Vega Model 201 Flat Back, Bent Top Mandolin (1930)
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Vega Model 201 Model Flat Back, Bent Top Mandolin (1930), made in Boston, Mass., serial # 37506, natural varnish finish, mahogany back, sides and neck; spruce top, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
the Boston-based Vega company's very well made, high quality mandolins are sadly obscure to modern players. Along with Gibson and Lyon & Healy, Vega was one of the major players in the mandolin market of the 1900-1920s. Most of their design were either Italianate bowlbacks (early on) or the unique "Cylinder back" models they pioneered in the 1910s. This Model 201 is neither, but a conventional bent-top teardrop shaped instrument similar to those made by several different Chicago companies including Harmony and the Larson Brothers.
The Model 201 was Vega's budget full-line instrument, plainly appointed and relatively simple to build but still made of high quality materials. The back, sides and neck are mahogany, the top is tight-grained spruce and the fingerboard genuine ebony. The top is multi-bound and the soundhole trimmed with an ivoroid border and a half-herringbone strip. The pickguard is inlaid into the top and the tuners and tailpiece are standard period fittings. This model retailed at $30 around 1930, marking at as a fully professional quality instrument by the standards of the day despite its fairly plain appearance. This is a very good sounding mandolin, with a daintier tone than the more familiar Gibsons but a surprisingly powerful sound nonetheless.
Overall length is 24 7/16 in. (62.1 cm.), 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm.) across at the widest point, and 2 7/16 in. (6.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 13 5/8 in. (346 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/16 in. (27 mm.).
This is a very well preserved instrument for being at least 90 years old, showing some light typical wear but all original and in fine playing condition. The top has some strumming wear off the front and back edges of the pickguard, and some general light checking and a few dings and scratches. The back and sides are similar, while the neck has just a couple of feelable dinks, the largest behind the 4th fret area. The neck is quite straight with a slight typical kick-up over the body but not enough to affect playability. The original bar frets show very little wear. This is a neat period piece, a lovely example of this style of mandolin still in the original Vega-logo'd HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.
the Boston-based Vega company's very well made, high quality mandolins are sadly obscure to modern players. Along with Gibson and Lyon & Healy, Vega was one of the major players in the mandolin market of the 1900-1920s. Most of their design were either Italianate bowlbacks (early on) or the unique "Cylinder back" models they pioneered in the 1910s. This Model 201 is neither, but a conventional bent-top teardrop shaped instrument similar to those made by several different Chicago companies including Harmony and the Larson Brothers.
The Model 201 was Vega's budget full-line instrument, plainly appointed and relatively simple to build but still made of high quality materials. The back, sides and neck are mahogany, the top is tight-grained spruce and the fingerboard genuine ebony. The top is multi-bound and the soundhole trimmed with an ivoroid border and a half-herringbone strip. The pickguard is inlaid into the top and the tuners and tailpiece are standard period fittings. This model retailed at $30 around 1930, marking at as a fully professional quality instrument by the standards of the day despite its fairly plain appearance. This is a very good sounding mandolin, with a daintier tone than the more familiar Gibsons but a surprisingly powerful sound nonetheless.
Overall length is 24 7/16 in. (62.1 cm.), 9 3/8 in. (23.8 cm.) across at the widest point, and 2 7/16 in. (6.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 13 5/8 in. (346 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/16 in. (27 mm.).
This is a very well preserved instrument for being at least 90 years old, showing some light typical wear but all original and in fine playing condition. The top has some strumming wear off the front and back edges of the pickguard, and some general light checking and a few dings and scratches. The back and sides are similar, while the neck has just a couple of feelable dinks, the largest behind the 4th fret area. The neck is quite straight with a slight typical kick-up over the body but not enough to affect playability. The original bar frets show very little wear. This is a neat period piece, a lovely example of this style of mandolin still in the original Vega-logo'd HSC. Overall Excellent Condition.