G. D. Armstrong is a creative and talented luthier from Oregon. Here's one of his recent 5-string electric mandolins. Mahogany body with Oregon western maple cap, with attractive amber finish. Ebony fretboard with side dots but no fret markers. Planet Waves locking tuners. Andrew Jerman bridge. Top-of-the-line active EMG FT Telecaster-style pickup, along with an EMG Afterburner boost switch knob. Incredible sustain on this instrument, with power and volume to drive anything from a set of Irish tunes to a full-on punk rock assault.
     This mandolin is used but was well cared for; there are no dings, scratches or signs of player wear. It probably won't win a gold medal for precision use of a drill press—the bolts in the neck joint don't form a perfect rectangle like you might expect them to, and the A tuner is a wee bit closer to the E tuner than I'd like (but both tuners are fully operable). Regardless, it's pleasing to look at, and playing it is a fun and rewarding experience. By the way, locking tuners are a wonderful thing, but make sure you know how they work before you try to change strings! Gig bag included, or upgrade to a hardshell case. See more photos, or for more information. $950 plus shipping.

The Roberts Tiny Moore 5-string electric mandolin was inspired by Tiny's 1952 Paul Bigsby instrument. These were built during the 1970s by Jay Roberts of Yuba City, California, and sold by Tiny at his Sacramento shop, Tiny Moore Music.
     This Roberts, in the familiar warm orange sunburst, is in very good condition, with its original rectangular hardshell case. It's complete with a saxophone strap that fits the bracket on its bass bout, as well as the original receipt, dated 1977 and bearing Tiny's signature! The custom pickups have several switching options, and deliver an unbelievably warm tone, perfect for jazz, swing, country, Brazilian and many other types of music.
     I could rate this instrument as near mint if it weren't for the curious, small 0-shaped areas of finish puckering on the back of the neck and headstock. It's almost as if the instrument had been rested against a rope, or curly guitar cable, before the finish had cured. See the Web link above for detailed photos.
     Only a few hundred Roberts instruments exist, and they rarely change hands. I see them for sale perhaps twice a year. This one deserves a lot more playing time than it's been getting, and it's time for me to thin the herd. See more photos, or for more information. $3,000 plus shipping.

Made in Asia to the exacting specs of Jeff Cowherd, proprietor of JBovier Mandolins, the EMC-4 pays homage to the classic e-mandos of yesteryear while introducing Jeff's own innovations. Enthusiastically received by professional and amateur players alike, the EMC-4 balances great looks with comfort, versatility, and tone.
     Made in 2009, this EMC-4 sports a classic cream finish and tortoiseshell pickguard. It's in excellent condition, but does have some plectrum wear on the black plastic pickup cover. Solid basswood body with solid maple bolt-on neck; radiused maple fretboard with .080" frets. Bone nut and chrome hardware including Wilkinson tuners. Dual "JB-53" custom pickups with 3-way switching: neck, bridge, or both (humbucking). Volume & tone knobs. Includes high-quality padded gigbag with backpack straps. See more photos, or for more information. $600 plus shipping.

Here's the latest from the Indiana workshop of Andrew Jerman. Four-string electric with standard 13.875" scale. Ash Telecaster-style body with a striking crimson finish. Mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, ebony headstock veneer with logo, sealed tuners, volume and tone control with GFS mini-humbucker. Endpin jack. Black pickguard still has the protective plastic on it. Access gigbag included. Andrew has decided to stop using ash—although it has excellent tonal properties, it's very dense and difficult to work with. There will be two more Jermans made from ash, but with different body styles. This is the last Tele mandolin he intends to build, so this could be your final chance to get an instrument like this one.
    Andrew Jerman supplies custom bridges to many of your favorite e-mando builders, and in the past couple of years has established his own reputation for producing high-quality instruments at very reasonable prices. A Jerman e-mando offers excellent bang for the buck compared to most solidbody electrics available today. See more photos, or for more information. $675 plus shipping.

This is GoldTone's licensed copy of a Rigel GM110, designed to emulate the classic Rigel appearance and playability at a budget price point.
     It's not a Rigel, but it will most definitely get the job done if you need an acoustic-electric that doesn't break the bank. For some reason, this GM110 originally lacked a pickup, but it's had an Artec PP-407M piezo pickup installed. Solid maple back and sides; solid spruce top; maple neck reinforced with truss rod. Bound ebony fretboard. Excellent condition. Gig bag included, or upgrade to a hardshell case. Photos coming.
     See more photos, or for more information. $450 plus shipping.

Built in Taiwan by Antonio Tsai String Works, this instrument is stamped "Made for Dillion U.S.A." on the back of the headstock. I'm not sure why it didn't end up being accepted and branded by Dillion. Perhaps that had something to do with the electronics: rather than tone and volume knobs, this appears to have two volume knobs. Turn the first one up to 10, and you can still get even more juice by turning the second one. So forget going to 11 ... this goes to 20! The pickup works fine, although I'm not greatly impressed with the tone it produces.
     I may well decide to get the pickup and controls upgraded and adjust the price, or I may not. Apart from the electronics, it seems to be a decent instrument: frets, action, and intonation are all trouble-free. If I had to guess at what species of wood it contains, I'd say nato. There's a bit of mahogany-like figure to it. Nice-looking mandolin, without all the ostentatious inlay one usually sees on Tsai instruments. Gig bag included, or upgrade to a hardshell case. Please for more information. $325 plus shipping.

The Silvo was the third and last model of electric mandolin offered by National Res-O-Phonic in the 1930s. It consists of a nickel-plated Style 1 mandolin body, minus the resonator cone and bearing instead the "Silvo" attachment—a Bakelite plate mounted with a primitive-but-effective single-coil pickup, accompanied by tone and volume controls and finished off with a terrific Art Deco design. You can also find Silvo plates on lap steels and tenor guitars, but the mandolins appear to be most plentiful. (That is to say, I've seen only one Silvo tenor [and I own it]; there are perhaps as many as a dozen to 15 of the lap steels extant; but I've easily come across 25 Silvo mandolins in the past 14 years, mostly via the Internet. Which still ain't a whole lot.) Silvos were made in only two years, 1938 and 1939.
     This 1939 example (serial #C976) has benefited mightily from the attentions of professional luthier Gary Wagner in setting it up for correct intonation and maximum playability—which, owing to some unique construction details, was no simple task. It does have a scratch on the headstock and a couple of small pocketknife inscriptions on the cover plate near each of the control knobs (I think a previous owner decided to mark his or her favorite volume and tone settings). A couple of dents on the neck have been filled and touched up.
      Because it has an old Switchcraft screw-on jack, this Silvo requires a special cable attachment, which is included in the price. It includes a semi-hardshell case (not original). Apart from the setup work, which involved reseating the pickup, reconstructing the internal dowel rod, and shaving down the bridge to correct the action, the instrument appears to be all original—except that like nearly all vintage Nationals, it is missing its clear celluloid pickguard. I will include a modern black plastic pickguard and mounting hardware.
     I own a Silvo, as did one of my musical heroes, the late Mark Heard, but I have decided I don't need two of them. As to how it sounds, the Silvo is not an instrument of great erudition. It does respond sweetly to a light touch, but if you dig in, it's rawboned and plaintive, and sounds best with both knobs cranked as far as they'll go. It might not be the ideal choice for your Italian restaurant gig, but do consider it if you need a mandolin whose sound will stand up to gin-soaked, gutbucket, play-it-like-you-mean-it, in-your-face blues, rockabilly, alt-country, Western swing, rock'n'roll, cowpunk, Celtic punk, Americana, or eclectic music. With its 15-inch scale, the Silvo lends itself well to "Yank Rachell tuning," i.e., dropping the pitch to EBF#C# rather than GDAE, which is fantastic for playing blues in sharp keys like E, A, and B. Will gladly consider trades, particularly if you have a working edition of one of the two earlier National wood-bodied electric mandolins—with either the mid-'30s "horseshoe" pickup or the later "New Yorker" pickup. See more photos, or for more information. $2,300 plus shipping.

Luthier and gypsy jazz guitarist Josh Hegg of Tacoma, Washington, built this delightful electric octave mandolin. Blond with center stripe, semi-hollow, 3-piece bolt-on neck. Rosewood fretboard and 1-piece bridge, nickel hardware, Allen tailpiece, 20-inch scale. Nut is 1 9/16" wide. Currently set up for GDAE tuning, but could easily be tuned CGDA with a couple of sets of tenor guitar strings.
     This instrument's understated appearance belies how much fun it is to play. The Seymour Duncan humbucker is wired to a 3-way switch, giving you a wide choice of sounds at your fingertips. Play at lower volumes for a pleasant jangling tone, or hit the switch and crank the volume knob for full-on Flogging Molly. Comes with a padded gigbag. See more photos, hear a sample clip, or for more information. $800 plus shipping.

New Mexico's Bill Bussmann, maker of Old Wave Mandolins, has earned a reputation as a first-rate luthier. He's known not only for the quality of his work, but for using Southwestern-sourced woods and other materials, and for a quirky sense of fun that shines through in some of his more unusual instruments.
     This A-style mandola, serial #91021, is certainly unusual, but Bill disavows having made it so. That is, the Seymour Duncan "Dimebag Darrell" twin-blade humbucker, along with volume control and a pair of switches, were added to the instrument sometime after he built it. A pure acoustic player might not care to have that thing attached to the instrument, but the truth is that this mandola still sounds fine acoustically, with plenty of punch and warmth. Plugged in, you can get tones from "amplified acoustic" to shred-ready, depending on how far you're willing to turn it up. It's strung with nickel-steel strings to take advantage of the pickup. I'd love to try some flatwounds on it, but haven't done so yet. I will include a set of La Bella "JazzDola" flatwounds with it, if you want.
     Spruce top, figured maple back and neck, 17" scale, blond finish, simply gorgeous. Some pickwear on the treble bout, but in really good condition otherwise. If I read the serial number right, this is Bill's 21st instrument, built in 1991. He doesn't make F-hole mandolas any more, and charges $3,200 for a new oval-hole A-style mandola. This one comes in a heavy-duty, super-padded Weber hardshell case. See more photos, or for more information. $2,000 plus shipping.

Here's a gorgeous custom electric tenor guitar from Kevin Schwab, the Minneapolis-based dean of electric mandolin luthiers. Kevin reports that he made only a "couple" tenors, but this instrument (#133) is all Schwab, with appointments similar to his "MLS" electric 4-string mandolins. Reddish brown finish and tortoiseshell plastic pickguard. Solid alder Tele-style body; thin, fast maple neck; ebony fretboard with 22" scale. The instrument is appropriately scaled for a tenor; i.e., it's not just a standard Tele body with a 4-string neck bolted on. Banjo-style Planetary tuners with ebony buttons. There are two Bartolini humbucking pickups, governed by a three-way selector switch. In addition, a second toggle control switches the humbuckers from series to parallel and back again. So you can get six different tone colors out of these pickups just by switching—not to mention the standard tone and volume controls. Currently set up with flatwound strings, appropriate for standard CGDA or an open tuning. If you want to use Chicago (DGBE) or octave mandolin tuning, you might need to restring it. Overall, it's in excellent condition, although it has a minor finish blemish near the bottom strap button, which appears to have been caused by leaving it on an instrument stand before the finish was fully cured.
     Plays like a dream and sounds warm and full. Comes in a chipboard guitar case that Kevin custom-padded to make it fit like a glove. New, the instrument and case together cost $1,650. Get it here for $1,350 plus shipping—and pat yourself on the back for nabbing one of the few Schwab e-tenors in existence. See more photos, or for more information.

Here's a unique and very fun tenor from Maine luthier Joel Eckhaus. Hollow thinline ash body, bolt-on maple neck with two-way truss rod, rosewood fretboard, and National-style cone and biscuit bridge. Soundholes enhance the bass and midrange harmonics. It kicks butt acoustically, but that's just the beginning. Plug her in and use the McIntyre piezo transducer to reproduce the sound of the cone, or rock out with the lipstick tube pickup, or blend them for the best of both worlds. Your choice, thanks to a 3-way switch. Shape your sound with the tone and volume controls. Standard finish is satin lacquer with a translucent blonde color, although this instrument appears to be a little pink around the edges. Very good condition; has not been played much. Rectangular hardshell case included. Original cost: $1,850. Get it here for $1,600 plus shipping.
     See more photos, or for more information.

Here's a rare Lyon & Healy Style A mandola, circa 1922. It has undergone several repairs. The ebony bridge is a custom-made replacement. The headplate was cracked and has been expertly reglued. The tailpiece cover, although an authentic 1920s Lyon & Healy, is not original to the instrument. Other hardware (pickguard, tailpiece base, tuners) appears to be original. The serial number is 1500.
     The lovely violin-style headstock, unfortunately, took a bad blow and was severely cracked at some point in the past. The crack was reglued before I acquired the mandola. It is not a very good-looking repair, but it is holding up. It hasn't gone anywhere in the eight months I have owned the instrument.
     Spruce top and flame maple back/sides show some scars and signs of wear, but there are no body cracks, splits, open seams or other concerns. Original case is gone; it now resides in a vintage rectangular Maulbetsch & Whittemore double violin case, lined in red velvet, which has been modified to fit the mandola. It isn't a very tight fit, so I will include some pads that should help keep the mandola safe inside the case.
     Lyon & Healy carved mandolas are almost impossibly scarce; you might have seen the recent Eastman reproductions but few people have encountered an original. There is little pricing information to go on, but one did sell at auction in recent years for $6,000 (it was in much better shape than this one). Another one, finished in chocolate brown rather than blonde, is known to belong to David Grisman; it was the basis for the Eastman copies. Then there is this one. And that's it—this is one of only three such instruments I have beheld, whether personally or photographically. (Sol Goichberg's New York Mandolin Quartet reportedly played upon a matched set of Lyon & Healys in its day, which must have included a mandola, but I do not know what became of that instrument.)
     15-3/4" scale. Beautiful, warm, throaty, shimmering tone with exceptional projection. You can get an idea of what it sounds like in these YouTube clips, which feature me playing this instrument as part of a pickup bluegrass ensemble at the 2010 Classical Mandolin Society of America convention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DalZ25LIJ6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsPkaHsnxws

     I loaned it to some other players at the convention and received very positive comments about its tone and playability. Currently set up with Thomastik flatwound strings. $4,000 plus shipping.
     See more photos, or for more information. $4,000 plus shipping.

This charming standard mandolin from Golden, Colorado luthier Dave Griffin features a spruce top, segmented F-holes, flat ebony fretboard with abalone inlays, a whimsical headstock design with inlaid tulip, and gorgeous rosewood back and sides. The tone that pours forth from this baby is mellow, rich and sweet—thanks to the rosewood, it sounds rather more like an oval-hole mandolin than one with F-holes. It's recently set up and features extra-low action. Reddish sunburst finish, Brekke bridge, 1-piece Keith Newell tailpiece. Very good condition, except it used to have a pickguard and now it doesn't. Hardshell case. See more photos, or for more information. $1,500 plus shipping.

The early teens in the human species are a time of great excitement and wonder, as we complete the transition from childhood into puberty and greet a world suddenly filled with new possibilities and challenges.
     So too with Gibson mandolins in the 20th century: the years 1908 through 1911 saw numerous developments in the instruments' design, including changes in the body, hardware, and neck angle that yielded improvements in volume and playability (and, many would say, in tone). This 1912 F4 (serial number 11713) is the beneficiary of those changes, and conforms in almost all respects to the standards that guided the F4 through its adolescence. (In the early 1920s, of course, another series of changes brought the instrument into adulthood, again mirroring the transitions made by Homo sapiens at a similar age.)
     The spruce top, in gorgeous reddish sunburst, does bear marks of age and wear, but has no cracks or other problems. The one-piece back is maple, of faint but thoroughly winsome curl. The inlaid Handel tuners, celluloid pickguard, and nickel-plated tailpiece are original and in fine condition. The adjustable ebony bridge is a replacement, newly fitted by luthier Paul Stroh, who also installed a precision-crafted reproduction endpin, with Parisian eye, by celebrated mandolin builder/restorer Gail Hester. The MOP double-flowerpot headstock inlay has all its characteristic brilliance; the ebony board bears its original frets and has the flashy "zigzag" cut across the extension (a vestige of the older designs that was dropped a couple of years later). All binding is original and fully intact.
     Green-lined hardshell case is original, in fair to good condition. All the hardware works as it should; there is a good deal of wear both inside and out (some of the exterior black fabric is missing), and the leather handle is a modern replacement. The tone of this 99-year-old teenage queen is both authoritative and sweet, and the playability is excellent. She'd be so nice to come home to, and can be yours for a very reasonable sum.
     See more photos, hear a sample clip, or for more information. $5,750 plus shipping.

Meet "Rosie," a delicious blond 1923 Gibson A2Z snakehead mandolin. Her serial number is 75651. She comes with her original green-lined case (handle re-covered). All her hardware is original except for her repro ebony endpin with MOP dot, which was made and installed by Gail Hester. Gail also did the setup work (fret dress, reglue binding and brace, refit bridge, lube tuners, adjust truss rod). Rosie sings like a bird, with sweet, resonant oval-hole tone. She's a charmer, with her hand-painted floral design on her pickguard and truss rod cover. Unfortunately, I have two vintage snakeheads and can't keep them both. I never thought I would break Rosie's heart like this, but that's life. See more photos, or for more information. $5,500 plus shipping.

Meet "Rita," a seductively charming 1924 Gibson A4 snakehead mandolin. Her serial number is 78318. She comes with her original green-lined case (with replacement handle). She boasts her original tailpiece, pickguard and endpin. Her bridge is a high-quality Loar-style repro by Cumberland Acoustics. Her tuners, although they are replacements, are period-correct Waverlies with arrow-end plates, exactly like the ones she was born with.
     Restoration/setup work by renowned luthier Gail Hester included fitting the bridge, installing the tuners and refretting Rita with vintage-style wire. Rita boasts an extended fretboard, an enticing sunburst spruce top, and a mysterious backside that's either unusually figured birch or very lightly figured maple. Her golden-throated, dulcet tones will lead you astray; her voice is full-bodied and complex.
     Rita hasn't always chosen her partners well ... a former owner appears to have used pliers, and rather clumsily at that, when changing her strings, and her headstock is heavily scratched as a result. She is worthy of better, much better. Could you be the one to give her the attention she deserves?
     Unfortunately, Rita hasn't been the only vintage snakehead in my life. My loyalties are divided between her and Rosie, but now it is time for me to cling to one and shun the other. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Rita may be fourscore and seven, but the two of you could still share a lifetime of beautiful music.
     See more photos, or for more information. $6,000 plus shipping.

By any measure, John D'Angelico of New York was one of the greatest American luthiers of the 20th century. He is most celebrated for his jazz guitars, but did find the time to craft only about 50 mandolins in his career. This is one of them.
     Upon leaving Mr. D'Angelico's workshop, No. 151 attended the school of hard knocks upstate in Schenectady. It acquired some heavy wear along the bass side of its spruce top (perhaps its master owned some substantial cufflinks); was fitted, semi-permanently, with a DeArmond pickup; then was neglected for many years, causing its original celluloid pickguard to "outgas" into a state of advanced decay. It has since been restored, with a new pickguard (which incorporates the original 4-ply binding), a vintage engraved Waverly "cloud" tailpiece, a rebound headstock, cleaned and polished frets, and removal of the badly corroded pickup (although the old 1/4-inch jack remains in the lower treble side). It comes with the original hardshell case.
     Headstock bordered in celluloid with black and crème purfling; the top and back are bound with 7-ply purfling. Single-ply bound soundholes. Original bone nut is 1-1/8" wide. Lightly flamed maple back and sides; strongly flamed maple neck. Ebony fretboard with 13-7/8" scale, original frets. Tone bar bracing. Original ebony adjustable bridge, tuners, and hardshell case.
     She's seen fire and she's seen rain, but nothing this mandolin has been through seems to have detracted from her tone, which is orchestral in its complexity and tropical in its warmth. In mint condition, or even in mint julep condition, we could well be talking about $12–14,000 for a fancy D'Angelico A (and more for his deluxe models). Whereas, this well-worn wonder can tell you the things it has lived to tell for a (relatively) more modest sum.
     Although D'Angelico No. 151 belongs to me, it is on consignment with Mandolin Bros. of Staten Island, N.Y. (where the leading authorities on D'Angelico instruments live, move, and have their being), which performed all the restoration work and will handle all particulars of its sale. Please check out the Mandolin Bros. listing for additional photos and information. $8,250.

Now here's something you don't see every day. This vintage Vega Tubaphone mandolin banjo (serial #40002) is in fine original condition. It features ornate inlay work on the headstock, heel, and ebony fretboard; exquisitely detailed marquetry along the rim; an engraved tailpiece; and a gorgeous flame maple neck. All original parts are there, as is a professionally installed pickup. If you thought the mandolin banjo was an instrument you couldn't take seriously, this one will change your mind. It's perfectly set up in excellent playing condition, and unlike most of these instruments I've tried, it actually has tone! Very mellow, sweet and full. And loud. And that's before you plug it in. Comes with the original hardshell case. See more photos, or for more information. $1,750 plus shipping.

Here's a recent high-quality Access "Stage 3" mandolin case in like-new condition. Universal fit design holds most F-style, A-style, or electric mandolins, right-handed or left-handed. The strong rectangular wooden shell has a rugged black exterior covering, plush padded interior, accessory compartment, strong latches and sturdy comfortable handle. Holds instruments up to 10" wide and 26" long. for more information. $100 plus shipping.

Weber hardshell cases are some of the best mandolin cases out there. They're heavy duty with extra padding. This one's made for an F-style acoustic mandolin; it'll fit some electrics but not others. As far as I know, Weber doesn't sell these cases separately from mandolins, so they are not easy to find. This one comes with a thermal cover from Colorado Case Co., which in itself is a $169.95 value. for more information. $200 plus shipping.

Purple-lined case for a Gibson A-style mandolin from the teens or 1920s. Fair to good condition, with significant wear. Purple lining and accessory pocket on the inside. All original hardware, including latches, is present and functional. The handle had lost its original leather cover, so I had it replaced. The ideal home for your orphaned vintage A-style, be it paddlehead or snakehead. See more photos, or for more information. $225 plus shipping.