$1 garage sale mando

[dang]

Well, the topic says it all. I'm posting some pictures to see if anyone here might be able to give me more information about it, though it may be a longshot. When bought, there were only tuners on one side of the headstock and some cracks in the front. A local repair shop replaced the tuners (I don't know about the originals), and fixed the cracks in the front. As far as I can see there are no identifying marks when I look through the f-holes.

So, how do I find any information about this mando for my friend? Is there a place inside to look? Would better pics aid in this search? The obvious questions I was hoping to answer were who made it and when...

The cafe is the best mandolin resource ever!

[dang]

a close up of the front

[dang]

the back (sorry for the poor quality)

[dang]

and this last one is the side. #Note how deep the body is (again sorry for the poor quality)

[Jim Garber]

I knew I saw that body shape before. I have this in my files (see attached). That one was labelled Vagabond Professional, tho I am not sure where and who made it.

Jim

[8_stringer]

I work with the gent who was inquiring about this mando. I took it over to Dan G,s place to see if he knew anything and he said he would post it here and try to get some feedback. My co-worker found this at a garage sale and paid 1$ for it. As dan says he took it to a local Lincoln, NE luthier and they were unable to tell him anything about its origins. Anyone who has any input on it please drop us a line if you see anything familiar in the photos. It has what looks to be about 50 years of dust underneath the pickguard. It really has a unique tone due, I think, to the depth of the body. I am leaning towards some sort of old school, home built mando kit but really have no idea. Attempts to look inside the f holes have revealed nothing. Again any input would be greatly appreciated. Makes a nice wall piece anyway.

[Jim Garber]

8_stringer:
Check out my earlier post, right above yours. That Vagabond has a very similar shape to the one posted.

I lean away from the homemade conjecture. It looks like it has that same sort of faked grain on the back. Or is that real grain?

Jim

[Jim Garber]

Here is another one that appeared on eBy about a year or so ago. This back looks exactly like the one in question. Unfortunately no label on this one.

Jim

[dang]

Jim- wow, the similarities to the Vagabond Professional are pretty striking. The overall shapes look identical, from what I can tell in the pictures. Your picture of the "professional" model has the inlay on the front, so maybe the same manufacturer, different model? It is also intriguing that the end of the fretboard on each of the mandos has a similar though different termination. I'll take a good look at the wood on the back and see if I can determine the wood grain to be real or faked. Either way, I wish I was the one to get this for a buck...
Thanks!

[Jim Garber]

I am not 100% sure if that has faked grain on it or not. That second no-name looks to be regular mahogany.

Jim

[bluesmandolinman]

I had one with that shape with a SUPERTONE label on the headstock ... but this is a trademark and not a builder ...i think

[Jim Garber]

Supertone was the Sears trademark. They had instruments built by many of the Chicago manufacturers including Harmony, Kay and Regal.

Jim

[Dan'l Terry]

As well as George Bauer from Philadelphia. As for this mandolin's make I'm clueless although there are some things about it that say Germany, ie, the deep body and the angled fretboard end.

[8ch(pl)]

I seekm to recall the Vagabond name being by B&J in NYC. They were a marketer I believe. There were also Vagabond Banjos with a colour version of the scene on the mandolin.

[Jim Garber]

I found this mentioned on this site about Harmony instruments:

In 1930 the Roy Smeck Grand Concert and Hawaiian models were unveiled and in 1931 the Vagabond guitar line was first produced.

So this mandolin could have been made by Harmony. The binding looks like some I have seen on other Harmony instruments.

Jim

[Jim Garber]

This is from a 1937 Polk Music catalog page. The one all the way on the right is a deluxe model labelled Harmony. The garage sale one is not pictured but it has elements similar to some of these.

Jim

[HarmonyRexy]

It looks like a Harmony product to me, also.

Could you measure the body at the deepest point?
That may help give us amateur sleuths a clue.

Whatever it is, it is interesting.... and if it was a nice player, it would be the best dollar ever spent!

[8_stringer]

I did a little more looking into this mando literally. I found what appears to be the # "5" laying on its back, as if you were to rotate it 90 degrees counter clockwise, followed by the serial #. 7546. The lettering was hard to read so I could be mistaken on the symbol. The serial # itself was legible. These were marked at the bottom of the neck joint inside the body. Also it is 2@3/4 inches deep.

Thank you to all of you who have given us some input on this ol' mando. The cafe really is the greatest mando resource.

[8_stringer]

Hey I am revamping this post because I actually own this mandolin now after playing a gig at the previous owners house and he gave it to me as payment. It's been a few months since this thread was initially started and I thought I'd see if I could get any more info out of the mandolin community on this site. The back is real grain not fake. If anyone has anything else to add I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Amazingly enough that catalog drawing raises more questions than it answers. That Harmony mandolin on the right has a Regal headstock, leading me to believe that the mandolin was actually built by Regal and branded Harmony (I've seen it before with resonator mandolins). I owned a Regal branded mandolin a few years ago with that same odd body style and a round sound hole.

Harmony used a date code system on their instruments that makes their stuff pretty identifiable. The problem is that sometimes that is missing. Look inside and see if you see any other stamped numbers like W34 orS36 that might be in an oval. You might have to shine a flashlight in from different sides of the instrument to see it. If the date code is there it's a Harmony. If it's not it might still be a Harmony but honestly I think it's a Regal.

Most of the Chicago builders bought components from the same jobbers and each other. You get some wierd combinations of bodies and necks (not just in mandolins). These guys all ate from the same trough and the relationships between the companies appear to be intertwined.

I just grabbed this mandolin off the rack. This is a Regal that belonged to my late uncle. It's beat. It has the same neck, fingerboard, and bridge as yours.

[8_stringer]

Thanks Diego, that mando of your uncles look's very similar to mine. As I said above it has the # (7546) inside the body up on the bottom of the neck. I don't know if this a date code as you say. Do you hwo to interpret the Harmony codes that you spoke of?

That actually sounds more like a model number. The Harmony Date code system was simple. They used one letter to signify the season, Such as S for summer, F for fall, W for winter, and the two digit year code. W34 would be winter of 1934. In later years they added another number that I've never been able to get my arms around. Like W55-2. That number inside isn't a Harmony model number. It could have been a catalog model number or the like. I still think this was built by Regal.

This has motivated me to put my uncle's mandolin back into playing order if for nothing else but sentimental reasons.