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Raffaele Calace
1910 Mandolin
Up for consideration is a vintage RAFFAELE
CALACE round-back mandolin and case. This mandolin was handmade
in the famous Calaci
family workshop in Naples, Italy in 1910, by the great composer,
luthier and performer, Raffaele Calace. The mandolin is in excellent
condition, and sounds incredible (see sound clips, below). Here
is a rare chance to pick up a wonderful Italian handmade mandolin
by one of the world's most revered makers!!!
I bought this mandolin in Basle, Switzerland in 1985 from (now)
Early Musical Instruments.com. I was an employee back in the
early 1980s, and wonderful instruments like this would walk in
the door on a weekly basis. I played it briefly in the early
1990's as a church musician at Our
Lady's Maronite Catholic Church, but have not played
it in the last 15 years, and since my switch to playing Classical Harp Guitar
full-time, I no longer have any need for this beautiful mandolin,
and am hoping to find it a nice home. 1270 DPI high-resolution
photos are here.
This mandolin is incredibly loud, with amazing projection and
beautiful tone, and this mandolin would make a great instrument
for acoustic concerts, as well as studio recordings.
SPECS:
* Spruce Top
* Maple Back
* Rosewood Fingerboard
* Overall length = 620 mm
* Scale length = 333 mm
* Nut width = 27 mm
* Neck With @ 10 = 37 mm
* Vintage leather case
* Made in Italy
ABOUT THE LUTHIER
The Calace family has been involved in mandolin
making in Naples, Italy for well over 150 years. The workshop
was founded by Antonio Calace, and Raffaele (1863-1934) was originally
trained as a musician. He graduated from the conservatory and
started giving concerts while touring Europe. He went on to write
around 200 pieces for mandolin, which are still considered among
the best music ever written for the instrument. His instruments
are prized in their own right, as fine examples of Neopolitan
mandolin-making, with many innovations introduced to further
mandolin design. At the time of the construction of this mandolin
(1910), Raffaele was running the Calace workshop with
his daughter, Maria.
SOURCES : 1
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CONDITION
This guitar is in amazing condition for a 100-year-old
onstrument. It has one missing piece from the back of the headstock,
and the tuners are missing 4 mounting screws. The seller told
me that he thought the mandolin was in original condition, and
that it had never been played. He selected it for me from his
collection of 200 vintage mandolins as a good player's instrument.
The build quality still feels very solid and stable, and should
last for many more decades of excellent music making.
SOUND
The mandolin has an amazingly loud sound, with projection
that is several times lounder than any guitar I have ever played.
I think this could compete ith a loud violin -- which is very
hard to do. Here are several sound files to give you an idea
of what to expect. The first 5 sound clips are totally improvised
with no compression, EQ or reverb -- just mic'd through a a Wunder
CM7GT and a Neumann Gefell CMV 563 tube mics, into
a Presonus ADL 600 preamp into a Rosetta 200 A/D
converter. The last 2 sound clips are all the clips mashed together
with reverb (please forgive me, but I couldn't resist!) Please
remember, I have not played this instrument regularly in 15 years,
but it sure is fun!
MP3 FILES: 1
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SHIPPING & TERMS
USA FedEx Ground is $25, and I do accept PayPal. Thanks for looking.
Please ask questions before bidding. No returns -- sold as is.
This auction is for one RAFFAELE CALACE mandolin and vintage
leather case. No other accessories are included.
PLEASE CHECK OUT
my Current
eBay Auctions, and also see some of my music gear that has
Recently Sold on eBay.
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Fine,
Vintage Maple-Back Mandolin