Folkway Music -- Acoustic Guitar SpecialistsProfessional Instrument Repair, Fine Fretted Instruments, Custom Flat-Top Acoustics
 
 Instrument SalesMandolins and Banjos

Last updated: July 3, 2009   Questions? Please email info@folkwaymusic.com.



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Used Goldtone Banjola Dlx
"With a standard 5-string banjo neck and the body of a mandolin (or mandola), the Banjola Deluxe is a beautiful instrument with exquisite tone and sustain that you won't find in a standard 5-string banjo" - From Gold Tone's website.
Solid spruce top, maple back and sides, ebony fingerboard with pearl inlays and 26.5" scale. Gloss finish and gold hardware. A home-made clear adhesive mylar adhesive pickguard has been added, but the instrument is otherwise in perfect condition.
With gigbag
On consignment
$699 (US $639)

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Used Goldtone Custom Graphite Convertible
For the banjo player who likes to experiment with tone, here is the ultimate mix'n'match tune and test project. A parts banjo made of a Gold Tone graphite neck, Tony Pass thin-skirt Lost Timbre block rim, Sullivan Professional tone ring, two piece flange (to easily convert to open-back), Price straight line tailpiece, and three bridges to experiment with at will. Schaller gold D-tuners, and McIntyre pickup professionally installed. Nicely set up as it sits, you might just want to forget all the experimentation stuff and just play the thing! It sounds great, and plays beautifully up the neck.
With hard shell case
On consignment
$999 (US $899)

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2000 Deering Golden Era
Serial # 12713009086. The Golden Era was designed to replicate the tone and feel of a pre-war flat-head. The instrument features - among other things - a thicker neck and a deeper resonator, which add both sustain and warmth to the tone. Eastern rock maple, stained a rich Cremona brown, are used for the neck and resonator; and the three-ply maple rim is fitted with a 20 hole sandcast bell bronze tone ring. Cast Zinc one piece flange, presto tailpiece, Ebony fingerboard and headstock overlay with traditional "Hearts and Flowers" inlays. 1-3/16" wide nut, nickel plated parts, deep and lustrous high-gloss finish. This instrument is in near-new condition; there is no fretwear or finishwear, and only a little bit of playwear on the head. A static-cling plastic shield has been fit to the armrest to protect it from tarnishing; it is easily removable, but is noticeable in these photos.
With original deluxe hard shell case
On Consignment
$2999 (US $2699)
$3099 (US $2780) with credit card

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National Mandolin LEFTY
On top of what you can see in the pictures, this mando features a lefty compensated bridge top and a radiused fingerboard for playing comfort and proper intonation. The side dots are installed lefty, and the end of the fingerboard was redesigned for the left-ization. The tone is rich and warm but good and loud as you'd expect from any National. We're constantly amazed by this model's sweetness and woodiness of tone. We've discovered huge versatility in its voice, and we're sure that you will too. The Brass coverplate and tailpiece come from the factory with a lovely aged patina. If you'd like to shine it up feel free to do so using a brass polish. It comes with a lefty hard shell case, too.
Currently in Stock

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1933 c. Bacon Senorita Tenor
Serial # 30562. Fred Bacon's Groton, Connecticut base company began manufacturing banjos in 1921, after marketing his own line of Fairbanks and Lange built instruments for some fifteen years. By 1922, David Day was hired on as Vice President which signaled the start of the B&D brand. The company's "Silver Bell" banjos would go on to become amongst the most desirable instruments of the banjo's golden from of the mid and late 1920's. But only a decade later - after years of depression, lagging banjo sales, and a hurricane that would ultimately spell the end of the line for the company, Bacon's trademarks and assets were sold to Gretsch and the quality of Bacon instruments would fall dramatically. The mid-level Senorita model was introduced in 1931, and featured a simple rim / tonering combination, pearloid clad resonator, rim, fingerboard and headstock. The instrument is in excellent condition and plays and sounds very nicely. One of its original tuners was non-functional, so we replaced all four, but will happily include the originals with instrument. The tailpiece is a Richelieu replica of the Oettinger original, and the skin is obviously a replacement.
With period softshell case
$899 (US $799)

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1939 Kalamazoo KH-21 Mandola
FON EK-2433. A truly rare and interesting instrument. Mandolas of any brand were uncommon in the late 1930's as the Mandolin craze was pretty much all but dead by the outbreak of WWII, and there wasn't very much call for any mandolin-family instruments; especially the C-tuned Mandola. So what a curiosity this Kalamazoo-branded instrument really is. It shares the same appointments as many Kalamazoo instruments - sunburst top finish and dark back and sides, single-bound body, bound fire-stripe pickguard, and simple tailpiece and Kluson 4-on-a-plate tuning gears. It has a braced arched top and back, Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and a bone nut. It has a small and well-repaired crack in the back that may or may not have been locally oversprayed. The repair is very attractively done and does not deter at all from the beauty of the instrument. It plays very well, and has a warm tone with lots of sustain and woodiness. There can't be too many of these instruments out there, especially in this fine condition.
With original case
$1949 (US $1679)

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Recently Sold


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2002 Nuhn F-5
Serial # 035201. William Nuhn is a tool and die maker who's turned his eye for detail and precision skills to carved instrument building for more than a decade. A local of nearby Kitchener, Ontario, players in our area have long known of Nuhn's masterful creations; however, he is a well kept secret south of the Canadian border. This fern F-5 was the luthier's own instrument for the last few years, and is being offered with a full lifetime warranty. Meticulously hand carved Sitka spruce and Northern Maple, Nuhn's meticulousness in evident in every aspect of this instrument - from scroll to bridge. Stained in a luscious Cremona sunburst and finished in Nitrocellulose lacquer, bound with grained ivoroid, and inlaid with a traditional fern motif, this is a classy instrument on all accounts. An excellent Bluegrass instrument, the Nuhn is loud and cutting, but maintains it's richness at any volume. Lots of headroom, and a lot of that chunk that we like to hear in a good F-5. Soft V neck carve, flat fingerboard, 1-1/8" nut, and 13-7/8" scale.
With hard shell case
On Consignment
SOLD


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1921 Gibson F-4
Among the finest instruments we have ever had the pleasure of offering for sale is this Gibson F-4 mandolin. Instruments with this tone quality are rarely this clean. Absolutely original and nearly unplayed, even the original frets are like new. The case is that clean, too! The vivid sunburst is completely unfaded and the subtly flamed maple seems to light up from inside. In pictures these style 4's can look a little garish, in person, everyone who has seen this instrument has dropped their jaw. This was the top of the line when it was made in 1921; the very next year the F-5 usurped that role. Personally, (cash aside!) I'd take this over an F-5, and this is pretty much the holy grail for anyone who doesn't play bluegrass. We repaired a clean "Bill Monroe" crack on the headstock scroll, and a loose end on the single interior brace. I'm glad to report there is no top sinkage, and the crack is all but invisible now, with no finish touch up. This is indeed one of the very best sounding mandolins I have ever played: loud, rich and full, lots of sustain, no mushiness and a big warm bottom end.
SOLD

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