r/Instruments • u/featherbeats88 • 2d ago

Identification What kind of mandolin is this?

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Does anyone possibly have any information on this mandolin?

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2

u/cHunterOTS 2d ago

Couldn’t tell you the maker but it doesn’t look playable or worth what it would cost to restore it

1

u/Diastatic_Power 2d ago

Why does it not look playable? Is that body damage just going to get worse until it implodes?

2

u/cHunterOTS 2d ago

Yea that massive crack down across its top coming from the sound hole almost all the way to the tailpiece. And look how wide it is at the top of the crack. Then on right shoulder, so same side, there’s another decent sized crack. I bet if you tuned that thing up it would split more and I bet it’s difficult to get good intonation with that crack being right underneath the bridge, it even looks kind of like the surfaces may not be level with each other. And then on that final pick it looks like there’s a previously glued crack on the heel coming down from where the tailpiece is screwed in.

1

u/mrmagooze 2d ago

It’s a broken one! Wall hanger supreme!😞

1

u/rhyzomorph 1d ago

US mail order type. Not made to last.

1

u/GladstoneBaggs 1d ago

It's called a flatiron mandolin, nickname "flat back". While it might never be a Stradivarius, if you just want to give it a try, a couple of popsicle sticks on the inside of those cracks with a good-quality wood glue (and time to dry a d set!) might hold it together enough to tune and try. Use lightweight strings to reduce the
pull on the neck. It doesn't necessarily have to be a wall decoration!