1922 Vega Little Wonder Banjo-Mandolin

Some time back, I used to work on a lot of Vega banjo-mandolins. I used to buy them up and fix them for resale at my cost plus work-time and parts. I bought a ton of them because Vega banjo-mandos are simply excellent quality for their value. They're a lot more stable and sturdy than most of the period competition (without modification) and all of the ones I've worked-on have had that nice, "horse-cloppy" clucky sound to them after they're dialed-in.

This one's no exception and it has that sound to a T -- clean, a little "chorused" in vibe, but with a lot of clarity and note separation that lets you play more articulate stuff than usual. A lot of banjo-mandolins are simply too-loud and too-forward, so you have to play less than you'd normally play to avoid washing-away your sound. I find that I can play these basically like a normal mandolin, though I do lighten my attack a lot as they're so loud. I just don't worry about too much about overtone wash like I'd normally be thinking about on an average banjo-mando.

They're nice! I've said it. Done.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress, side dots install, extra compensation of the original maple bridge, some extra reinforcement of the neck joint, cleaning, and a setup.

Setup notes: it plays spot-on with hair-below 1/16" action at the 12th fret and a straight neck. The fretboard extension does dip just a hair down from the rest of the board, but it's not something you notice playing it. Strings are GHS A240 in gauges 32w, 20w, 13, 9. Anything heavier on a jo-mando and you're asking for woof, woof, woof! out of the sound...

Scale length: 13 7/8"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

String spacing at nut: 15/16"

String spacing at bridge: 1 5/8"

Head diameter: 10 1/8"

Rim depth: 3"

Rim material: ply maple, hoop-in-sleeve tonering

Neck wood: maple

Fretboard: ebony

Bridge: original compensated plain maple

Neck feel: medium C-shape, flat board

Condition notes: all-original save replacement head. There's mild usewear throughout and overall the instrument is quite clean for its age.