Bowl back mandolin construction books

Well, dale, if you find out more than we know, please let us know. Logically structured and clearly written, it introduces the art of these beautiful instruments, describes the various techniques of the craft, and explains the science of their unique sound. My father had one when i was young and ive always liked the bowl backs. I have not yet put on ebay a mandolin i aquired locally. How to determine the value of a vintage mandolin our. The bowl back is regarded as the stereotypical version of the mandolin seen in movies and television shows. Its had a back repair, of course, and needs a little more attention else where.

The bowlback mandolin, known as a neapolitan style or roundback or taterbug, colloquial american has a vaulted back made of a number of strips of wood in a bowl formation, similar to a lute, and. With its distinctive round back and its roots in 18thcentury italy, the bowl backed mandolin has a dark tone that is suitable for traditional folk music, mandolin orchestras, and classical music. This type of mandolin is also known as the neapolitan or taterbug. It was pretty thrashed and not worth restoring in its original state. In 1910, gibson added the fstyle, which stands for florentine, a mandolin that features an arched top and sharp cutaway. Vintage mandolin making and construction, by antonio. Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. On the neckbody joint, i like it at 10, the standard for bowlbacks. The mandolin manual is a detailed guide to constructing instruments belonging to the mandolin family.

Our collection of mandolins, including mandolas, ocative mandolins, banjolins, manditars, bowl back, and celtic mandolins. Money back guarantee ensures you receive the item you ordered or get your money back. Ive wanted to make a bowl back mandolin for a very long time. The carvedtop or archtop mandolin has a much shallower, arched back, and an arched topboth carved out of wood. Yes, i will be using my old bowl back for these lessons, as i am still working on selecting and buying a nice weber mandolin. Siminoff, a renowned author and luthier, applies over four decades of experience to guide beginners to pros through detailed chapters on wood selection, cutting, carving, shaping, assembly, inlays, fretting, binding and assembly of an fstyle. This book however does provide a complete construction overview for making the mandolins. The round back has a deep bottom, constructed of strips of wood, glued together into a bowl. Bill monroe didnt want to play mandolin as a child but when his older brothers were given the choice of which instruments to learn, they picked the fiddle and the guitar leaving young bill the little eightstring instrument. You can also find silver wire, tortoise shell and invory inlays.

The first was the teardropshaped astyle, which debuted in 1902. It is in excellent condition and seems extremely well put togather. On may 20th 2012 at premier auction galleries in chesterland, ohio, a bowl back mandolin. How to choose a mandolin gryphon stringed instruments. Antique bowl back italian stella 8 string mandolin a beautiful rare milanese instrument this very playable1886 italian stella bowl back mandolin is a wonderfully crafted beautiful instrument. Bortolazzi said in this book that the new wire strung mandolins were. The neck is straight, although the action gets a bit high past the 9th fret. Mandolins for sale at online auction buy rare modern. I think the information is definitely in this book, but, unfortunately, the. All the finish is crazed, including the rosewood back. Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in european classical music and traditional music. Eclectic historic science and art images from rare books and prints. Gibson mandolin model a 191916 made in kalamazoo,michigan, usa.

Kentucky km855 artist fmodel mandolin vintage amberburst. Many vintage bowl back mandolins had a lot of pearl inlays. If you are using a modern astyle or fstyle mandolin. Galiano model bowl back mandolin, from the workshop of raphael ciani, c. Im trying to build a bowlback mandolin naepolitan style with a stringlenght of 33 35 cm. I know that the bowl part of the instrument is addressed more or less in historical lute construction by robert lundberg. Heres a style 115 washburn with the early paper label used from 1896 to 1905, with a serial number suggesting it was made in 1897. A mandolin is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is usually plucked with a. For books i have been studying historical lute construction by robert lundberg and the mandolin by graham mcdonald. The basics of mandolin construction, materials and. A handful of contemporary luthiers build piccolo mandolins. Part 1 can be found at my website all other videos a.

Due to the volume of their bodies, bowl backs usually produce a deeper, rounder tone than other mandolin body types. Although many fans of electricguitar god jimmy page only know the mandolin as the highpitched, plucky sounding background instrument in led zeppelins the battle of evermore, the mandolin was. One of my long standing dreams has been to build a bowlback mandolin. The oldest of the three is the bowl backed mandolin. The guy in the us to contact for further info would be dan larson, who has built quite a few historic and more modern bowlbacks. Make offer vintage rare bowl back mandolin stella pre1930s 8 string good condition. Highquality bowl back mandolins are popular with musicians who play classical, baroque, renaissance, and other historical music styles.

Happily for us, he took to the mandolin and used it to create what we now know as bluegrass. Count the number of ribs your antique mandolin has, if its a bowlback. Processes are clearly explained for all the instruments. Antique circa 1900 george bauer the bauer fancy 39rib bowl back mandolin. We created southern strings with a simple philosophy in mind. The bowl back is a centuriesold design crossing the lute and the violin to create the mandolin. All the finish and parts are original, and the neck is straight with relatively low string action. First off, please understand that this book is not for the construction of a bluegrass mandolin. Siminoff, a renowned author and luthier, applies over four decades of experience to guide beginners to pros through detailed chapters on wood selection, cutting, carving, shaping, assembly, inlays, fretting, binding and assembly of an fstyle mandolin. Do you know by chance the measurements of the bowl.

Creative advertisingconception webfotografia macrowe will rock youmacro shotslooks coolclassical musicmacro photographycello photography. There is a really informative guide to mandolin history and development. Most of the early mandos were bowl back, or tater bugs. Its a great time to upgrade your home music studio gear with the largest selection at. The ultimate bluegrass mandolin construction manual. I purchased this book with the intention of making a carved top and back a style mandolin. Definitely the best mandolin construction book i have come across. Antique 8 string flatback mandolin rosewood fretboard. Our focus is still used and vintage instruments and we are actively buying any good quality guitars, banjos, mandolins and ukuleles by major american makers.

The historical lute construction book i feel is essential because the bowlback is after all a relative of the lute and i hope that i can carry this to. The printing quality and binding are very good with clear black and white photographs and crisp text. Mandolins constructed prior to 1905 had a flat top and a bowl back, similar to the lute. There are complete plans for four mandolins, the fourth being a carved top a style mandolin. The ultimate bluegrass mandolin construction manual is the most complete stepbystep treatise ever written on building an acoustical string instrument. Alex timmerman, who often posts on the classical board has a wonderful site.

The historical lute construction book i feel is essential because the bowlback is after all a relative of the lute and i hope that i can carry this to the point where i someday decide to actually build a lute. I took a hundred and some year old bowlback mandolin and converted it into a stick style dulcimer mandolin hybrid. See more ideas about lute, mandolin and guitar building. Comes with the original canvas case in poor condition.