There are several Vegas being played in the mandolin orchestra I play in. I thought, I’d like a Vega….
This came in to the home via e(vil)Bay, and had some issues in the past. No SN or other way to date it, unfortunately. It has two cloth-cleated cracks on the top and at some point the entire instrument (including the fingerboard, ugh) was oversprayed. All the ribs seem intact and there is no separation anywhere I can see. It needs a new nut as one of the A strings sits too low and will not vibrate (absent the small piece of paper I currently have in there). The bridge seems glued on and could use some attention. No case.
Despite all that. It actually sounds pretty good. Holds its tune well, and especially considering the bridge is immobile, fairly decent intonation. I love the heart shaped inset in the headstock, and (not pictured) it has a cool mirrored metal plate on the back of the headstock.
And it turns out after all this, I (and the person who sold it to me) were completely wrong. It is in fact a Vega Mandola. Far more rare than the typical mandolin.
Update 2022
After conferring with the Wisconsin Vega Project leader, I learned that this is a relatively rare instrument (as far as versions that have survived). It is a Vega Tenor Mandola. So I decided to see if it was restorable — and what a difference almost 2 years in the shop have done. The ever excellent Chris Pantazelos at Spartan Instruments mangaged to restore the warped top, rework the the fretboard (which had been oversprayed with lacquer), fix the rib seams and repair all the cracks. There are some rough spots where that nasty brown stain was too deep in the wood, but on the whole a fabulous job!
SOLD
