We snagged this nugget off e(vil)bay in the vain hope that it was in fact a mandola, as the measurements provided didn’t quite line up with what a mandolin would be. It was the most horribly bad packaging job we have ever seen — nothing protecting the mandolin in the case; only newspaper around it — shocked that it arrived intact.
Even though it isn’t a mandola, it is a serviceable companion to the KJ, and progress toward a 4th mandolin family set.
The back, sides, and neck are mahogany with a pressed spruce top with a nice sunburst stain. This is definitely a later model as the pickguard and back binding wasn’t introduced until about 1936. Seemingly all original hardware.
The body measures 10 1/4″ across, and scale length is ~ 14″. The fingerboard measures 1″ across at the nut and string spacing is 1 5/8″ across at the saddle.
Neck looks good and straight, minor top sinkage and no cracks at all.
FON: 4480
Spann’s doesn’t have the FON in the archive, year estimated from other KM models in the 4k range.
Has a hard case.
