You've probably seen this type of mandolin before. Most are wall hangers. This one is a player. Support: / rosastringworks Website: www.rosastringworks.com
Hi Jerry thanks for the break down and repair story on this chilli dipper , I have one that came with a hardish case made of cardboard covered leather. With shaped side section slab top and bow bottom-with blue velvet type material inside a case latch flip type lock and a small flip lid section for plectrums and bits inside It is very old and has suffered over time but I have had that since the late sixties , it’s a bit battered still protects the instrument tho. I am left handed and changed it round but I think with a bit of patience I can make a better job of it thanks to your videos. Another project to keep me occupied wjhile fighting cancer , I also have a 9 foot RC. Sailplane to enjoy when the weather gets better thanks once again Bob from Barkingside ,England
I had one of those styles of Mandolin back in the '70s! Don't remember the exact brand name but it was European! It actually had a great sound and I wish I still had it today! Oh, the memories of fleeting youth! 👏🏽 👍🏼☺ As defined in the finished product, your skillful patience is what I admire the most about your workmanship!
I love the sound of my bowl backs...I solved the rolling issue by putting a strap on them & not just letting them rest on my lap...if they're suspended it keeps them in a more stable position...& I play a variety of styles of music on them, rock, country, blues & even some bluegrass, though I'm not much of a bluegrass player...I think they're very versatile & they're my favorite mandolin sound...I do need to learn to work on them though...I want to buy more of them, but most of the ones available on Ebay are damaged, so I'd like to be able to buy them & fix them...I'd really love to build my own...if I fix enough of them to where I understand their construction, maybe I can make that happen one day...they do make hard cases for them, I have 2 of them...👌🏿😎👍🏿
The bowl back design was the original design of mandolins in the 1880s, when they were made mostly in Europe, in Italy. Bill Monroe's first mandolin as a child was a bowl back, which he called a "tater bug". In the late 1800s, Orville Gibson redesigned the mandolin to eliminate the bowl back, which he thought was not the best design acoustically. In the early 1920s, a young college student and musician, Lloyd Loar, convinced the President of Gibson to redesign the mandolin further by emulating the features of the Strativarious violin. This was thought to be the best sounding acoustic instrument of its day. That is how we got the F-style mandolin which is the bench mark for modern day luthiers.
Jamie Jones Very nice history there. I’d like to make a tiny correction: the F in the F-style refers to the Florentine scroll at the top of the body, not the f-hole design of the top inspired by the violin. I know that because I briefly owned a Gibson F-2, which had a round sound hole and the scroll feature.
@@DavidMFChapman You are right about that! Orville Gibson originated the F style with the scroll with round sound holes. Further improvements and changes were originated by a very young Lloyd Loar in the early 1920s to emulate the Stradivarius violin. That was - effectively - the end of the bowl back design which are used these days, mostly, and perhaps only by classical musicians. Mike Marshall's wife, Katarina, is an example. A friend of mine has a bowl back mandolin with a collapsed soundboard. Maybe I will have her send it into Jerry to be fixed!
When in Italy you hear talking about a "Mandolin", this is the instrument you picture in your mind. I had no idea other types of Mandolins existed and only found out when I started watching your channel. So I guess it depends a lot on your culture.
same here, I had never seen Gibsons or Kentuckies until the late 70's. Mandolins were always bowl back to me like the Bousouki from Greece or the Saz from Turkey. Everything around the Mediterranean was bowl shaped, with the exeption of Portugal where the A-type mandolin originated.
Jerry Lived in Japan in the 80’s. Universities often have Mandolin orchestras. Went to one…all sizes of mandolin family. There were all men and each one sat with legs crossed to hold their instruments. The concert was very nice. The Suzuki company made the bowl back then for about $100 I think..
Lol there's the sister of my 8 string tater mando! Only that one is in prettier, mine needs some cosmetic work but she plays well. My other tater mando has additional four more tuners that I do not use and she also plays great and is prettier. I'm just use to playing these gals because those are the ones that I have always played. Tom's belly gets in the way when he plays my gals so he usually sticks with the mandos that he has and one of them he made he made himself! Its peas and carrots at our house or apples and oranges. If someone is desperate we can play each others.🤠🤠
I am not a musician, am generally tone deaf, and have no intention of ever building musical instruments; But listening to you, and watching you work and play is like being in the company of an old friend. Choir directors could occasionally coax what they called a tenor voice out of me.
I enjoyed watching this. My father had a bowl back mandolin that looked just like this one. I remember he used to play and sing Way Marie (Oh Marie) to me when I was a little girl. I remember holding that mandolin and trying to play it and, yes, it was very awkward. However, I really wish I had that mandolin today. My father passed away when I was 13.
I'm addicted to your videos. I appreciate great craftsmanship and ingenuity your repairs require. I'm speculating that those stains on the top look like rust stains from old strings sitting on the top for a long period of time especially since the bridge was missing. Looking forward to your next challenges.
Hey again Jerry, my mother was from Germany and studied at a textile engineering university, the little tool you have there was called a Fadenzähler (string counter) to check the quality of fabric, the world still goes by measuring strings per centimeter or inch when it comes to high quality fabric like Egyptian cotton bed sheets :o)
Great stuff Jerry, for all the tips and knowledge you have taught me via your channel here's a tip for you. When sanding a very thin piece protruding, use an old store card or credit card to wrap the sandpaper around. Very stable and precise. Thanks again Mr. Rosa.
Jerry, I really appreciate no matter how crappy a instrument you are repairing, you respect it. Kudos to you for being true to your profession. Great video!
When you first posted this video I meant to add a comment describing the Turkish Baglama (often known as "Saz" in the English speaking world). It has the same flat soundboard with a domed back of ribbed strips and are amazingly cheap to buy new in Turkey, especially when you consider how much craftsmanship goes into their construction. They have three courses of strings in sets of 2, 2 and 3. The set of three is mostly for melodic lines so the extra string adds volume. The neck is like a broomstick with a flattened side for the fretboard and frets made of mono-fibre that's like fishing line. As well as the western chromatic scale, there are intermediate notes that give the true Turkish flavour to songs. Check out my favourite Baglama player Neşet Ertaş for how it sounds!
The "Tater Bug" brought back some old memories for me... It was the mandolin that I learned on. I fairly hated that monstrosity!. Very aggravating to hold; practically had to sit, to play it. But, it was the cheapest mandolin at the music store in 1976... I persevered; learned what I could with it, then traded it for a Harmony Monterey A style mandolin. Then my playing took off! Going from something; difficult to play, to an instrument that was an absolute joy to work with... made you put in the extra time..because you weren't fighting to play the instrument. Thanks for the trip down "Memory Lane", Mr. Rosa... and, as always... Great job!!! Until we speak again, my friend...
I've owned several of these over the years. They are good for sitting around playing solo or maybe in a duo. They aren't real loud but some have good tone. The amount of work that went into making them is a lot. Many have elaborate inlays also. BTW, "wallered" is a real word here in Kentucky too. If we say it enough, they have to add it to the Oxford Dictionary.
I made two Kalimbas out of coconut shells and steel splines from a street sweeper (cut with permission from the driver). The city stopped cleaning the street in 94 so I do it by hand and broom and rolled paper sack (clean the street and god the people on this block are bloody disgusting). I made those kalimbas for each of my two sons. After seeing Jerry's first mando I realized that those kalimbas have never been played. No more sentimental instruments that never get played on my end.
I have a habit of commenting before the video is over. My dad was from southern Illinois. so Missouri was a stones's throw away. "Wallered" is perfectly acceptable as a description in my book. Sort of like " hogged out" or "shootin' distance" lol
Jerry, this type of instrument is the archetype of all mandolins. The outer form is like a almond and the name mandolin comes from it. Greetings from germany millimeterland ;-)
That is the first thing that sprung into my mind - the common potato bug :o) So now I have a 1973 Suzuki Chilli Dipper. I used to call it a 'canoe paddle' But I love your name Chilli Dipper!
Welcome to the world of the BBM (big bellied man) playing a BBM (bowl back mandolin). I have one of these tater bug mandolins, and it is indeed a challenge.
In the UK that "tater bug", known as the Colorado beetle here, used to be featured on a poster outside every Police Station back in the 60s & 70s. Basically a "not wanted" poster.
I have almost the same mandolin as this, It was given to me when I was about eight years old (now eighty-one) It is in the same condition as this, although I have just repaired it where the top came away from the bottom corner. The problem of it being stored for many years, It has a hard case now looking very tatty, Agree with you not easy to play, much easier to tune now that you can get the app on the mobile phone, you did a great job on that one, as stated earlier it has a form of paper lining blue in colour on the inside.
I`d no idea Washburn was anywhere NEAR that old an instrument maker, hey ho learn something new every day (& thanks for the video Gerry-love watchin `em)
Sometimes I work spruce sawdust into a crack and then wick in thin cyanoacrylate into the crack filled with spruce sawdust. The fibers and glue fill in the crack creating a dark line that looks like a heavy grain line that's as strong as the wood but might not be cosmetic on light wood. But it's invisible on dark wood and might be better looking than a splint of wood
Hello Jerry,thanks again for this very interesting video. This mandoline,usually called deep bowl mandoline,is the ancester of all mandolines.It was created in Naples/Italy in its final form around 1750 and is also called "mandoline napolitaine" (mandolin from Naples).It became a very popular and famous instrument all over Europe being built by extremely famous luthiers such as Amati,Stradivarius or Guarnieri. Wellknown classical composers such as Vivaldi,Mozart or Haendel have composed a lot of concerti for deep bowl mandolin which are famous. It is still very much played in Europe thanks to all these concerti and you still have,mostly in Italy,some famous luthiers building up this type of mandolin. And to play it,you need to play it sitting,not standing up! Thanks for all your interesting and passionate videos.I am an early hours fan.Pierre from France
Hey, I play these mandolins because I do not own a flat one. I have build my own one and the trick to play while standing is very simple: - Use a rubber-towel or window-lether-towel between the back of the mandolin and the belly. .. simple and standard in Europe. I prefer the german mandolins and build one by myself. Here You have to wait a long time to get one if You ask a luthier. They would like to get around 3000 - 4000 € for one. I have build my one in around 50 hours with less strips. The Bowl-back-Mandolins are based of the lutes. As the Strings were very expensive in the midage, so only very rich people or the family of a king was able to play a mandolin. The natural strings (cat-bowel) get broken very fast. The other people prefered to play the fidel. Because of the richness of these mandolin-players in the barock-times, mandolins are more decorated compared to other instruments. All these ornaments are based around this time. After the revolution in france, - I believe a lot of mandolin-players died under the guillotine. Some years later new metal-string get more popular and the fidel as a "violin" got its better popularity. much much later ... Folk-mandolins were born. Technically, these italien mandolins loook mostly awful inside. I have seen braces which look like a spline from a fruit-crate. The body is very small but they sound nice in a orchestra because the used flat-wound-strings and tone is very soft and has not that many overtones of bluegrass-strings which are made out of bronze. If You need a solo-instrument, You need an instrument which is a bit bigger than the neapolitan-mandolins or the back and top has to be improved. That way, I would say, the Roman-Mandolins ( Embergher ) have a worth pricing. German Mandolins with the much bigger Bowl sound amazing in an orchestra and as Solo-Instruments as long as they use the Flat-Wound-Strings. If You need an instrument which competes with a Banjo in a Bluegrass-band, then You need Bronze-Strings and a more open tone. I believe, the development of the mandolin-family has not stopped. It is still going on and more diverse than the development of the guitars or other String-Instruments.
That mandolin was made by the famous Larson Brothers. The fretboard and soundhole binding are dead giveaways (1/2 the thickness instead of full thickness). Actually, the binding is missing from the soundhole but you can see the shelf where it used to sit at 4:16 Look it up.
@@RosaStringWorks Cool. Do you recall if it was 1/2 the thickness of the top (like the fretboard binding is 1/2 the thickness of the fretboard)or whether it covered the full thickness of the top?
The Washburn book states that the 1630 became the 1636 after 1917- so that dates it as post-1917. It has 21 rosewood ribs- there was another model with 28 ribs and 36. Many Washburn mandolins were actually made by Regal for Lyon & Healy. It gets very complicated with L & H ultimately selling out their stringed instrument business and trade name of Washburn to the owners of Regal in the late 1920s- Tonk Bros who also outsourced production to other makers.
Plus bamboo is free if you're willing to climb over a few razor wire fences and make no noise (I would saw the stalk when a plane went overhead). Free. You have to meditate (if you can) with the bamboo and ask its permission for a culm or two and it will let you know which culms (stalks of giant grass) want to be an instrument. Plus the music of bamboo leaves in the breeze is unparalleled on earth. Bamboo is considered a nuisance by many folk in L.A. because it grows like crazy and literally tons are cut down and thrown in landfills (Compost or Die) instead of making huts for the homeless. And yes a Sharpie is a valuable luthier's tool.
I love the work that you did on this beautiful old mandolin. I've never played any mandolin, but I imagine that shape would want to slide around a lot. Up here, us, "Damn Yankees" say wallowed rather than wallered out. It means the same thing though. This video made my evening, thanks a lot for posting it. Be well my friend.
There is an old fashioned Italian barbershop here in Brooklyn and the walls are covered with these old "tater bug" mandolins. I'll bet there is a story there.
Hey Jerry an old friend of mine did some work on one of those when I was a kid he was so fed up trying to hold it steady doing the best he could with it he ended up putting the body of the old European mandolin in a bedpan which he bolted to the work bench and cushioned with a packing blanket it did fit well and he did fit it with clamps as well and made a jig for the neck rosette keep everything where it belongs
But from the woodworkers perspective. That little round thing is just as cool as can be. Besides it’s s Washburn. Washburn makes some pretty nice stuff
Jerry, I've recently found your videos and really enjoy your patter, skill and craftsmanship. Of those tools given to you recently, the brass depth gauge is used by me in setting up depth of cut of my table saw, as well as adjusting my router cutter depth. Those three tiny Indiana planes are called infill planes due to the use of the wood which fills in the body of the plane. The plane which has the blade at the extreme end of the plane is called a chisel plane, as it is used to plane up flush to the end of a box, drawer, etc. Stan in Birmingham
This video is way old now, but when I played with a mandolin orchestra here in Sydney, these instruments were the rule and I felt very out of place with my shiny Gretsch F-style
I had one of these which I bought 50 years ago for the equivalent of about 2 dollars from a pawn shop. I tried so hard to play it but it kept breaking strings. It was made in I think 1846. Finally, in a fit of frustration I hurled it a wall and it broke into a hundred pieces. The label inside said Amati. I shudder to think what it would be worth today. I wish there had been a Jerry Rosa then.
Tremendous work, Jerry. You're a very talented man. I noticed too that you seem more jocular in this video. Without wanting to pry, I hope your lighter mood is the result of good news--like a new grand baby on the way!!! God's Blessings to you and yours.
Just bought a pretty dirty battered up one in a hard case from an auction for under £30 on a whim, was looking for some tips on how to clean it up. Wow great video here and just what I need to help, hope to have it sorted for a Christmas gift for my son who plays a few things, either as a wall ornament or hopefully a playable instrument! Many thanks.
I have a similar mandolin handed down to me after my dad died. It belonged to my great-grandparents. I recently had work done. It's pretty cool but like you said, difficult to play because it rolls!
Well, I got a book! If anyone is into the history of it along with Jerry's magic touch. "2044" is a special serial number, maybe because they were becoming kind of a specialty item. Mandolin numbers otherwise had climbed above 220,000 by 1915. The model 1630 was produced starting in 1917 until bowl-back mandolins were discontinued in 1924. Best guess: 1919. Thanks, Jerry!
My uncle Travis Ricks owned a mando similar to this. It was stripey on the back. So he called his the "Tater Bug". Wayne, Fletcher and I are working up our version of "I'll always be waiting here for you". Tune by Jm & Jesse and the great Alan Shelton on banjo. Remember that tune?
I’m n the southern MO Ozarks also, I have a chili dipper but it’s in horrible shape. The back is split in two places from end to end. We bought air plane glue and we are going to try and fix it. It’s such a mess we aren’t sure we will succeed,but if not we tried. Lol. I recently bought an Eastman Nee Mandolin which I love. I enjoy your videos
Hi Jerry, I have a mandolin similar to that, made by Cesare Montaldi in Italy, just needs a little work to make good. I must get round to it one day. Keep up the good work.
You are right saying it gots no value, there was THOUSANDS of knock offs of those with sometimes very badly made parts. That being said, with some work we are always able to make things right.
Very cool. Wished my old 100 year old Super Tone "Tator Bug" sounded that good. I play traditional F Style but sometimes you gotta drag that Tator Bug out for its bad but unique sound. 😁
Good video brother. I had a piano teacher in the fourth grade who brought and played one like that to demonstrate something on the piano. Never have understood how that was supposed to help me with piano. Anyway very cool old mandolin.
Jerry The brass step scale was used to setup my Rockler dove tail machine. The pointed micro saw was purchased in London UK.** The yellow Mica trim tool was used to dress up the table top Formica after running the router*** The blue diamond hone was used to touch up the chisels edge .***Chuck
DR KEL very cool that you sent your tools to someone who appreciates them. As a retired machinist, I know there are few people who know how to use my old tools. By the way I got a kick out of Jerry "discovering" that the depth gage was a protractor, too! All the best vw
@@mytkc66atbat25 **Thanks my grandson is remodeling the shop to design kitchens and build cabinets most of my small tools for designing and building diff types of musical instruments are shipped to diff. luthiers**after 56 years of designing instruments it was time to hang it up .My grandson boxed up some tools to ship out* Care package # 5 was shipped to Jerry today 4/1/2019**have a nice retirement**I never will**being an engineer my mind is always thinking how to makes things better in this world** take care.**DR KEL
I tried to play a chili dipper. Once. Lessee. I got sober in '82 so I have been accumulating bits for, what, 37 years because believe it or not those bits are just what one needs decades later, yes, even the rubber muffler doughnut. Almost four decades of accumulating bits that come in handy (BTCIH?) and I live in one "small" (relativity) room so you bet those bits are somewhat organized. Also the hand tools have their space. I need a dremel, please Santa. The battery on my mini-mite ran out 15 years ago and I kept all of the dremel accessories in a makeup purse. I started "working with" (in China the call bamboo "brother" - so who is sister?) bamboo (a very magical giant grass. Yes, bamboo is giant grass. Some species grow a foot a day. Some species, properly cured, possess the tensile strength of steel. Bamboo can be used to make pretty much anything (that isn't digital) that a human can imagine. I made musical instruments, mostly didgeridoos (think Australia) with sculpted mouthpieces as I do not like the beeswax method. When I got to get to know bamboo (it's growing everywhere) I needed tools that apparently did not exist outside Japan Online and I had no money nor computer. I made my own tools. Very long (five feet) chisels for breaking the segment walls on the inside. A propane cooker to cure the bamboo while utilizing linseed oil on inner and outer sanded culm (stalk). Bamboo will crack, I promise, if not properly treated. So I built a dozen bamboo tools from stuff I'd find in dumpsters including steel poles (long chisels) and long wooden dowels (for brushing the inside) with stiff nylon brushes screwed into the ends. The smell of bamboo is unique on earth (there was a cologne in the 60s called "Bambu" that actually smelled like bamboo. Soldiers in the Pacific repaired broken Jeep axles with bamboo with the help of the natives. So bamboo tools and instruments all over my one room. So yes, Jerry, some of your fans do save bits.
Jerry, the depth gauge at 49:00 is to set the height of router bits or table saw blades. Yours looks to be brass. They are typically aluminum to prevent damaging the cutting blades.
Thanks Much for another appropriate for me great video! This was great for me since I have one very much like this mandolin. I am a cabinetmaker by trade with lots of hand tools. There is separation in the back about a dozen places and much of the inlay is missing. Very nice perfiling though. Mine has three strings per note and the tuning peg knobs are pewter. I've had it since the 70s when I purchased it for $35. So this is how long my one day I'll fix this time has been. May be now you have inspired me to finally get this "wall decoration" finished. I don't know if I want to spend the time restoring the inlay or not. This one is real tortes she'll and ivory. I do have some piano keys from a 1860s rosewood piano. Many years ago it was in a falling down house, veneer mostly off but a very elaborate Victorian Civil War period piece. What it was doing in a old simple frame house? Who knows? Thanks Again and Peace to You and your Family! DaveyJO in Pa
Hi Jerry. The mandolin sounded great after the repair and set up. My first mandolin was a bowl back like Mr Monroe, and regarding hanging mandolins on the wall I had an 80s Gibson F5L which I had on the wall for years as I was the worst instrument I'v ever had. Looking forward to the next episode of twin mandolins.
A banjo player locked his banjo in his car. While he was gone someone broke into his car. When the banjo player came back, there were two banjos in his car!
The top must have been under considerable tension for the crack to not want to close. Inserting the sliver of wood improves the appearance and probably relieved that tension.
Oh yeah, also I usually apply kicker with a qtip rather than spray all over the place. Model airplane kicker I use comes in a pump bottle you can open.
This was a really cool video. I have a bowl back mandolin similar to that one, made by "La Valenciana". There is a "Suzuki" brand also, which looks exactly like mine. They're also called Neapolitan mandolins. Man I love this channel!! Always something fun and interesting.
The 'tater bud is shaped like the much older Lute and arabic 'Oud, and is a member of that family. I should do more research to find out when the Lute flattened out into a Guitar...
got a washburn just like it from my uncle in siloam springs ar.Its been on my wall for 3o years. I'm going to do what you just did.I am going to try to lower the bridge and see what happens.thanks. A.F.D.
The reason for the top crack is that the top plate wood has shrunken laterally (across the grain) over time. This is quite usual in older wood instruments. In many cases the top will become too narrow for the ribset on a violin, viola, cello, or double bass. In this particular case, since the ribs were holding the edges of the plate tightly in place, the only place for the shrinkage to happen is somewhere on the top plate between grains. Hence the top crack. The solution is typically to 'shorten' the rib assembly at the neck block and endblock. Since this repair is not possible in this case for the reason that removing this top is really complicated and there really is no way to 'shorten' your rib set, you are on the right path with adding a strip (which is also considerably easier than 'shortening' a rib set.
i have one like this im in the process of repairing, an AWFULL shape, it was nearly just wood for the fire place. Most likely will end up with black chelac i think, to cover the multiple repairs. The person that has it was keeping it on a hanger on top of a heater... i let u imagine the carnage it did on the wood.
I saw a guitar from the 1890s on Reverb made a Chicago-based luthier who also had a metal plate on the back of the headstock. I'm assuming he was putting the tuners inside the headstock; sort of an early version of sealed tuners.
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JERRY
Thanks for the PR It makes this 93 years old proud to know that my tools will continue to be used for something that is creative.***Chuck
Bless you @ 93 - makes my 60 yrs seem young.
Hi Jerry thanks for the break down and repair story on this chilli dipper , I have one that came with a hardish case made of cardboard covered leather. With shaped side section slab top and bow bottom-with blue velvet type material inside a case latch flip type lock and a small flip lid section for plectrums and bits inside It is very old and has suffered over time but I have had that since the late sixties , it’s a bit battered still protects the instrument tho. I am left handed and changed it round but I think with a bit of patience I can make a better job of it thanks to your videos. Another project to keep me occupied wjhile fighting cancer , I also have a 9 foot RC. Sailplane to enjoy when the weather gets better thanks once again Bob from Barkingside ,England
I had one of those styles of Mandolin back in the '70s! Don't remember the exact brand name but it was European!
It actually had a great sound and I wish I still had it today! Oh, the memories of fleeting youth! 👏🏽 👍🏼☺
As defined in the finished product, your skillful patience is what I admire the most about your workmanship!
I love the sound of my bowl backs...I solved the rolling issue by putting a strap on them & not just letting them rest on my lap...if they're suspended it keeps them in a more stable position...& I play a variety of styles of music on them, rock, country, blues & even some bluegrass, though I'm not much of a bluegrass player...I think they're very versatile & they're my favorite mandolin sound...I do need to learn to work on them though...I want to buy more of them, but most of the ones available on Ebay are damaged, so I'd like to be able to buy them & fix them...I'd really love to build my own...if I fix enough of them to where I understand their construction, maybe I can make that happen one day...they do make hard cases for them, I have 2 of them...👌🏿😎👍🏿
Hello! I found you. I just want to say I enjoyed hearing you and the guys the other night at the BBQ place. I wish I would have had more time. Bob
The bowl back design was the original design of mandolins in the 1880s, when they were made mostly in Europe, in Italy. Bill Monroe's first mandolin as a child was a bowl back, which he called a "tater bug". In the late 1800s, Orville Gibson redesigned the mandolin to eliminate the bowl back, which he thought was not the best design acoustically. In the early 1920s, a young college student and musician, Lloyd Loar, convinced the President of Gibson to redesign the mandolin further by emulating the features of the Strativarious violin. This was thought to be the best sounding acoustic instrument of its day. That is how we got the F-style mandolin which is the bench mark for modern day luthiers.
Great job of researching, my friend... I think Orville vastly improved the instrument, and that student named Loar...
Made the instrument a legend...
Jamie Jones Very nice history there. I’d like to make a tiny correction: the F in the F-style refers to the Florentine scroll at the top of the body, not the f-hole design of the top inspired by the violin. I know that because I briefly owned a Gibson F-2, which had a round sound hole and the scroll feature.
@@DavidMFChapman You are right about that! Orville Gibson originated the F style with the scroll with round sound holes. Further improvements and changes were originated by a very young Lloyd Loar in the early 1920s to emulate the Stradivarius violin. That was - effectively - the end of the bowl back design which are used these days, mostly, and perhaps only by classical musicians. Mike Marshall's wife, Katarina, is an example. A friend of mine has a bowl back mandolin with a collapsed soundboard. Maybe I will have her send it into Jerry to be fixed!
I have my grandfather's Model 1915. An heirloom for sure.
When in Italy you hear talking about a "Mandolin", this is the instrument you picture in your mind. I had no idea other types of Mandolins existed and only found out when I started watching your channel. So I guess it depends a lot on your culture.
same here, I had never seen Gibsons or Kentuckies until the late 70's. Mandolins were always bowl back to me like the Bousouki from Greece or the Saz from Turkey. Everything around the Mediterranean was bowl shaped, with the exeption of Portugal where the A-type mandolin originated.
Jerry
Lived in Japan in the 80’s. Universities often have Mandolin orchestras. Went to one…all sizes of mandolin family. There were all men and each one sat with legs crossed to hold their instruments.
The concert was very nice. The Suzuki company made the bowl back then for about $100 I think..
Jerry you are a comedian...LOL a wire brush manicure... LOL
I love how your first reaction upon getting a new blade is to try it out on your finger. Tougher than most.
Lol there's the sister of my 8 string tater mando! Only that one is in prettier, mine needs some cosmetic work but she plays well. My other tater mando has additional four more tuners that I do not use and she also plays great and is prettier. I'm just use to playing these gals because those are the ones that I have always played. Tom's belly gets in the way when he plays my gals so he usually sticks with the mandos that he has and one of them he made he made himself! Its peas and carrots at our house or apples and oranges. If someone is desperate we can play each others.🤠🤠
Those little strips are usually holly wood, these are works of art. Nice work Jerry.
I am not a musician, am generally tone deaf, and have no intention of ever building musical instruments; But listening to you, and watching you work and play is like being in the company of an old friend.
Choir directors could occasionally coax what they called a tenor voice out of me.
I enjoyed watching this. My father had a bowl back mandolin that looked just like this one. I remember he used to play and sing Way Marie (Oh Marie) to me when I was a little girl. I remember holding that mandolin and trying to play it and, yes, it was very awkward. However, I really wish I had that mandolin today. My father passed away when I was 13.
I'm addicted to your videos. I appreciate great craftsmanship and ingenuity your repairs require. I'm speculating that those stains on the top look like rust stains from old strings sitting on the top for a long period of time especially since the bridge was missing. Looking forward to your next challenges.
Hey again Jerry, my mother was from Germany and studied at a textile engineering university, the little tool you have there was called a Fadenzähler (string counter) to check the quality of fabric, the world still goes by measuring strings per centimeter or inch when it comes to high quality fabric like Egyptian cotton bed sheets :o)
Great stuff Jerry, for all the tips and knowledge you have taught me via your channel here's a tip for you. When sanding a very thin piece protruding, use an old store card or credit card to wrap the sandpaper around. Very stable and precise. Thanks again Mr. Rosa.
Jerry, I really appreciate no matter how crappy a instrument you are repairing, you respect it. Kudos to you for being true to your profession. Great video!
When you first posted this video I meant to add a comment describing the Turkish Baglama (often known as "Saz" in the English speaking world). It has the same flat soundboard with a domed back of ribbed strips and are amazingly cheap to buy new in Turkey, especially when you consider how much craftsmanship goes into their construction. They have three courses of strings in sets of 2, 2 and 3. The set of three is mostly for melodic lines so the extra string adds volume. The neck is like a broomstick with a flattened side for the fretboard and frets made of mono-fibre that's like fishing line. As well as the western chromatic scale, there are intermediate notes that give the true Turkish flavour to songs. Check out my favourite Baglama player Neşet Ertaş for how it sounds!
Thanks for taking the time to explain about the Saz. I believe this instrument takes cues from the saz, oud, and gusle.
The "Tater Bug" brought back some old memories for me... It was the mandolin that I learned on. I fairly hated that monstrosity!. Very aggravating to hold; practically had to sit, to play it. But, it was the cheapest mandolin at the music store in 1976... I persevered; learned what I could with it, then traded it for a Harmony Monterey A style mandolin. Then my playing took off! Going from something; difficult to play, to an instrument that was an absolute joy to work with... made you put in the extra time..because you weren't fighting to play the instrument.
Thanks for the trip down "Memory Lane", Mr. Rosa... and, as always... Great job!!!
Until we speak again, my friend...
I've owned several of these over the years. They are good for sitting around playing solo or maybe in a duo. They aren't real loud but some have good tone. The amount of work that went into making them is a lot. Many have elaborate inlays also. BTW, "wallered" is a real word here in Kentucky too. If we say it enough, they have to add it to the Oxford Dictionary.
I made two Kalimbas out of coconut shells and steel splines from a street sweeper (cut with permission from the driver). The city stopped cleaning the street in 94 so I do it by hand and broom and rolled paper sack (clean the street and god the people on this block are bloody disgusting). I made those kalimbas for each of my two sons. After seeing Jerry's first mando I realized that those kalimbas have never been played. No more sentimental instruments that never get played on my end.
I have a habit of commenting before the video is over. My dad was from southern Illinois. so Missouri was a stones's throw away. "Wallered" is perfectly acceptable as a description in my book. Sort of like " hogged out" or "shootin' distance" lol
Jerry, this type of instrument is the archetype of all mandolins. The outer form is like a almond and the name mandolin comes from it. Greetings from germany millimeterland ;-)
Mandel, you use it for making Marzipan, yum yum!
A T square protractor totally cool tool
You're a genius carpenter
That is the first thing that sprung into my mind - the common potato bug :o) So now I have a 1973 Suzuki Chilli Dipper. I used to call it a 'canoe paddle' But I love your name Chilli Dipper!
Welcome to the world of the BBM (big bellied man) playing a BBM (bowl back mandolin). I have one of these tater bug mandolins, and it is indeed a challenge.
In the UK that "tater bug", known as the Colorado beetle here, used to be featured on a poster outside every Police Station back in the 60s & 70s. Basically a "not wanted" poster.
I have almost the same mandolin as this, It was given to me when I was about eight years old (now eighty-one) It is in the same condition as this, although I have just repaired it where the top came away from the bottom corner. The problem of it being stored for many years, It has a hard case now looking very tatty, Agree with you not easy to play, much easier to tune now that you can get the app on the mobile phone, you did a great job on that one, as stated earlier it has a form of paper lining blue in colour on the inside.
I`d no idea Washburn was anywhere NEAR that old an instrument maker, hey ho learn something new every day (& thanks for the video Gerry-love watchin `em)
Sometimes I work spruce sawdust into a crack and then wick in thin cyanoacrylate into the crack filled with spruce sawdust. The fibers and glue fill in the crack creating a dark line that looks like a heavy grain line that's as strong as the wood but might not be cosmetic on light wood. But it's invisible on dark wood and might be better looking than a splint of wood
Hello Jerry,thanks again for this very interesting video.
This mandoline,usually called deep bowl mandoline,is the ancester of all mandolines.It was created in Naples/Italy in its final form around 1750 and is also called "mandoline napolitaine" (mandolin from Naples).It became a very popular and famous instrument all over Europe being built by extremely famous luthiers such as Amati,Stradivarius or Guarnieri.
Wellknown classical composers such as Vivaldi,Mozart or Haendel have composed a lot of concerti for deep bowl mandolin which are famous.
It is still very much played in Europe thanks to all these concerti and you still have,mostly in Italy,some famous luthiers building up this type of mandolin.
And to play it,you need to play it sitting,not standing up!
Thanks for all your interesting and passionate videos.I am an early hours fan.Pierre from France
This style is used by classical mandolin players.
I guess folks were a different shape back then! Nice job. I kinda like the look of em.
Hey, I play these mandolins because I do not own a flat one. I have build my own one and the trick to play while standing is very simple: - Use a rubber-towel or window-lether-towel between the back of the mandolin and the belly. .. simple and standard in Europe. I prefer the german mandolins and build one by myself. Here You have to wait a long time to get one if You ask a luthier. They would like to get around 3000 - 4000 € for one. I have build my one in around 50 hours with less strips. The Bowl-back-Mandolins are based of the lutes. As the Strings were very expensive in the midage, so only very rich people or the family of a king was able to play a mandolin. The natural strings (cat-bowel) get broken very fast. The other people prefered to play the fidel. Because of the richness of these mandolin-players in the barock-times, mandolins are more decorated compared to other instruments. All these ornaments are based around this time. After the revolution in france, - I believe a lot of mandolin-players died under the guillotine. Some years later new metal-string get more popular and the fidel as a "violin" got its better popularity. much much later ... Folk-mandolins were born. Technically, these italien mandolins loook mostly awful inside. I have seen braces which look like a spline from a fruit-crate. The body is very small but they sound nice in a orchestra because the used flat-wound-strings and tone is very soft and has not that many overtones of bluegrass-strings which are made out of bronze. If You need a solo-instrument, You need an instrument which is a bit bigger than the neapolitan-mandolins or the back and top has to be improved. That way, I would say, the Roman-Mandolins ( Embergher ) have a worth pricing. German Mandolins with the much bigger Bowl sound amazing in an orchestra and as Solo-Instruments as long as they use the Flat-Wound-Strings.
If You need an instrument which competes with a Banjo in a Bluegrass-band, then You need Bronze-Strings and a more open tone. I believe, the development of the mandolin-family has not stopped. It is still going on and more diverse than the development of the guitars or other String-Instruments.
That mandolin was made by the famous Larson Brothers. The fretboard and soundhole binding are dead giveaways (1/2 the thickness instead of full thickness). Actually, the binding is missing from the soundhole but you can see the shelf where it used to sit at 4:16 Look it up.
Actually it's an optical illusion the Binding was not missing. It was actually there around the sound hole.
@@RosaStringWorks Cool. Do you recall if it was 1/2 the thickness of the top (like the fretboard binding is 1/2 the thickness of the fretboard)or whether it covered the full thickness of the top?
The Washburn book states that the 1630 became the 1636 after 1917- so that dates it as post-1917. It has 21 rosewood ribs- there was another model with 28 ribs and 36. Many Washburn mandolins were actually made by Regal for Lyon & Healy. It gets very complicated with L & H ultimately selling out their stringed instrument business and trade name of Washburn to the owners of Regal in the late 1920s- Tonk Bros who also outsourced production to other makers.
Thank you for the effort
Plus bamboo is free if you're willing to climb over a few razor wire fences and make no noise (I would saw the stalk when a plane went overhead). Free. You have to meditate (if you can) with the bamboo and ask its permission for a culm or two and it will let you know which culms (stalks of giant grass) want to be an instrument. Plus the music of bamboo leaves in the breeze is unparalleled on earth. Bamboo is considered a nuisance by many folk in L.A. because it grows like crazy and literally tons are cut down and thrown in landfills (Compost or Die) instead of making huts for the homeless. And yes a Sharpie is a valuable luthier's tool.
I love the work that you did on this beautiful old mandolin. I've never played any mandolin, but I imagine that shape would want to slide around a lot. Up here, us, "Damn Yankees" say wallowed rather than wallered out. It means the same thing though. This video made my evening, thanks a lot for posting it. Be well my friend.
Very nice,thank you!
There is an old fashioned Italian barbershop here in Brooklyn and the walls are covered with these old "tater bug" mandolins. I'll bet there is a story there.
not a bad sound little bug at all! and plenty of nice work done here on it, should be good to go for a long time!
I enjoyed the repair job on the pear back mandolin that is what we Canadian call them . Great job !!!
Hey Jerry an old friend of mine did some work on one of those when I was a kid he was so fed up trying to hold it steady doing the best he could with it he ended up putting the body of the old European mandolin in a bedpan which he bolted to the work bench and cushioned with a packing blanket it did fit well and he did fit it with clamps as well and made a jig for the neck rosette keep everything where it belongs
But from the woodworkers perspective. That little round thing is just as cool as can be. Besides it’s s Washburn. Washburn makes some pretty nice stuff
I like the side trip to look at the tools in depth.
Hey Jerry, really like the repairs and stuff you do.
I have gotten lots of tips and help from your videos.
Callum, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Jerry, I've recently found your videos and really enjoy your patter, skill and craftsmanship. Of those tools given to you recently, the brass depth gauge is used by me in setting up depth of cut of my table saw, as well as adjusting my router cutter depth. Those three tiny Indiana planes are called infill planes due to the use of the wood which fills in the body of the plane. The plane which has the blade at the extreme end of the plane is called a chisel plane, as it is used to plane up flush to the end of a box, drawer, etc.
Stan in Birmingham
This video is way old now, but when I played with a mandolin orchestra here in Sydney, these instruments were the rule and I felt very out of place with my shiny Gretsch F-style
I had one of these which I bought 50 years ago for the equivalent of about 2 dollars from a pawn shop. I tried so hard to play it but it kept breaking strings. It was made in I think 1846. Finally, in a fit of frustration I hurled it a wall and it broke into a hundred pieces. The label inside said Amati. I shudder to think what it would be worth today. I wish there had been a Jerry Rosa then.
Similar to what I have on the waiting list!
id sure like to have that old Chili Dipper Lutherer color pigments withstanding.... Great video
Tremendous work, Jerry. You're a very talented man. I noticed too that you seem more jocular in this video. Without wanting to pry, I hope your lighter mood is the result of good news--like a new grand baby on the way!!! God's Blessings to you and yours.
Just bought a pretty dirty battered up one in a hard case from an auction for under £30 on a whim, was looking for some tips on how to clean it up. Wow great video here and just what I need to help, hope to have it sorted for a Christmas gift for my son who plays a few things, either as a wall ornament or hopefully a playable instrument! Many thanks.
I have a similar mandolin handed down to me after my dad died. It belonged to my great-grandparents. I recently had work done. It's pretty cool but like you said, difficult to play because it rolls!
I have one of these which was my grandfathers, it is in a hard case that has seen better days.I want to turn it into a lamp.
Well, I got a book! If anyone is into the history of it along with Jerry's magic touch. "2044" is a special serial number, maybe because they were becoming kind of a specialty item. Mandolin numbers otherwise had climbed above 220,000 by 1915. The model 1630 was produced starting in 1917 until bowl-back mandolins were discontinued in 1924. Best guess: 1919. Thanks, Jerry!
You really need to listen to Nigel Woodhouse talking about the mandolin. Just search for his name on youtube. Very informative and without bias.
My uncle Travis Ricks owned a mando similar to this. It was stripey on the back. So he called his the "Tater Bug". Wayne, Fletcher and I
are working up our version of "I'll always be waiting here for you". Tune by Jm & Jesse and the great Alan Shelton on banjo. Remember
that tune?
First mandolin I owned was similar to this one...Definetly not a Bluegrass mandolin...Nice collector mando.Thanks for sharing
I’m n the southern MO Ozarks also, I have a chili dipper but it’s in horrible shape. The back is split in two places from end to end. We bought air plane glue and we are going to try and fix it. It’s such a mess we aren’t sure we will succeed,but if not we tried. Lol. I recently bought an Eastman Nee Mandolin which I love. I enjoy your videos
Hi Jerry, I have a mandolin similar to that, made by Cesare Montaldi in Italy, just needs a little work to make good. I must get round to it one day. Keep up the good work.
That's definitely a neat looking mandolin and it has a unique sound. Nice work Jerry!
If I sanded the bevel on that bridge like that, I would have no skin left on my knuckles. Nice video.
Been there done that a bunch of times too.
That was a gorgeous O Solo Mío, Jer
Loved it Jerry......Another troll done gone lol
Nice video. Thanks for the knowledge.
You are right saying it gots no value, there was THOUSANDS of knock offs of those with sometimes very badly made parts. That being said, with some work we are always able to make things right.
Very cool. Wished my old 100 year old Super Tone "Tator Bug" sounded that good. I play traditional F Style but sometimes you gotta drag that Tator Bug out for its bad but unique sound. 😁
Good video brother. I had a piano teacher in the fourth grade who brought and played one like that to demonstrate something on the piano. Never have understood how that was supposed to help me with piano. Anyway very cool old mandolin.
I needed something awesome to watch on my Saturday evening. Thanks Jerry.
Very nice video Jerry a lot of intricate work there have a great day my friend till the next time
The bulge helps keep the top from collapsing with string tension forcing the bridge down. If there was no arch, it would dish.
Jerry
The brass step scale was used to setup my Rockler dove tail machine. The pointed micro saw was purchased in London UK.**
The yellow Mica trim tool was used to dress up the table top Formica after running the router*** The blue diamond hone was used to touch up the chisels edge .***Chuck
DR KEL very cool that you sent your tools to someone who appreciates them. As a retired machinist, I know there are few people who know how to use my old tools. By the way I got a kick out of Jerry "discovering" that the depth gage was a protractor, too! All the best vw
@@mytkc66atbat25 **Thanks my grandson is remodeling the shop to design kitchens and build cabinets most of my small tools for designing and building diff types of musical instruments are shipped to diff. luthiers**after 56 years of designing instruments it was time to hang it up .My grandson boxed up some tools to ship out* Care package # 5 was shipped to Jerry today 4/1/2019**have a nice retirement**I never will**being an engineer my mind is always thinking how to makes things better in this world** take care.**DR KEL
I tried to play a chili dipper. Once.
Lessee. I got sober in '82 so I have been accumulating bits for, what, 37 years because believe it or not those bits are just what one needs decades later, yes, even the rubber muffler doughnut. Almost four decades of accumulating bits that come in handy (BTCIH?) and I live in one "small" (relativity) room so you bet those bits are somewhat organized. Also the hand tools have their space. I need a dremel, please Santa. The battery on my mini-mite ran out 15 years ago and I kept all of the dremel accessories in a makeup purse. I started "working with" (in China the call bamboo "brother" - so who is sister?) bamboo (a very magical giant grass. Yes, bamboo is giant grass. Some species grow a foot a day. Some species, properly cured, possess the tensile strength of steel. Bamboo can be used to make pretty much anything (that isn't digital) that a human can imagine. I made musical instruments, mostly didgeridoos (think Australia) with sculpted mouthpieces as I do not like the beeswax method. When I got to get to know bamboo (it's growing everywhere) I needed tools that apparently did not exist outside Japan Online and I had no money nor computer. I made my own tools. Very long (five feet) chisels for breaking the segment walls on the inside. A propane cooker to cure the bamboo while utilizing linseed oil on inner and outer sanded culm (stalk). Bamboo will crack, I promise, if not properly treated. So I built a dozen bamboo tools from stuff I'd find in dumpsters including steel poles (long chisels) and long wooden dowels (for brushing the inside) with stiff nylon brushes screwed into the ends. The smell of bamboo is unique on earth (there was a cologne in the 60s called "Bambu" that actually smelled like bamboo. Soldiers in the Pacific repaired broken Jeep axles with bamboo with the help of the natives. So bamboo tools and instruments all over my one room.
So yes, Jerry, some of your fans do save bits.
Jerry, the depth gauge at 49:00 is to set the height of router bits or table saw blades. Yours looks to be brass. They are typically aluminum to prevent damaging the cutting blades.
very interesting video. great job on the instrument..I'm sure the customer will appreciate it... tks for sharing.
Sounds good, reminds me of the guy playing on a gondolla
Love your work Jerry. I repaired one of these mandolins years back lol brings back memories.
Padouk darkens over time really well. In a year it will be dark brown.
Yeah it even turns kind of a dark reddish purple. At least that's my understanding keep in mind on colorblind.
Thanks Much for another appropriate for me great video! This was great for me since I have one very much like this mandolin. I am a cabinetmaker by trade with lots of hand tools. There is separation in the back about a dozen places and much of the inlay is missing. Very nice perfiling though. Mine has three strings per note and the tuning peg knobs are pewter. I've had it since the 70s when I purchased it for $35. So this is how long my one day I'll fix this time has been. May be now you have inspired me to finally get this "wall decoration" finished. I don't know if I want to spend the time restoring the inlay or not. This one is real tortes she'll and ivory. I do have some piano keys from a 1860s rosewood piano. Many years ago it was in a falling down house, veneer mostly off but a very elaborate Victorian Civil War period piece. What it was doing in a old simple frame house? Who knows? Thanks Again and Peace to You and your Family! DaveyJO in Pa
Looks good and sounds great .
The body is the same as a Greek bouzouki,which obviously has a much longer neck.
Hi Jerry. The mandolin sounded great after the repair and set up. My first mandolin was a bowl back like Mr Monroe, and regarding hanging mandolins on the wall I had an 80s Gibson F5L which I had on the wall for years as I was the worst instrument I'v ever had. Looking forward to the next episode of twin mandolins.
Great video Jerry!!!!!!!!)))👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼😊
A banjo player locked his banjo in his car. While he was gone someone broke into his car. When the banjo player came back, there were two banjos in his car!
The top must have been under considerable tension for the crack to not want to close. Inserting the sliver of wood improves the appearance and probably relieved that tension.
We called them "Turtle Back"
Great job as always,nice tools Jerry have a great weekend,Cheers
Oh yeah, also I usually apply kicker with a qtip rather than spray all over the place. Model airplane kicker I use comes in a pump bottle you can open.
First time I've seen one worked on. Good stuff. Thanks much. Another troll bites the dust.
This was a really cool video. I have a bowl back mandolin similar to that one, made by "La Valenciana". There is a "Suzuki" brand also, which looks exactly like mine. They're also called Neapolitan mandolins. Man I love this channel!! Always something fun and interesting.
Now that you say it, I remember hearing them called a Neapolitan. But I had forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder.
Beautiful job on a lovely instrument!
The 'tater bud is shaped like the much older Lute and arabic 'Oud, and is a member of that family. I should do more research to find out when the Lute flattened out into a Guitar...
got a washburn just like it from my uncle in siloam springs ar.Its been on my wall for 3o years.
I'm going to do what you just did.I am going to try to lower the bridge and see what happens.thanks.
A.F.D.
Wow, a mention of Siloam Springs, AR my home town.
The reason for the top crack is that the top plate wood has shrunken laterally (across the grain) over time. This is quite usual in older wood instruments. In many cases the top will become too narrow for the ribset on a violin, viola, cello, or double bass. In this particular case, since the ribs were holding the edges of the plate tightly in place, the only place for the shrinkage to happen is somewhere on the top plate between grains. Hence the top crack. The solution is typically to 'shorten' the rib assembly at the neck block and endblock. Since this repair is not possible in this case for the reason that removing this top is really complicated and there really is no way to 'shorten' your rib set, you are on the right path with adding a strip (which is also considerably easier than 'shortening' a rib set.
i have one like this im in the process of repairing, an AWFULL shape, it was nearly just wood for the fire place. Most likely will end up with black chelac i think, to cover the multiple repairs. The person that has it was keeping it on a hanger on top of a heater... i let u imagine the carnage it did on the wood.
I saw a guitar from the 1890s on Reverb made a Chicago-based luthier who also had a metal plate on the back of the headstock. I'm assuming he was putting the tuners inside the headstock; sort of an early version of sealed tuners.
For holding it, put something tacky or frictiony between you and back. I use rubbery shelf lining from the dollar store.
When things are too much trouble it's just not worth it