Neapolitan Mandolin – back to life

Back in 2011 I did a project to rebuild a circa 1900 Neapolitan mandolin. This was my 2nd mandolin project. The first was to restore another Neapolitan for a friend with whom I worked. Perhaps in another post . . .

Here are some before and after pictures of the rebuild and modernization. It was an extensive rebuild to put the instrument into playing condition. Sadly it was in very poor shape and needed a lot of work.

• The top was split so badly that it was not salvageable
• It needed a new fretboard
• New veneer on the headstock to cover several chips
• Repair the bridge
• New braces
• Build-up of all of the linings/head-block/heel-block
• New tuners
• Replace the seriously deteriorating paper lining with gold foil paper to try to brighten the sound, the way a bouzouki is lined

Before

After