This weeks mandolin that won't get a bid or buyer

[Jim Garber]

John Silakowski (indiana maker) seems to be quite respected as a maker of five-string fiddles, some of which are played by prominent fiddlers. I can find almost nothing on him as a mandolin maker nor can i find out any contact info. That sunburst is very odd tho and i would have thought that he would have some sense of how to make one even tho generally fiddles are not finished that way. OTOH the seller considers this as indicated by the price as a high-end mandolin. $9K asking price puts him up there close to Ellis and Collings. I would be curious about how good those mandolins actually play and sound.

[pops1]

Looks like the other one has the same name on the headstock, if so a much better sunburst.

[Mark Gunter]

Seems pretty obvious to me that someone with no skill has definished the right side mandolin body. (no typo, that's "definished" - not worthy of the r word)

[Tom C]

I don't think one should knock an ad put on the Café. or the maker of which we know nothing about. We should just make fun of the mandos/price folks we don't know put up for sale else where. That's OK to do. Isn't it?

[Canoedad]

I don't think one should knock an ad put on the Café. or the maker of which we know nothing about. We should just make fun of the mandos/price folks we don't know put up for sale else where. That's OK to do. Isn't it?

I've wondered about that too. But then I remember the $30,000+ Stiver ... (and that is certainly not meant as a dig about Stivers).

[mrmando]

Some sunbursts just don't look as good in photos as they do in the flesh. Of course the other mandolin in the photo looks fine, so who knows?

Maybe the bad sunburst was commissioned by somebody who wanted a match to his '30s Kalamazoo guitar. I dunno. I'd hesitate to accuse Silakowski of incompetence.

[Jeff Mando]

I've wondered about that too. But then I remember the $30,000+ Stiver ...

About a year ago in the Classifieds was a Gilchrist pictured on the seller's toilet seat.......

[jim simpson]

Some sunbursts just don't look as good in photos as they do in the flesh. Of course the other mandolin in the photo looks fine, so who knows?

Maybe the bad sunburst was commissioned by somebody who wanted a match to his '30s Kalamazoo guitar. I dunno. I'd hesitate to accuse Silakowski of incompetence.

It could be a great sounding and playing mandolin but the top on this one would be tough for me to get past. I've seen some bad sunburst (as we all have) but they are most often on home made attempts by less experienced folks. I would prefer a plain stain or none at all to this.
I had some solvent drip on an in progress project once. I immediately try to clean it up and discovered that I was creating a sunburst. It seemed reverse of the steps one normally takes, I was quite amused by my "accident"

[Tom C]

The neck alone scares me.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/F-Style-Mand...6#ht_66wt_1102

[MikeEdgerton]

The neck alone scares me.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/F-Style-Mand...6#ht_66wt_1102

And how about the 9 grand price?

[Jim Garber]

The neck alone scares me.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/F-Style-Mand...6#ht_66wt_1102

The seller/builder has a few other items that are more reasonably(?) priced. It looks like he does know how to make a mandolin just that his prices are way too optimistic. Of course, no guarantee that he knows how to make a good sounding one.

It is a bit odd that he has that big knot on the neck of the mandola.

[jim simpson]

The depth of this mandola looks more like a guitar (depth wise)!

[JH Murray]

The composite top on this one looks like counter top laminate.

[LadysSolo]

I love the wood on the top of the one pictured in #509, the grain is pretty, but I agree, thhe neck is questionable, and the price is scarier than the neck.

[Tom C]

The seller/builder has a few other items that are more reasonably(?) priced. It looks like he does know how to make a mandolin just that his prices are way too optimistic. Of course, no guarantee that he knows how to make a good sounding one.

It is a bit odd that he has that big knot on the neck of the mandola.

..And Cedar top and BOTTOM

[Tom Morse]

That is cedar deck planking. But I bet it's got a nice aroma.

[acousticphd]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1916-Gibson-...gAAOSwbwlXCaKo

A nicely but I think obviously refinished teens A1. Does anyone remember this having listed before? Seller seems to be trying to emulate a Mandolin World ad description ("the oblong orifice is ringed with crème ivoroid"). Asking price is waaay out past the bullpen and beyond ($5K).

[Jim Garber]

A nicely but I think obviously refinished teens A1. Does anyone remember this having listed before? Seller seems to be trying to emulate a Mandolin World ad description ("the oblong orifice is ringed with crème ivoroid"). Asking price is waaay out past the bullpen and beyond ($5K).

The seller has only 2 transactions. He/she is fishing and will find out soon enough what his mandolin is worth — like 10% of what he/she is asking?

[plinkey]

Seller seems to be trying to emulate a Mandolin World ad description ("the oblong orifice is ringed with crème ivoroid"). Asking price is waaay out past the bullpen and beyond ($5K).

Their auction would benefit more from a few half-decent mandolin photographs, as opposed to that lengthy and highfalutin prose in the instrument description.
Either way, the instrument is priced irrationally high at $5,000, thus they are just wasting their time.

[Jeff Mando]

Good points, guys! What we now call phishing/fishing was once just called "salesmanship" -- we all are too well-informed, these days. Ahh, but there was a time, not so long ago, before the internet age, when it was indeed a compliment to say a man "could sell refrigerators to Eskimos........"

nowadays, we have other descriptors........

[mrmando]

A nicely but I think obviously refinished teens A1. Does anyone remember this having listed before? Seller seems to be trying to emulate a Mandolin World ad description ("the oblong orifice is ringed with crème ivoroid"). Asking price is waaay out past the bullpen and beyond ($5K).

Yeah, this is at least the 2nd time on eBay for this specimen. Verily, Stan Jay used the phrase "oblong orifice" in a Mandolin Bros. description — in fact, according to Google he used it more than once! The eBay ad text is lifted from here: http://mandoweb.com/Instruments/Gibs...olin-1916/4039

[Timbofood]

It's only worth that when some poor shlub drops the $5,000. For it! Until then, seller must wait and wait,and,...wait.

[acousticphd]

http://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/98070#98070

I imagine just an uninformed new seller.

[ollaimh]

i wonder if that's the same guy locally who is offering a mauer mandolin for around that price? the ad doesn't come up when i click on the HERE thingey.

[mrmando]

This one's cute. "Half book value" your granny. Either it's refinished or he's reading the serial number incorrectly.

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/msg/5577393779.html