Sigma SM-30 Mandolin..Mid-Late 70's

[HHP]

Thought I would post a few shots of my Sigma SM-30 mandolin, Japanese production from mid to late 70's. Would have been embarrassed to show it before now but since I changed strings yesterday, shouldn't get any chuckles.



This one comes from before Martin acquired them, still has the old script logo. Body is a 2 point A style with oval soundhole. Basically a copy of a Gibson model called an A-5F( the "f" standing for "florentine"). The Sigma has the simpler snakehead peghead versus the scroll type on the Gibson. The reddish sunburst is also in keeping with the Gibson theme.



Headstock nicely inlaid though not sure if its abalone or abaloney. Open back tuner kinda reminiscent of Waverlys.



Body and fingerboard bound. Probably white when new, now mellowed to a yellowish tint. No cracks, top sinkage, or other problems. Its held up well for a 40 year old instrument with no adjustable truss rod.

It has a pleasing, if bright sound. Doesn't really have the tonal depth of a well made modern mandolin but its a more than useable instrument. Picked it up off Ebay for very little many years ago. They continued to make the style into the Martin years, adding adjustable truss rod and florentine headstock along the way. Most later ones are in a more traditional brown sunburst.

[Steve DeRosa]

Hard to tell without a full hands-on examination, but based on the (excellent) pictures you posted as well as trim/design/construction details (real ab IMO), I'm going to say that it was made by the same company that made the Japanese Kentucky mandolins (which started coming over here circa 1980). If so, you've got a nice piece there - pre-2K MIJ Kentucky mandos were/are highly regarded among budget-minded players (got an early-90's KM-180S myself - A-style oval hole in teaburst) - and comparable in their own right to the equally highly-regarded "lawsuit" guitars being produced at the time by Ibanez/Tama, Takamine, Tokai, Fernandez, etc. ...

Now you just need to find some tall lanky guy with an L-5 and a couple straw hats - you could do a great Homer & Jethro with that one...