Hey up, Iv'e just bought a mandolin/banjo off Ebay for £20, its an old Bell Tone, but it needs a bit of work doing to it. It has no tailpiece, the vellum has a small tear , and the nut has a break in it so the strings have no where to seat. I was going to do the work myself but I know someone local who will do the work better than I can.
A lot of people told me not to buy one in the first place because most of them won't stay in tune, are they right ? Am I going to throw good money after bad if I get it repaired. Or is it worth the risk for the sake of another 30 or so quid?
Also if I decide to do the work myself where near way I live (Barnsley) can I get some spare parts.
I borrowed one once in a sesssion and took to it . . most people think they sound crap but I liked it . . .
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Well, for £20, you can't go wrong. If it's crap, then it's only £20 gone.
My dad does some restoration (but only as a hobby for himself, he enjoys it) and has bought some broken instruments off ebay and restored them to full working condition and we've not come across a problem with any of them (5 or 6 in all).
I've never heard of a Bell Tone so I don't know how it would cope but you could always ask the restoration guy who will probably give you a guarantee should you come across problems.
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I've got something similar to what you describe. When I got it was very dead sounding but it "opened up" with playing and has a much more pleasing sound now. I spent a fair few hours cleaning it then waxed all of the wooden parts. A hoover removed a lot of dust and who knows what from inside the body. It is great for playing along with my pal who plays the button box because it has a punch that some mandos lack. Go ahead and sort it.
Wodeninjun
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
There are those who think that a mandolin/banjo is a hybrid instrument with little merit, then there are those who speak of these things without self-censorship....
The big advantage of them is that they can be heard in a session, unlike many mandolins - on the other hand they'll hear every bum note you play.
If you can do it yourself then it may be worthwhile; instrument repairers are not appreciated sufficiently for their skill, but their work may still end up expensive, even if only for the time factor.
You might solve the tuning problem by fitting modern machines, also the replaced skin does need to be quite tight and even.
Good luck.
You can get spare parts on ebay too, there's a Taiwan site that does a lot of instrument bits, I'm quite tempted by their brass tailpiece for my 'zouk.....
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
OK then Showadd I'll consider "doing it up" . . . if its still crap I can always resell on ebay, Also Iv'e got some extra light mandolin strings which won't place as much pressure on the vellum which will help with tuning . .
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I hope you'll put up a warning notice outside the session where said mandolin-banjo gets played - second thoughts, a warning notice won't be required...
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I've got a friend with a turkish banjo-mando, steel bodied. We call it the instrument from hell, but it always makes us laugh. He's got enough sense not to play it seriously or for prolonged duration. Once in a while it's kind of fun, like if you reaching for a gritty, sort of Pogues in your face effect.
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
My first band instrument was a banjo-mandolin; not a great one, but playable. It sounded good with box and fiddle and whistle-no one ever complained!
Go for it.
Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Hey up, Iv'e just bought a mandolin/banjo off Ebay for £20, its an old Bell Tone, but it needs a bit of work doing to it. It has no tailpiece, the vellum has a small tear , and the nut has a break in it so the strings have no where to seat. I was going to do the work myself but I know someone local who will do the work better than I can.
A lot of people told me not to buy one in the first place because most of them won't stay in tune, are they right ? Am I going to throw good money after bad if I get it repaired. Or is it worth the risk for the sake of another 30 or so quid?
Also if I decide to do the work myself where near way I live (Barnsley) can I get some spare parts.
I borrowed one once in a sesssion and took to it . . most people think they sound crap but I liked it . . .
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by Justintime
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Well, for £20, you can't go wrong. If it's crap, then it's only £20 gone.
My dad does some restoration (but only as a hobby for himself, he enjoys it) and has bought some broken instruments off ebay and restored them to full working condition and we've not come across a problem with any of them (5 or 6 in all).
I've never heard of a Bell Tone so I don't know how it would cope but you could always ask the restoration guy who will probably give you a guarantee should you come across problems.
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by PaddyCmusic
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Ooh go on - live a bit reckless and spend another £50 on it.
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by showaddydadito
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I've got something similar to what you describe. When I got it was very dead sounding but it "opened up" with playing and has a much more pleasing sound now. I spent a fair few hours cleaning it then waxed all of the wooden parts. A hoover removed a lot of dust and who knows what from inside the body. It is great for playing along with my pal who plays the button box because it has a punch that some mandos lack. Go ahead and sort it.
Wodeninjun
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by wodeninjun
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
There are those who think that a mandolin/banjo is a hybrid instrument with little merit, then there are those who speak of these things without self-censorship....
The big advantage of them is that they can be heard in a session, unlike many mandolins - on the other hand they'll hear every bum note you play.
If you can do it yourself then it may be worthwhile; instrument repairers are not appreciated sufficiently for their skill, but their work may still end up expensive, even if only for the time factor.
You might solve the tuning problem by fitting modern machines, also the replaced skin does need to be quite tight and even.
Good luck.
You can get spare parts on ebay too, there's a Taiwan site that does a lot of instrument bits, I'm quite tempted by their brass tailpiece for my 'zouk.....
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
OK then Showadd I'll consider "doing it up" . . . if its still crap I can always resell on ebay, Also Iv'e got some extra light mandolin strings which won't place as much pressure on the vellum which will help with tuning . .
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by Justintime
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I hope you'll put up a warning notice outside the session where said mandolin-banjo gets played - second thoughts, a warning notice won't be required...
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by Ron P
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
I've got a friend with a turkish banjo-mando, steel bodied. We call it the instrument from hell, but it always makes us laugh. He's got enough sense not to play it seriously or for prolonged duration. Once in a while it's kind of fun, like if you reaching for a gritty, sort of Pogues in your face effect.
# Posted on September 11th 2006 by rainog
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
My first band instrument was a banjo-mandolin; not a great one, but playable. It sounded good with box and fiddle and whistle-no one ever complained!
Go for it.
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Would you spend money on this mandolin banjo ?
Iv'e gone for it, my Luthier's charging me £40 . . . I'll let you know what it sounds like later . .
# Posted on September 12th 2006 by Justintime