c.1925 Koa Mandolin
Hooray! The 5 coats of varnish are finally all set... what does that mean? Stringing up and setup time! After a lot of surgery (back off, neck reglue, bracing reglue, end block repair, and a strip of the body and satin refinishing) my "new" 1920s post-beater koa mandolin is all ready to go, and ain't she a looker!? This whole mandolin is built of Hawaiian koa save for its rosewood fretboard, bridge, and headstock veneer, and what an intriguing sound! It has a tone very similar to Martin flatback mandolins from the same period, probably due to quite similar construction. It's very precise, like a bowlback, super responsive as one would expect from koa, and extremely well balanced. In short: what I was looking for.
I love a first stringing!
Headstock: rosewood faceplate with bone nut and fun "form-fitting" closed-back tuners.
It's hard to capture the allure of a hand-rubbed satin finish: but my, so smooth, thin, and cozy. I only refinished the body, which gives nice contrast between the darker neck and the more orangey body.
Fretboard, with MOP dots.
I love how the flame in the koa on the sides pops out now.
The back, showing some wear and tear here and there.
Original tuners are nice and smooth and, like usual, I've overhauled them.
Another 3/4 shot.
And check out that flame! Yum! I'll be posting a video after I've finished setup on it.
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