Excellent conversion from Archtop Guitar to Octave Mandolin. Made in 1935, possibly by Kay, for Armstrong brand. Solid wood construction, with Mahogany Back, sides and neck, and a Spruce top.

     Elaborate marquetry purflings around top edge. Peghead does show 2 of the original plugged 6-string holes, but not glaringly obvious at a glance. Neck was professionally shaved down a bit for the 8-str Octave Mandolin string configuration. Original pickguard is really cool multi-laminate plastic. The conversion work was done here in Missoula by George Weisel, and I have to say it is a great job!

    These octave mandolins that have archtop bodies are preferred by many players for having more presence, as well as facilitating ease of  playing due to positioning of left and right hands. Price reduced...

   

     Exc(+) condition. Beautiful highly figured Maple back, sides and neck. Italian Spruce top. Black top. Varnish finish. This is a great mandolin with very nice 'fit and finish'. Hans Brentrup's sense of understated elegance and style is very apparent in this instrument.

     Ebony radiused fingerboard with small dot inlays. Ebony peghead overlay with tasteful abalone flourish and solid pearl truss-rod cover. Multiple Tortoise/white bindings on top and back of body, fingerboard and peghead. Ebony 'bi-level' pickguard with matching multiple tortoise bindings. Ebony 2-pc bridge. Ebony end pin and Ebony strap button professionally installed in side of neck heel. Nickel Schaller tuners. Silver engraved tailpiece.

     As we've stated above, this is a fine mandolin. It not only looks great, but feels great to hold and play, and the sound is very nice - expressive and strong while still having a lyrical beauty.  

     Excellent condition. Only moderate evidence of prior use. The previous owner liked this instrument very well and played it frequently, but didn't handle it carelessly or put much wear on it.

     Fully bound with multiple ivoroid bindings. Nice floral inlay in peghead. Dots inlaid in Ebony radiused fingerboard. Sunburst finish. Beautifully figured Maple back, Adirondack Red Spruce top.

     This mandolin sounds great - it is wide open and strong, yet also responds well when played lightly. It is in great shape and is ready to go.

     Exc(-) condition. Mostly nice and original, but with some caveats. Original tuners with Handel inlaid ivoroid buttons. Original tailpiece, pickguard, and bridge.

     Original finish throughout, but with addition of french polish over coat layer. This layer is mostly seen on peghead, but also on back of neck, and to a very slight degree on body. Again - mostly all original finish, but some shellac added by french polish method.

     Neck heel shows signs of old break, with dark color added to disquise the repair. The break may be nearly impossible to see in photos, but it closely follows the very top edge of the darken area.

     The frets are correct frets for the era, but could be original frets freshly milled, or excellent professional replacement.

     This instrument is set-up very nicely and sounds exceptionally good.

     Exc(-) condition. This is a very important instrument. Steve Gilchrist built a pair of these 'Model 2' mandolins with extended necks - one for Andy Statman and one for David Grisman. This one we have was owned and used by Andy Statman.

     Handsome Cremona brown back and sides, with Black top. Ivoroid bindings on top, back and fingerboard. Ivoroid rosette with wooden herringbone. Inside of oval soundhole bound with ivoroid. Ebony flat fingerboard. Ebony peghead overlay and Ebony adjustable bridge. Tortoise pickguard with side-mount hardware. Rounded Vee neck profile, with Rosewod stringer down back of neck. Blackened back of headstock. Nickel Gotoh tuners with ivoroid buttons. Nickel tailpiece.

     There are some noticeable repaired cracks in the Maple side, up between waist and neck joint in bass side. Bill Collings repaired the cracks and they have been seen and "ok'd" by Mr Gilchrist.

     This particular mandolin is number "400" from Mr Gilchrist. It was used for a time by Bill Collings to help him design his own line of oval hole mandolins.

     The tone and playability are great.

     Near Mint condition. NO wear, no dings, no fret dents. Beautiful all the way around...

     Tastefully appointed: Excellent woods, appointments, varnish and color... Engelmann Spruce top, Very nice figured Maple 1-pc back, sides and neck (all from the same set of wood as the Model 5C Mandola we are also selling). Varnish finish. Ebony radiused fingerboard with extension scalloped. Ebony peghead overlay and bridge. Black chrome hardware. "Reversed" black/white/black bindings. X-bracing.

 

Beautiful F-5 from the highly experienced Japanese mandolin maker, Takeshi Iwamoto. Beautiful figured Maple back, sides and neck. Spruce top. Ebony radiused fingerboard, with traditional extension scalloped. Flowerpot inlay in peghead, dot inlays in fingerboard.

     Excellent original condition. Very nice 2-pt mandolin. No sign of playing wear, one ding in the finish on side of Spruce top edge.

     Beautiful 1-pc highly figured Maple back. Figured Maple sides and neck. Ebony radiused fingerboard. European Spruce top. Nice darker sunburst. Gold Grover tuners with Ebony buttons. Ebony and metal tailpiece with easy string access. Fossil Ivory nut. Original Maple base, Ebony top bridge.

     This mandolin plays great. Set-up currently with fresh set of light gauge Thomastik flatwound strings.
    

     One-pc Maple back, Maple sides and neck. Select German Spruce top. Radiused Ebony fingerboard with dot inlay. Ebony peghead overlay with elaborate abalone Fern inlay and abalone truss-rod cover. Gold Gotoh tuners with ivoroid buttons. Gold 2-pc engraved Prucha tailpiece. Ebony 2-pc bridge with gold thumbwheels. Multiple tortoise/white/black bindings on top, back, along fingerboard and around peghead.

     These bindings are quite nice, with the white inner strip insuring that the tortoise comes "alive" with color by reflecting the light back thru the tortoise layer. You see the multiple lines on all quarters (sides AND top/back).
     1 1/8" width at nut. Matte nitro-cellulose finish and a beautiful sunburst color.

     Remarkable sound. Anyone who has a Prucha mandolin that is a few years old knows how great they are and how they develop over time. This one has especially good tone even as a brand new mandolin...

     Exc(+) condition. Some slight evidence of former ownership, but no obvious signs of use or player wear. Beautiful "Pecan" sunburst finish. Radiused fingerboard. Double cut fingerboard extension. One-piece figured Maple back with German Spruce top. Ebony fingerboard, peghead overlay and adjustable bridge. Gold hardware. Fully multiple bound with ivoroid/black/ivoroid, on top, back, heelcap, fingerboard and peghead.

     This is a very nice mandolin with well-developed mature tone and a strong professional sound. And... it in great shape!

     Exc condition. Some minor marks here and there, but nothing major.

     Ebony bridge with fossilized ivory saddle. Radiused Ebony fingerboard with dot inlays and traditional extension scalloped. Ebony pickguard, bound with ivoroid/black/ivoroid.

     Bearclaw German Spruce top, old world Czech Maple back, sides and neck. Neck has "Vee" profile. Jaroslav Prucha is celebrated not only for his hand-rubbed dyes and coloration, but also for his hand-cooked Varnish finish.

     This mandolin sounds beautiful. It has a great attack with depth and maturity. Its one of the best mandolins in the store.

     This is a fine mandolin. Workmanship, materials, playability and tone are great. Highly figured Czech Maple back, sides and neck, with select German Spruce top. The Maple looks alive under Mr Prucha's expert finish, with the hues of the sunburst bringing out the depth in the figure. The German Spruce has lots of medulary rays, making the top look very 'silky' and beautiful under the finish..

     Radiused Ebony fingerboard with abalone dot inlays. Fingerboard has traditional extension scalloped, to allow ease of playing in the 'sweet spot'.

     Exc condition. Beautiful mandolin with highly figured Maple back, sides, and neck, with German Spruce top. Tortoise/white/black bindings perfectly blend with the amber tones of the wood. Stylized pearl block inlays in flat Ebony fingerboard. 1 3/32" nut width. Pearl Fern inlay in peghead.

     Prucha has a solid reputation of not only building with highest grade of tone woods, but of also voicing his mandolins in a way that causes them to age very well tonally. Not only are they very strong, with a clear voice, but as they age, the tones mature in a way that gives them all of the power with a beautiful depth of tone. 

This is truly a rare find. From the Milledgeville, Georgia period, when Bob Givens, and Randy Wood were working together and separately to produce great modern mandolins. We have only seen a very few of these "unsigned, un-numbered" early Givens mandolins. When you examine the mandolin you can easily see all of the Givens touch, in the shape, carve lines, finish, color of finish, peghead, tonebars, fingerboard, etc. In the ensuing years Bob Givens began to set neck angles back farther, and make his mandolins a little deeper. This early A from Bob also shows "earlier experimental" vaulting area below fingerboard extension.
A period of time after this mandolin was produced, Bob Givens had the rare pleasure of examining a matched pair of Gibson Loar mandolins - an F as well as the only A that was ever produced and signed by Loar. Unbelievably, he partially disassembled both of them to study them closely. He found that there was a distinct difference in the carved surface top and back between the Loar A and the Loar F, as well as distinctly different volume of air in the A from the F. Givens' contribution to modern mandolin making was from this study - he simply began to produce A-model mandolins that had same measurements as an F, but without scrolls and points.
This mandolin is in Very Good(+) condition, with some crack repairs around treble f-hole. Bridge is very short from the slight neck angle. Neck is Mahogany. The sound is very good, with a satisfying "flatness" of tone that brings out the woody qualities, and very much projection.
*At this time this instrument is being shown only for historic product reference.

     Exc(+) original condition. Not much sign of prior ownership - only a few "touch marks" on the top. NO fret wear, no bangs or pickwear. The S-100 is pretty close to their newer "G-110", except the S-100 has plain Maple. It isn't noted on the label, but I think this is a "DeLuxe" version. It has gold hardware, and the spruce top appears to be either Englemann or Adirondack Red Spruce (hard to tell with the sunburst color). Ebony radiused fingerboard, scalloped at extension. Ebony bridge. Comes with factory installed piezo pickup and strap buttons. Gold Schaller tuners, gold 1-pc tailpiece and strap button.

The new Rover RM-75 is a pretty respectable F-style mandolin. Made with solid Maple and solid Spruce, they actually deliver a sound with a good attack and good depth. Our local teachers recommend these as good starter mandolins.

• Hand-carved solid spruce top with maple back and sides
• Traditional nitro-cellulose sunburst finish
• Multi-ply binding on top, back and headstock
• Hand-carved solid flamed maple back and sides
• Maple neck with adjustable truss rod
• Bound rosewood fretboard with dot inlays and scooped extension over body
• Dovetail neck joint
• Abalone peghead logo inlay
• Adjustable compensated stained rosewood bridge
• Nickel-plated hardware
• Shop adjusted by House of Fine Instruments

     Exc(-) condition. 1 1/8" width at nut. NO fret wear. Some hand wear through finish on back of neck. No bangs or dents or stray pick wear. We've known the previous 3 owners of this instrument and all have enjoyed it without abusing it.

     Very nice one-piece figured Maple back, with nice figure in the Maple sides and neck, as well. Select Spruce top. Radiused Ebony fingerboard and bridge. Gold Schaller tuners with solid pearl buttons. Price one-piece gold tailpiece. Multiple ivoroid/blk/ivo bindings on top, back, fingerboard and peghead. Traditional fingerboard extension scalloped away for ease of playing in the "sweet spot". Multiple bound tortoise pickguard. Pearl truss-rod cover. Elaborate floral inlay in peghead, below "Smith Creek" logo.

     This mandolin has a very good sound. It is very full and woody sounding. The set-up is good.

Excellent condition. Mahogany back, sides and neck. Everything is very clean on this mandolin. Appears to be the original frets! No wear anywhere, although there are a few random marks on the top between bridge and tailpiece. Top is slightly uneven, like most of these models. Original bridge has new ebony professionally grafted to underside and is recently re-fit to the top. Tuners work well. This old Vega plays well and sounds very good.

     Exc(+) condition. Rare Rosewood model. Rosewood back and sides, with Mahogany neck and Spruce top. Multiple bindings. Wonderful sound - a lot more presence and volume, and a lot more expressive than you think a flat instrument could deliver.

     Exc(+) condition. This is a very nice condition mandolin. Minimal signs of prior ownership.

     Made as a showpiece at NAMM show in 2006, then offered up as the prize at a mandolin contest. A customer of ours who won the instrument, plays mandolin very well but is mainly a serious guitar player, and traded us this mandolin in to us toward a guitar we had.

     Besides being a "Beartooth" model, which was discontinued a few years ago, it has lots of custom features: Custom "transparent slate" finish color on the strongly figured Maple back, sides and back of neck. Special white finish Spruce top. Ebony radiused fingerboard. Multiple tortoise bindings on top, back, along fingerboard and around headstock. Custom "filled" tailpiece.

     This is a very good mandolin with great playability and lots of tone. It is set-up to play.

     Recent new model from the folks at Weber. Spruce top, Maple back, sides and neck. Tone Bar construction. MOP "Weber" script logo and Celtic knot inlaid in peghead. Diamond fret markers. Radiused Ebony fingerboard.

     Beautiful light brown color that just looks great. Wonderful sound and playability. Good balance, good chop, clear single string. This is a very nice mandolin.

     Exceptional original condition. No wear, no dings, no dents. Handsome vintage look, with the old 65-85 year-old wood showing off the pumpkin color top very well. Similar to old original A-4's, these mandolins have great sound coupled with very old cured Maple and Spruce, and also the old vintage "look"... But there is increased playability with longer neck access.

     Nicely figured back, side and neck, with cherry color. Spruce top with "pumpkin" color. Ebony radiused fingerboard with dot inlays. Ebony peghead overlay with The Weber inlaid in pearl. Fully bound with ivoroid bindings. Ivoroid bound soundhole. Bone nut. Nickel Grover tuners and cast 1-pc tailpiece. Glossy nitro-cellulose finish.
     Comes with 2 bridges fit to the top - original Brekke "traditional" bridge and newer Loar style 2-piece bridge. Currently set-up with 'silk & bronze' round-wound strings, but these sound great with flat-wound Thomastik strings, as well.

     There are no problems. Set-up is good, playability is good. The sound is great.

      The "Custom Vintage" F and A models are very popular mandolins among experienced players. They are using 65-year old to 85-year old seasoned Maple and Spruce, then they build it slow and thoughtfully to draw out the tone.

     Radiused Ebony fingerboard. 2-piece Brekke bridge. Script logo, and Weber's own flowerpot inlay. This is a fine sounding mandolin. Wonderful projection and tone with the modern longer neck that is joined at the body at the 15th fret. 

     New. Figured Maple back, sides and neck with select Spruce top. Ebony radiused fingerboard, Ebony peghead overlay and Ebony 2-pc bridge. Nickel 1-pc cast tailpiece. Weber MOP logo inlaid in headstock.

     This is a very good instrument. It looks great, plays easy and sounds great. It is well balanced with good depth, good bass and good treble.

     New. Very handsome mandolin! Beautiful brown color. Highly figured Maple back, sides and neck. Ebony radiused fingerboard with diamond inlays. Weber logo inlaid in Ebony peghead overlay. Brekke bridge. Cast 1-pc Weber tailpiece. Schaller Nickel tuners.

     This is a real good mandolin. Very crisp, woody attack. G-string is very much 'present and accounted for'. Lots of depth, great balance, and very nice attack. I would recommend this mandolin to anyone.