I've got a Bay State bowl-back mandolin - what can you tell me about it?
Here's what I can tell you to get things started. The "Bay State" brand was made by John C. Haynes & Co. They had four models of mandolin. And, they seemed to be in the mando biz in the 1890s. That's it.
This mandolin is in pretty good shape except for two points: one is that the machine heads are very difficult to turn so the instrument is tough to tune. I typically have to go past the note I want by loosening the string and then gradually pull the string up to where I want it. If I go to far, I've got to back way off and try again. I'd love to put some new tuners on it to fix that problem.
The other is that the intonation is off on the higher frets. I had to move the (non-glued) bridge to almost the bend in the face of the mando to get it close on the high courses but that makes it out on the low courses. This problem seems unfixable, because the ideal position of the bridge is right on the bend of the face and that would be unstable.
So - loosen the strings and hang it on my wall? Or put the work into it? (I should mention that I want a non-bowl-back mando - this one is very difficult to hold and hence to play - and the sound is weak and plinky.)
Thanks, Cafe-goers.
Dmac.
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