I toured Collings AGAIN yesterday

[Danny]

  More pics of the Mando production. Including the proto type mando signed by Sam Bush recently.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Danny]

 One more plus the proto type

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Danny]

   This is a Vintage  Sam Bush Gibson, just for reference.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[lw216316]

It seems like most mandos are sunburst.

That seems to fit in with my theory -

First-
how the first guitar sunburst came about -
A guitar builder had some wood with nice tone but blimishes.
He decides to put a pretty finish on it to cover up the blemishes - and so the sunburst is born.

Next -
He again has some wood with good tone but has blemishes.
The problem is he does not have enough of it to build a guitar.
So he gets the creative idea to build a baby instrument somewhat similar to a guitar -
and WHA- LA .....the mando is invented.

It is said ' necessity is the mother of invention '
It was necessary for some poor guitar builder to not waste his wood so he invented the sunburst guitar and then the mando 

Has anyone studied the history of sunburst ? ...perhaps you know the details of its origin. - please share

- Larry

[Danny]

   I'm pretty sure a mandolin is a crossbreed (like a mule) between a guitar and a fiddle. But alas, as with the poor male mule they are sterile and thus no progeny can be produced.