to show photos of the tuners and the back as well- this may help identify where it was made. I have a Japanese made mandolin from the mid-70s with metal tuner buttons. The instrument was most definitely not made in the USA and is most likely to be from the Far East or possibly, somewhere in Europe.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Click image for larger version. 

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    This shows the tuning pegs - they are all metal, not sure what kind.
    Last edited by aero_nerdette; Jul-22-2021 at 3:35pm. Reason: adding description

  4. #4

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    I am pretty confident that those are Japanese tuners from the 70s- they are very similar to those on my mandolin that was made in Japan by Ibanez. I don't think it would be possible to confirm the maker of your mandolin but it is probably one of the Japanese firms of that same period or possibly very slightly earlier. The missing decal may have been an oblong Made In Japan sticker- which mine had when new.

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  6. #5

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    The spot it used to be looked rectangular (based on adhesive, and was located right where the head flares out in that picture of the tuners. Thanks for your help.

  7. #6
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    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    In the 60's and 70's a lot of Japanese instrument factories made instruments for the trade. That is they made instruments which they labeled as requested when ordered or left unlabeled, allowing the purchaser (such as a music store, school, etc) to label or not as they pleased. It can be very hard to determine who made what when as many factories made these and there were endless small variations. On top of that the factories also subcontracted to one another.

  8. #7

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Those pictures give some interesting clues. 1. Those probably aren’t the original tuners, since they are not fitted evenly with the backing plates lining up, and the corner of one is off the peghead edge. Presumably they were put on for functional reasons; the cheap tuners that came with these instruments usually had plastic buttons which would easily break or come loose if the instrument was played much. 2. There is enough fret wear to suggest that someone played it a fair amount. 3. It has a “zero fret”, the one about 1/8” below the nut; this optional feature might suggest to some knowledgable folks here the instrument’s origin. 4. You can see (by the outline on the finish) that the bridge was set at a kind of an insane angle for a long time (it should have been almost perpendicular to the strings); not while it was being played a lot. Mandolin bridges are generally not attached to the top, so it came off when the strings were removed. If you don’t have the bridge, you can buy a stock bridge with adjustable height (which I would recommend) for maybe 20 bucks or less, that and a set of new strings are probably all it needs to be playable. Get light gauge strings. There is almost certainly no truss rod to strengthen the neck. 5. I have a feeling that is a plywood top, but I could be wrong; a solid wood top would be better, but it is what it is, and if you spend a few bucks to make it playable you may well have an instrument that someone can enjoy playing.
    2009 Eastman 505
    2011 Collings MTO GT
    2008 Toyota Sienna
    2018 Sawchyn mandola

    Mandoline or Mandolin: Similar to the lute, but much less artistically valuable....for people who wish to play simple music without much trouble —The Oxford Companion to Music

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  10. #8

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Wow! Thanks for all the great information, y'all! I did order some new strings, and I do have the bridge. I think the discoloration was because my father-in-law smoked in his house and he never played the instrument, so when the strings naturally slacked over time, the bridge slipped to that angle. The "Prestige" badge is actually a bit crooked, too; the top right corner of the shield sticks out just a little past the top of the head.

    How could I tell if there is or is not a truss rod?

  11. #9

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Truss Rod spotting: Normally there would be a small plastic cover screwed onto the peghead top just above the nut; you remove it to access the (metal) adjustable nut at the end of the truss Rod. Inexpensive mandolins, and some expensive ones (especially older ones) often don’t have one and that’s OK as long as the neck has not been over stressed and warped. Sight down the neck from the peghead and you can see whether it is straight or cupped; if it looks pretty straight then you can probably string it up with no problem. The other thing to look at is on the back-where the heel of the neck meets the body, there shouldn’t be an open crack—if there is, the neck was over stressed and you would probably have to have that joint reglued or reinforced before strings are applied. Those 8 strings, which are tuned to a high tension, put a lot of pressure on the neck and that neck joint. That is why light-gauge strings are a good idea at least to start with. It is a pleasure to speak with you since you are obviously interested in the instrument, many folks post something like “found this in attic, what’s it worth?” and never followup on responses.

    That tailpiece (where the strings attach at the lower end of the body) looks unusual to me—are we seeing a cover on it or the whole thing? Does it have little hooks for all 8 strings? Like a bridge, a replacement tailpiece is easily obtained and installed by anyone with basic tools and -very- basic woodworking skills. The nice thing about an inexpensive instrument like this is it’s OK to try your hand at fixing it up and learn as you go—you’re not going to reduce its value by hundreds of dollars like a bad repair on a vintage Gibson would.
    2009 Eastman 505
    2011 Collings MTO GT
    2008 Toyota Sienna
    2018 Sawchyn mandola

    Mandoline or Mandolin: Similar to the lute, but much less artistically valuable....for people who wish to play simple music without much trouble —The Oxford Companion to Music

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  13. #10

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    I dabbled in guitar during my college days and would love to learn mandolin - hence why my father-in-law gave it to me. I don't remember which gauge strings I ordered but the neck looks in good shape with no warping/cupping or cracks. The tailpiece is a single-piece thing; it has 9 string hooks, which I think is different than others I've seen posted.

  14. #11

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    I ended up getting some Martin medium gauge strings - looked back at my order history online...are these okay?

  15. #12

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    If before you string it up, you unscrew a few of those tuner units on one side- two in a row, perhaps, if you find other screw holes, you will know the tuners are replacements. My hunch is that they were not screwed on with care! This eBay auction shows one of those old stickers.

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293481600...ndition=4%7C10

  16. #13

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    No other screw holes - I took off 2 different pegs to be sure. However, I did confirm that at least the tuning pegs were made in Japan, since they have "Japan Pat App" on the backs.

  17. #14

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Mediums should be ok, I would suggest putting four on to start, one of each pair, and see if it seems playable and tuneable. You’ll have to figure out how to place the bridge. (Hint: seriously, the bridge did not migrate to that crazy angle of its own accord, but that’s probably the general area where it should be. There’s a free resource you may find useful: Rob Meldrum’s setup guide. “Yep, still sending out the ebook for free! Just email rob.meldrum@gmail.com and put Mandolin Setup in the subject line. Rob”

    Have fun.
    2009 Eastman 505
    2011 Collings MTO GT
    2008 Toyota Sienna
    2018 Sawchyn mandola

    Mandoline or Mandolin: Similar to the lute, but much less artistically valuable....for people who wish to play simple music without much trouble —The Oxford Companion to Music

  18. #15
    Tired & Cranky Monte Barnett's Avatar
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    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    Prestige was a 60s/70s Teisco/Kawai brand.
    Monte

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  19. #16

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    To place the bridge approximately you should measure from the zero fret to the twelfth fret. Then the bridge should be placed approximately the same distance away from the twelfth fret. The zero fret is the one just about an eighth inch in front of the nut. The mark where the bridge slipped to is not very close to where it should be from what I measured on the computer screen. It should not be angled very much either.

    To get it to play in tune you then have to move the bridge around to make the fretted note and harmonics match at the twelfth fret. There are instructions in Rob's setup book. If you do not currently play or are not familiar with these ideas you may need to get help.

  20. #17

    Default Re: Inherited Prestige 8 string - year made?

    I ended up taking it to a local luthier for assessment since the action seemed a bit high when I attempted to string it, even though I couldn't see any issues when looking at it unstrung. Hopefully the luthier will be able to get it back into playable shape.

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