Restored Vintage/Antique Ferrari Bowlback mandolin

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Source eBay UK

Welcome, this auction is for a restored Ferrari bowl back mandolin made c1900. Photographs are shown in the slideshow on the right: if you hover the mouse over the bottom edge of the slideshow, its controls will appear, Below that is a video demonstration of the instrument - this is not just a wallflower - this is an instrument to be played! Instrument details Bowl back mandolin with rosewood bowl, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, and ebony scratchplate. Scale length is 13 inches (standard for a classical mandolin), action at fret 12 is approximately 1.25mm at fret 12 (see photos): that gives a wonderfully low action, without sacrificing bridge height or tone. The instrument has been strung up with a new set of ultra-light GHS strings for the sale. The instrument has that classic bowlback tone - take a look at the video demo and decide for yourself. The instrument comes with the standard compressed cardboard case of the era which is no longer much use for anything, but will aid shipping the instrument. The maker of this instrument is well known and produced a wide variety of mandolins - some ornate, some plain, some for players, others for tourists only. This a plain one made for players. Restoration details The basic structure of this instrument required no repairs, and as far as I can tell has never been repaired in the past either. That's highly unusual for an instrument of this age. I acquired the instrument from the estate of a collector, so the instrument had clearly been well cared for before it came to me, albeit apparently not played. The fingerboard has been relevelled and refretted using the original bar fretwire. The result is an instrument that now plays cleanly at all fret positions, with a very low action (1.25mm at fret 12). A few spots on the instrument have had their finish lightly touched up where the finish was worn off completely: on the back of the bowl where it rubs against your body, and along parts of the neck and headstock. The bridge has had new ebony grafted in where the more fragile "teeth" at the back had broken away, and a new bone saddle has been added. The instrument has been properly set up for a low/comfortable playing action with GHS ultra-light strings. Note that these old instruments should always be strung with ultra-lights, heavier modern strings are the main reason so many of these old ladies need such extensive repair! The felt damper has also been replaced. The tuners have been thoroughly cleaned and "oiled" with a dry PTFE based lubricant (in other words there isn't really any oil or liquid there at all so it won't collect dirt). The sleeve-guard is a nice original detail, but the part which hooks over the string posts has broken off (as it often does). Rather than replace with a modern replica, I've left the original in place tucked under the outside strings (see photos). Tucking it in place like this protects your arm from all but the two outside strings and seems to work well in practice. BTW you see lots of these instruments for sale where the sleeve guard is either underneath all the strings (and doesn't protect your arm at all), or even (heaven forbid) glued to the top... they're supposed to protect the player from the windings on the string ends, not to the protect instrument... but I'll get off my soapbox for now! There are a couple of manufacturing defects you should be aware of: the tuners were installed asymmetrically (one side higher than the other), and the bridge has had to be moved partly over the edge of the cant in the soundboard in order to keep everything in tune (ideally it should be all above the cant). On the plus side, the instrument has an unusually good neck angle, making future changes to setup a breeze compared to most bowl backs. I've had this instrument finished since the end of August: so you can be sure that all the repairs are perfectly stable and working well. I've... read more

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