Oscar Schmidt Mandolin Serial Numbers
First.This is not my first guitar.Over the years I've owned a Gibson L6S, a Peavey T-60, a Ibanez Iceman, and an Alvarez 12 string acoustic. The new OI14 arrived yesterday. Upon first inspection all looks pretty good. I noticed the nut on the out-put jack was loose.Opened the back plate to secure the jack while tightening it and checked to see if all the connections were still good. The old amp I had hoped to use turned out to be dead, so no plug-in check.An IGTR amp will arrive any day.I'm posting a bit early because this thing HAS NO SERIAL NUMBER.Thus, I can't register it with O.S. For the warranty. Counterfeit?The OI14 body and neck are copies of the Wasburn Idol WI14, maybe they put some O.S.s in.
I never would've thought anyone would bother faking an O.S. Either.But today I googled Counterfeit Guitars, with and without Wasburn, and it turns out that because of the crack downs by the Feds, the bad guys have started making less obvious brand knock-offs.Including Washburns. I got it on Amazon from a store named Springdale Music in Ohio. Other points that suggest fake besides the absent serial number are the neck is made of two pieces of wood, not one. The wood is bare and there is a clearly visible sharp-angled join between the third fret and the first. Also, being a copy of the Wasburn WI14 (pic below), the OI14 should have the same fore-arm scalloped recess in the lower bout.Mine does not. I'm not seeing a whole lot of 'crackdown,' unless you're talking about what the Feds smoke in their spare time (i.e.
While on the clock). So far this year, I've turned two sites over to Gibson legal for selling $350 'Les Paul' axes. Some of these under-$500 fakes even show up with ALL the case-candy - hang tags, manuals, 'Gibson'-branded inspection tags. You're correct that the more-current OI14 should have the scallop. But I can't tell what they used to do. And I've had hands on a few Washburn Idols that DON'T.
Serial number is 1771. $Oscar Schmidt OM10ETS A-Style Sunburst A/E Mandolin w/Gig Bag More Product Description This great bundle contains the Oscar Schmidt OM10ETS A-Style SB Acoustic/Electric mandolin,as well as a Effin Guitars clip on tuner, a Stagg model SCG3 instrument cable with.
I've bought a few mail-order electrics from stock photos. It's not at all unusual that they arrive with different knobs, pickplate colors, pickup rings, or even headplate logo. To date, though, the quality is what I expected. Sure, if I order a five-piece neck & get a one-piece - or vice versa - there might be some pointed questions directed at the seller. I realy doubt that there'd be much traffic in counterfeiting an Idol - the margin just ain't there. If you feel you've been ripped off, send it back. But, really, that chances that it'll ever be collectible, much less increase in resale value, are about zero - it's a good workmanlike axe, at a very reasonable price.
Michael Kelly Mandolin
In the few days I've had this thing, I've pretty much come to love it.It ain't goin' nowheres. The neck is blazingly fast and comfortable.
And solid.It can take neck-bends and shakes, no sweat. (Almost in the Who Needs A Tremolo area). The 'No-Name' tuners have done a respectable job of staying in tune.
I do need to get around to lowering the action a touch, but I can't stop playing it. On the whole, it has a great heft to it and balances perfectly. If it is a knock-off, it's a great one.This black beauty is mine.
Oscar Schmidt Mandolin Om 10
Oscar Schmidt was trained as a bookbinder in his native Germany before migrating to America. Schmidt attained great success in the 1920s by supplying his instruments to rural furniture and dry goods stores. This allowed rural musicians to buy a quality instrument locally, and resulted in a near ubiquity of Oscar Schmidt guitars in early recorded country and blues music.
Oscar Schmidt Little is known for certain about Oscar Schmidt himself. He was born in Saxony, and had migrated to America by 1879, when he started a music publishing company. This was a successful venture, but within ten years it had evolved into the Oscar Schmidt musical instrument company.
Schmidt manufactured ukuleles, banjos, mandolins and other folk instruments alongside guitars. By the early 1900s there were five Oscar Schmidt factories in Europe as well as one in Jersey City. Schmidt died in 1929 while visiting one of his European factories. Instruments The Oscar Schmidt company is most famous for its “Stella” and “Sovereign” models (registered in 1909), both of which were made long after Schmidt’s death by other licensed makers. The company philosophy is based on quality materials and modest prices. Oscar Schmidt guitars fill the gap between expensive top-end guitars made by makers such as Martin, Taylor and Gibson and cheap beginners’ guitars. Trade Innovation By the turn of the century, Schmidt was supplying most of the more expensive guitars to both the Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs.
Schmidt’s real trade innovation came in the early 1920s however, when he began to explore ways to provide the growing culture of rural musicians with quality instruments. Small towns in the 20s rarely had their own music shops, but Schmidt would send his salesmen anyway, to furniture stores or other outlets. Schmidt guitars were even sold door-to-door. All this contributed to Schmidt’s becoming one of the most successful guitar companies of the time. Post 1929 Just months after Schmidt’s death in 1929 the Wall Street disaster happened, triggering the Great Depression. The assets of the Oscar Schmidt company were tied up in a bank which would not recover.
The company changed hands, and changed its name to “Stella co.”. The new head of guitar production, James Carver, was unable to turn the business around, despite making ornately decorated guitars, designed to look far more expensive than they truly were in that austere time. The remains of the business were sold off to rival maker, Harmony. Modern history The Oscar Schmidt name and history have recently been revived by Washburn guitars. Washburn now operates a distinct branch of “Oscar Schmidt” instruments, with its own website and range of instruments.