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Old 10-30-2020, 12:41 PM
Twin Six Twin Six is offline
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Default O. Pagani & Bro. Mandolin

Back in the mid-'90s, an acquaintance gifted me this bowl-backed mandolin on the condition that I would someday get it fixed. It has genuine ivory tuning knobs and elaborate abalone inlay over a heavily dimpled ebony fingerboard. The frets are also deeply notched. The original owner obviously played this a lot, perhaps professionally.

What I've been able to learn about O. Pagani & Bro. is that one Ottavio Pagani operated a musical instruments & sheet music publishing business focused on the Italian community at 289 Bleeker St., New York from the early part of the 20th century until sometime in the '70s. By the '80s the building had been converted into a restaurant.

I'm hopeful that some of you can provide me with further details about O. Pagani and the quality & reputation of his instruments. The label inside reads, "O. Pagani & Bro. 89 Bleeker St. Fabricanti Instrumenti Armonici"
Whatever further information you can provide would be appreciated.

I plan to take this to my local music shop to inquire about repairing it to be playable.


O. Pagani & Bro. Mandolin by Jonathan Barrett Adams, on Flickr
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Old 10-31-2020, 05:39 AM
Norsepicker Norsepicker is offline
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Default Thomastick Enfeld

It’s very pretty. I just acquired one that’s quite similar, just not as ornate. I love playing it, and I would advise getting Thomastick Enfeld light mandolin strings for it. They have half the tension of regular mandolin strings. They’re pricey, around $50, but they last a long time and those instruments are delicate
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Old 10-31-2020, 06:50 AM
Twin Six Twin Six is offline
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Default

Thanks for the tip. This will need repair before being strung or played. The strings on it are D'Addario from my local shop, but the instrument flexed under the tension, so I slacked them off.

When I first got it, I got a quote from a luthier for full restoration of $700 USD. Not sure I want to invest in a full restoration, but I'd certainly spend some money to get it into playable condition and invest in good strings.
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1989 Alvarez Yairi DY-39 (six-string)
1993 Hiren Roy & Sons sitar
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