Ceccherini mandola

[trebleclef528]

CECCHERINI MANDOLA

I need some advice from my fellow "bowlbackers". (I hope am I am not breaching any posting guidlines, thats not my intention.

A Ceccherini Mandola has come into my possession and as you will know this is a very rare intrument, most of us will only have ever seen photographs of one.

It is in excellent condition with just a couple vey minor repairs being required. Barbara who normal favours the Knorr/Herwiga/German style of bowlbacks was blown away by the sound.

My dilema is this: Lovely and outstanding as the instrument is... we don't need it, we are awash with quality mandolas in our orchestra and we both have our own quality mandolas.

Barbara says and i agree with her, that this instrument warrants going to a player who will play it, preferably in public performance, whether that be as a professional musician or orchestra player.

My fear is that if I put this on ebay it will possibly end up in the hands of a "dealer" who will simply sell it on for "further profit" or by a collector, and it may sit unplayed.

So my question is... do you think if i put it on the cafe classifieds that it will be more likely to go to a player?

I have had an estimate value for the instrument, but I would drop that value if I knew it was going to a player.

As i say i hope I'm not breaching any cafe guidlines here, I know i can get a lot of money for this, but I genuinely want it to go to a player so that they and the public can enjoy it.

Your advice would be appreciated

[Jim Garber]

Ian: I always try to sell instruments, esp mandolin family ones first on this site. There is no guarantee that you will not sell it to a dealer unless you know every dealer in the world. Someone could. of course, say that they are buying it to play but then turn around after awhile and sell it. After you sell it, they legally can do whatever they want.

What is the scale length of this? Was it meant to be played in octave or tenor tuning? Frankly, I still can;t imagine that there are many of us here in North America who would go crazy for this -- tho, to me, it is very exciting. So I would assume that your real market is prob Europe and esp the UK.

Also, this instrument does not have an extended fretboard so I would still assume that a high-level amateur to a pro-level player may not be interested unless they wanted to change the fretboard. I honestly don't know what the value or desirability for Ceccherini instruments are but I have always wanted one of the mandolins, tho none have dropped into my lap.

[trebleclef528]

Hi Jim
Many thanks for your reply, and as always what you say makes perfect sense.... yes there's no guarantees.

The tuning is octave (gdae), back to the old confusion of what we Europeans call mandola (I should really call it octave mandolin). The overall length of the instrument is 750mm with a scale length of 435mm (217.5mm at the 12th fret so it's spot on). Yes i had forgotten that most American players will be using the tenor instrument.

I think in Europe at least its a fairly highly desiable beast, and Ceccherini's in general are fairly sought after, i think the double table must have something to do with the very special sound that they produce. Point taken re the extended fretboard (or lack of) although i always feel it a shame to change an authentic instrument.

Anyway hope this will find its ways to one of the European orchestras where most use the mandola in the octave sense. So it's probably destined for Ebay (how I hate parting with these gems, but I would need a Museum if I was to keep everything that came my way... i wonder how many people fall out with their partners because of the amount of mandolns they have)

By the way Jim i have to apologise to you and some of the other cafe members who wanted a copy of the Mandolin Game. i got so tied up with work that i didnt get around to dealing with that ( and apart from that the copies I did have had our own people swarming like flies)... anyhow I've now got about 5 copies from Keith Harris, so if you PM me your address, and your still interested, I'll get that organised for you.

thanks again for your advice
Best wishes
Ian

[brunello97]

Ian, that is a brilliant Ceccherini, and appears in exceptional condition. Serious props to you for your thoughtfulness in opening such an honest discussion about its sale. (I also appreciate your candor in referring to it as an 'octave mandolin'--I've never understood how the euro-'mandola' made much sense post 1890s or so.)

I wish more of these were on this side of the Atlantic. I can't imagine you not finding a suitable buyer. Why not float it out here for a week or two with a proper price and a nuanced disclaimer? You can filter any offers before casting it into the Ebay.

I hope Martin picks up on this conversation knowing how much he enjoys Ceccherini instruments.

Mick

[Tavy]

There's a list of UK based fretted instrument orchestra's here: http://www.banjomandolinguitar.org/orchestras.htm so you could contact them all looking for a player... or ideally an orchestra might buy the instrument and loan it out...?

Otherwise as Jim says, list it here and hope for the best, though of course lots of cafe regulars "deal" in the catch-and-release sense in instruments like this too.

[Jennifer]

Ian, I forwarded the link to this thread to the members of the San Francisco Mandolin Orchestra in the hope that one of our group might be interested in your lovely Ceccherini. You are welcome to post a message about it to us and our fans directly on our Facebook page if you like: SFMO Facebook

That is... assuming that you would be interested in shipping it to the SF Bay Area!

Best of luck selling! I am sure someone will be thrilled to pieces to find it.

[Matt Vuksinich]

Ian: Jo Pellegrini, director of Aurora Mandolin Orchestra outside of San Francisco, is very interested in perhaps buying your Ceccherini for our orchestra. I alerted her to your post, but she was unable to navigate to post a reply, so asked me to do so. Our orchestra has 2 (octave) mandola players--I play a Vinaccia, and sometimes an Embergher--but for several years, Jo has been looking for one to buy for the orchestra, but we haven't seen anything suitable, as this appears to be. We'd appreciate your contacting her at "ginopell@aol.com" .

[Martin Jonas]

Matt -- the Aurora Orchestra sounds like a very good destination for it. I would love to have it myself (and have told Ian so), to go with my precisely-matching Ceccherini mandolin, but as I am only an occasional mandola player and not currently in a position to spend much money on what wouldn't be my primary instrument, San Francsico sounds like a much worthier cause!

Martin

[trebleclef528]

Thank you all for your advice and help with this. I will contact the san Franciso Orchestras and give further information on the instrument. I've had a few other contacts, and I'm please that the strong likelyhood is that this will be going to a player or orchestra.

How my orchestra would love to visit the USA ! we will have to start saving our pennies.
Thanks again
Ian

[perpel]

Finally got to sending you a message. As Matt indicated, the "Aurora Mandolin Orchestra" in the San Francisco Bay area is the perfect place for this instrument. Have been looking for a nice sounding octave for some time. We would definitely provide a wonderful home for it and play it at our numerous concerts. Let's talk. www.auroramandolin.com. We welcome fellow musicians to visit us anytime

[Beanzy]

Hope it goes ok for all it would be great to see it go to a good home to be played, rather than some dusty collection room.

(We're going over in April this year and I'd love to hear the AMO play or practice even.
I'll keep an eye on your site for the 2013 dates.)

[perpel]

Eoin, The AMO has been invited to play at the San Francisco Mandolin Festival on April 28th and it would be a great time to be here. You are welcome to come to our practices......Jo