Instrument Restorations
By John Maddock... back to homepage
Interested parties will find me in the Tavistock area of West Devon: contact...
Stridente Bowl Back Mandolin.
For sale £350
A near top of the range Stridente, sounds and plays really nice too.
Il Globo Bowl Back Mandolin.
SOLD
A basic but really nice sounding Neapolitan mandolin.
Vega Bowl Back Mandolin.
SOLD
A really nice US made Vega mandolin restored to it's former glory. Serial number is almost illegible but appears to be 2554 which would date this one to 1892-96 based on this source.
Ferrari Bowl Back Mandolin.
SOLD
A plain looking but honest mandolin that needed very little work to bring it back into full playing condition. Plus you get the kudos of being able to tell your friends that you own a Ferrari... small, nippy, no room for a spare wheel...
Neapolitan Mandoline Company Mandolinetto.
SOLD
This one needed fairly extensive restoration, including back removal and the grafting in of new wood where the back had shrunk over time.
More information, including some rather sad "before" photos in this message thread.
Stridente Bowlback Mandolin.
SOLD.
Quite a challenging restoration this one: neck reset, top removal and rebrace, plus lots of Mother of Pearl and ebony binding to replace. It sure is pretty though!
More information, including some rather sad "before" photos in this message thread.
Angara and D'Isanto Mandolin.
NOT FOR SALE.
An interesting Vinaccia copy - built by a student of Vinaccia's - brought to me for repair. The photos show the before, during and after stages of repair. See also this mandolincafe message thread.
Stridente Bowlback Mandolin.
SOLD.
Salvatore Rogis Bowlback Mandolin.
SOLD.
Perretti bowlback.
SOLD
A rather nice Stridente bowlback
SOLD
Silvestri Bowlback
Silvestri bowlback mandolin, typical "showy" Catania (Cicily) instrument, well made and a pleasure to work on. Sounds nice too!
SOLD
Unnamed German Waldzither.
A Germain Waldzither by an unnamed maker... bit of a challenge to get a good cosmetic result on this one (hense the black face finish), but a really great sounding instrument.
SOLD
Unnamed German Bowlback.
A typical German made bowlback from an unnamed maker (could well have been made in the GDR period when makers names weren't permitted). I do like the look of these German instruments, although I have to admit this one was a little on the tinny side. With no makers names to guide you these can be hard to judge. Take a look at the video though and judge for yourself.
SOLD
A long scale (50cm) waldzither made by Pluckthum.
This one is my personal instrument - it's as lively to play as anything I've ever handled - can be a bit of a handful actually! Get it right though and it rewards you with some quite outstanding tone, get it wrong and everyone will notice: not for the faint of heart!
Check out the before and after images at the end of the slideshow... makes for an interesting comparison!
Not for sale