restore old mandoline from ebay ?

[bluemarkus]

hey musicians...

been playing guitars for 10+ years, and thought about getting an old mandoline from ebay and restoring it. has anybody experience with that, is it hard or easy, and is it costly or cheap ?

old mandolines go pretty cheap on ebay, but mostly need a bit of work on it.

I wanted a roundbody mando because they have better sound than the flat ones.

greetings

MB

 

[John_Galt]

hey musicians...

been playing guitars for 10+ years, and thought about getting an old mandoline from ebay and restoring it. has anybody experience with that, is it hard or easy, and is it costly or cheap ?

old mandolines go pretty cheap on ebay, but mostly need a bit of work on it.

I wanted a roundbody mando because they have better sound than the flat ones.

greetings

MB

I've found just the opposite. I haven't found anything that can beat a Gibson F-5 or a Flatiron.

 

[JoeyWhiteshoes]

I would say to give it a go. If it is just a $200 mandolin anyway, you got nothing to lose. If it is a vintage instrument and worth some money, that's different story.

I would recommend Dan Erlewine's books/videos on instrument repair if you aren't experienced already.

This is an interesting mandolin site: Mandolin Cafe - Mandolins - Electric Mandolins

Joey