Mandolinetto

The mandolinetto is strung and set up like a standard mandolin, but on a small flattop guitar shaped body.  They were mostly made around the turn of the century through the twenties and appear in old catalogs and photos from that era.  I own an old one, The Vernon, made of oak and spruce with a mahogany neck.  I fell in love with the sound and style, and decided to make a copy.  It came out delightfully well, so now I try my best to keep the mandolinetto from falling into obscurity, by building more and more of them.  I have since had the chance to repair and restore a number of antique mandolinettos of various makes.

  I build two different body styles...  The original Vernon, and a slightly wider, longer variation I call the Verola.  The base price for either style is $1800, or $2400 for an archtop version.

John Hasbrouck and myself in the Fraulini shop in '09.  John with my first ever (and lefty) mandolinetto, while I play the old original Vernon.  Photo by Todd Cambio