Rare Ecuadorean Bandolin, Bandolim, Mandolin, Cittern, 15-Strings, For Repair

Up for sale is a rare item in the US, a 15-string Bandolin from Ecuador. I bought it roughly 15 years ago, at a time when I was playing a lot of South American music, with the intention of having it repaired and playing it. Now it seems pretty unlikely that I will ever get around to it. It needs someone who will put a little time into it to make it great again and enjoy it.

For those unfamiliar with this folk instrument, the Bandolin of Ecuador has 15 strings arranged into 5 sets of 3, tuned either E5 E4 E5, A5 A4 A5, D5 D5 D5, F#5 F#5 F#5, B5 B5 B5 or E5 E4 E5, A5 A4 A5, D5 D5 D5, G#5 G#5 G#5, B5 B5 B5. The strings are usually a combination of plain steel and wound steel, but sometimes bronze wound strings are used in place of the steel wound strings.

When I got it, the frets were terribly uneven. Being a reasonably good amateur luthier, I set about leveling the frets. Because of unevenness in the fingerboard though, it became evident that to get some frets low enough, they would almost disappear. So, what it needs to play properly is to have the frets pulled, the fingerboard leveled, and then new frets put in. It also needs a new nut. Lastly, there are a couple of spots on the front and back of the neck/headstock area where the paint is rough. These could use buffing. Other than that, it’s in perfect shape and ready to be played. There is even a pickup and jack installed by the previous owner. According to the sticker on the case, it’s a Fishman pickup.

The top is spruce. The back, sides and neck appear to be orange wood, a popular tonewood in South America that they consider to be superior to Rosewood. The fingerboard is some form of Amazonian Rosewood.

The quality of the materials and construction and the comparatively little amount of work that it will need to be a great player make this a great project for someone wanting to practice their fretwork.

It is being sold as-is for repair and restoration. There are no returns on this item.

Overall length is 31.5" and the body is 10.25" at the widest point and 4" deep. The scale length is 17".

It comes with its original hard case, which is in pretty rough shape, but better than nothing.

It will be packed in an oversized, extra-strong box. I have a lot of experience packing stringed instruments, having shipped roughly 1000 instruments over the past 40 years, to dozens of countries around the world.

TERMS, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: Buyer pays selling price plus shipping and insurance. I typically ship with USPS, UPS or FedEx, though other arrangements can be made at the buyer's request. No fee is charged for packing or handling. I will gladly ship anywhere in the world, but beware, international shipping charges can be steep, and the buyer is responsible for all duties, taxes, VAT, brokerage and storage fees on their end. Please contact me with any questions.