1920? gibson a-2 on ebay

[mandolooter]

[QUOTE]Any tips on photographing instruments? I've tried to take a few pictures, but I'm having a hard time getting any that look any good. I have a decent digital, Konica-Minolta Dimage Z6. I have rudimentary photography skills and I can't seem to get the lighting right to avoid a flash glare.

First off don't use a flash! They make it exceedingly difficult to get a good shot. Find a window in the house with a lot of light coming in (not direct sunlight) and place the mandolin at about a 45 degree angle to it standing up on a chair or something and shoot away. Remember those "great" shots are usually a few out of hundreds of shots. Its digital, so the "film" is paid for...shoot like crazy and you'll get some beauties! Like picks, experimenting with different angles, etc is the key. Hurry, we all wanna see it...lol!

[Andy Morton]

I was also wondering about the removing tarnish from the tailpiece on my 21 A-2, or is it best to leave the accumulated patina??

andy

[Darryl Wolfe]

You can polish it on a cloth wheel or with a rag. Don't use any type of wire wheel or brush. Those tailpieces are solid nickel-silver alloy of some type and will age back

[Paul Hostetter]

I'd recommend either Simichrome or Flitz, whichever you can lay hands on first (they're nrearly identical). I kind of like the patina, but as Darryl says, it will age back.

[Tighthead]

Howdy, folks, just wanted to mention that I posted pictures of this mandolin over in the Post a Picture forum.