Please help me identify this instrument - pictures!

[guitardude5]

Any help any of you can offer or where to possibly get information on this would be greatly appreciated. There are no markings on the inside. The only mark is the star on the headstock. Excuse the dust. I didn't polish it as the instrument is fra-gee-lay. The only information I have is that it is old :) Thanks and Merry Christmas!

http://img486.imageshack.us/img486/5659/img3444kn5.jpg http://img429.imageshack.us/img429/559/img3450up7.jpg

http://img304.imageshack.us/img304/4690/img3447lw2.jpg http://img429.imageshack.us/img429/7261/img3445uv5.jpg

[leofenderbender]

Well, a mandolin; the star means possibly a Vega or Bart Reiter, maybe a Harmony. If I was a gambling man, l'd guess Vega...

[guitardude5]

Thanks LFB! That's a great start in the right direction. I found this one at Elderly http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/90U-4090.htm. It appears they share some of the same issues (open back seams, level and dress frets) and was $200.

Does anybody know when Vega started the star inlay? I'm trying to narrow down a production date now.

[Tinman]

Not a Mandolin. Its a Bouzouki, a Greek instrument.

[guitardude5]

Not a Mandolin. Its a Bouzouki, a Greek instrument.

Thanks for the input. I don't know as though it is a Bouzouki, as the neck joins the body at the 10th fret. Don't Bouzoukis typically have a rather long neck?

[Tinman]

You're right. Its a Mandouki!

[leofenderbender]

Its a mandolin - I've played for years.

[Tinman]

I'M NEVER WRONG!!!! Except this time.

[HankSnowSki]

Yeah, it's a bowl back mandolin. These things were really, really popular until the 1920s when the flat and carved back mandolins took over (thanks to Gibson and others).
Sometimes these are called Neapolitan mandolins because I guess a lot of Italian immigrants played them. Martin even made a bunch of these.
Not worth a lot and not good for bluegrass at all. Back in the day, they played classical music on these.
Yours could be from the 1890s to the 1910s, I'm guessing. Prop that floating bridge up, put some strings on it and see how it sounds!

[kaseri]

The neck & body of the Greek Bouzouki join at either the 17th or 18th fret depending on the builder.

[guitardude5]

Thanks Hank. It actually belongs to a friend on mine who asked me to find out some info for him. It's been in his family a long time. It needs a bit of work, as the back seams are separating and some of the binding is loose. At this point, it's probably not worth paying someone to fix it.

[infiniteposse]

So what you have there is a Sears Supertone Bowl-back mando. I got one of these recently and totally dived into the research.

The star at the top very common for the Supertones.

Here's some pics of http://www.pbase.com/infiniteposse/bauer mine.

Here's some shots of a catalogue from the mid 20's:

http://i5.pbase.com/g6/44/36244/2/71937020.QmSUcpvh.jpg

[guitardude5]

infiniteposse,

Wow, that's some great stuff you've got there. I clicked that link, and the wood and inlay on yours looks great! Thank you for that catalog scan. Very cool!

[guitardude5]

infiniteposse,

In you search, have you been able to find out who made the Supertone mandolins? Maybe Vega made them, and that's why some of them are known to have the star inlay.
-Jonathan

[jgarber]

I have been playing and collecting these old bowlbacks for a few years now. Yes, they are much-maligned in North America but there are some of us who appreciate the subtleties and differences in tones from the more common arched-top mandolins. In classical music even these days, they are among the preferred instruments, esp in Europe. I am among a few of us weirdo American players who prefers them for some music, tho I certainly would not play one at a bluegrass jam.

Yours is definitely not a Vega despite the star. Supertone was a brand of Sears for sure but was made by one of the larger Chicago makers: Regal, Kay or Harmony and possibly others. Vega was more upscale than that and you can tell from the quality of the workmanship.

I am a little confused by infiniteposse's post since I think the mandolin he pictures at that link is by George Bauer of Philadelphia who may very well have been linked to Vega at some point. I don't think it resembles any of the Supertones in the ad. All of those have a different headstock and pickguard shape. So does guitardude5's mandolin differ from those in the ad.

More likely that one is just a lowend American-made bowlback. BTW make sure you string it with ultralight gauge mandolin strings. Std mandolins strings will cause these old ones to implode. That is one reason why so many are in bad shape. Try GHS A240s available from juststrings.com as a starter.

Good luck,
Jim

[guitardude5]

Cool, thanks for more information on this. It does need some work as the seams on the back have separated. I wouldn't even put strings on it, no matter how light they may be.

Incidentally... welcome to The Gear Page!