A partial farewell

[jgwoods]

I just traded my J-185 TV straight up for a 1942 Martin....Mandolin. That leaves with 1 Gibson- my A4 mandolin, and no Gibson Guitars.

Guitar was never may main instrument anyway. Most of the time when I go out to play I take a mandolin and an open back banjo, sometimes my fiddle as well, but rarely did I take a guitar, and I have (had) 4 of them. Meanwhile I shipped one of my two mandolins to my daughter in Oregon and left myself with no backup until this trade today.

 

I'm going to miss the J-185. It fit me better than any others with the jumbo body and short scale and I wouldn't have traded it but it was the open that got me the best deal so I let it go.

If I was richer I'd keep it but I can't add to my debt right now so the only way I was getting another mandolin was to lose a guitar.

 

 

These old "bent top" oval hole As don't cut it in Bluegrass but they are fine Old Time, classical and Irish players and that is mostly what I do.

(Adirondack top, mahogany sides and back)

[retrorod]

Very pretty and looks to be in great shape!

[Rambler]

JG--when circumstances allow you to consider an acoustic, you might look into Martin's M-series. Similar shape to the J185 but shallower and a sound maybe better suited to mando-oriented music. Besides, the std models, you can sometimes find a used Smartwood or 16-series one that's (relatively) budget friendly.

[Hall]

jg - that one, I like.

 

Hall

[Jack6849]

I don't know enough about values to speculate about your deal, but that is one nice Mandolin and obviously a 1942 date is "prime time" for Martin craftsmanship. Congratulations and have fun with your new "vintage" Martin.

 

Jack6849

[jgwoods]

Rambler- one of my remaining guitars is a Guild GSR-F40 which is Grand Orchestra or in Martin speak M/0000 sized, with a 16" lower bout and OM depth.

If it had the short Gibson scale I might call it the perfect guitar but it ain't, just a very nice one- that would fetch enough money to make a straight up trade for the mandolin.

 

The value of the deal is hard to figure. Much as I liked, and highly valued, the J-185 I don't see where buyers are giving more than $1500-$1600 for them. Martin A model mandolins like this one can be had for $600 and up, but to find one in truly excellent condition is rare, to find one with the sunburst is rarer still, and in this case I think the Martin found it's true owner. There's not a lot of folks who really want them which is why even a pre-war Martin can be had for such cheap money. The build quality is very high like all of their stuff and they made plenty of mandolins which keeps the price down, that and the current interest in bluegrass mandolins exceeds all other uses leaves the Martins as beautiful wall flowers with hardly anyone to take them to the dance.

 

I'll tell you this- if you ever like cozy couch pickin', just sitting around and playing quiet by the fire or whatever, there is nothing more comfortable than a nice little mandolin. Guitars are monsters by comparison.

[devellis]

Those flatback Martins are very nice mandolins when you find a good one (and unless they've been beat, most of them are good). I have a one-of-a-kind employee model that was begun in 1917 and finished after the war in 1919 -- spruce over Brazilian, with a double row of abalone around the top and soundhole. It's very lightly built (lighter, for example than a Brazilian rosewood 1921 Martin style B I used to have) and is exceptionally responsive. Not a bluegrass mando, as noted, but still very, very nice.

 

These days, I'm going in the opposite direction of jgwoods, divesting myself of mandolins in favor of guitars (although the mandolins still outnumber the guitars by a substantial margin). There's a lot more to mandolins than bluegrass. They're expressive and sometimes powerful instruments that have a distinctive sound that works well in a variety of musical forms. I'll always hang on to several of my mandolins but these days, I'm finding guitar more versatile and more fulfilling.