Smakula Fretted Instruments, new, old, Vintage, unusual and better.

Smakula

Fretted

Instruments

304-636-6710

The Unusual contact us...

Page Updated 4-9-08

Ukuleles, Autoharps, concertinas, and ecetera...

80's Chromaharp, 12 chords EC, OSC $150

1980's R. Ewing Dulcetta, a nicely made small lap dulcimer. GB, $300

1920's Hohner C/G 2 row button box, 11/10 melody, 8 bass. Very cool elm burl finish. Could use some tuning, but not too bad. Tight bellows. VG, $250

1995 Castiglione model 9245 Triple Row accordion. In the keys of G, C, & F. Factory electric pickup installed. This instrument was played less than 50 hours and is in tune and the bellows still creak. Near mint with original hard case and straps, $1,750

1920's Regal Octofone. This instrument has 8 strings like a mandolin and a 21" scale length like many tenor banjos. The top is spruce and likely birch back and sides. And I give you the good news that it is crack free! This is a fairly rare instrument. I think I have only seen 2 or 3 in my 30 years of instrument dealing. Tune like a tenor banjo or like an octave mandolin. You'll have fun either way. VG+, GB, $800

Recordings

The price of the CDs I stock is $15 for the first CD and any additional CDs in the same order are $10. For clarification, one CD is $15, 2 CDs will cost $25, 9 CDs will set you back $95.

Old Time Banjo Festival, Rounder 11661-0584-2. 1 hour and 17 minutes of old time banjo music played by modern masters. Includes 2 cuts by Smakula Fretted Instruments' proprietor Bob Smakula. This is the only place that you will get to hear Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried" on fretless banjo.

The Best Of Clifftop 2004. Produced by the West Virginia division of Culture and History from stage performances. Includes mostly highlights from the contests. The 25 cuts include Jarred Nutter, Lester McCumbers, The Hoover Uprights, Mando Mafia, and more. Complete you collection of commercial recordings with Bob Smakula playing fretless banjo and get this one too!

The Best Of Clifftop 2005. The second in a series of stage performances from their famous Old Time Music festival. Like the 2004 CD, it includes performances from concerts and contests. Some of the performers on the 24 cuts include Nancy Sluys, Stephanie Coleman, The Hix, Mando Mafia, and more. Also contains a rare recording of Jimmy Triplett playing Trippin' Through The Rye.

Jimmy Triplett; Natural History, Traditional Fiddle Tunes From West Virginia. Any fan of traditional fiddle music has likely heard of Jimmy Triplett. Playing solo, his interpretations of old tunes offer more music than most full bands. Simply put, this collection of 19 solo fiddle tunes is necessary.

DVD CD-ROM

Melvin Wine; One More Time. This offering of West Virginias most popular Old Time Fiddler includes an interactive CD-ROM for learning about 200 of Melvin's tunes, hear Melvin talk about his life and his music. The second disc in this set is a DVD that includes 4 videos of Melvin. For everyone who knew him, it is an essential keepsake of one of the best fiddlers of his generation. For those of you who didn't get a chance to meet him, an introduction that will make you wish you had visited Copen, WV and found the house with the big W on the front. $30

ACCESSORIES:

ODD SIZE REMO FIBERSKYN BANJO HEADS

10", 10 1/8", 10 1/4", 10 3/8", 10 1/2", 10 9/16", 10 5/8", 10 11/16", 10 3/4", 10 13/16", 10 7/8",

11 1/8", 11 1/4" $19

11 1/2", 11 13/16", 12", 12 1/8" $21

10 15/16", 11" $16

8", 9", 12 3/16", 12 7/16", 13" $50

REMO RENAISSANCE BANJO HEADS

10 3/4", 10 15/16", 11" $19

11/13/16", 12" $21

13"; $50

CASES

TKL Canadian made open back banjo cases Fit 5 string banjos; For 11" or 12" rims $105

TKL Canadian made open back banjo cases Fit tenor and short neck 5 string banjos; For 11" rims $105

Superior Bump 5 string open back banjo case for instruments with 12" rims $105

Levy's Gig Bags for open back banjos; $40, Superior II Gig Bags for Openback banjos $30

Chinese made violin cases; Arch top cloth covered; $120, Featherweight teardrop shaped; $50

Guardian Hard Case to hold Fiddle and Mandolin at the same time; $135

TKL 00 guitar gigbags, $40, Dreadnought guitar gigbags, $45,

TKL 00 or Dreadnought flat top hard cases, $75

TKL Parlor guitar flat top hard case, fits Martin size 1 and similar guitars, $80

TKL A Mandolin hard cases, $65, A Mandolin gig bags, $25, F mandolin gig bags, $30

Superior II Gig Bags for upright basses $100

TUNERS

Inteli, Small chromatic tuner that clips on the peghead of your fiddle, guitar, banjo, or bass, $30

Inteletouch, chromatic, clips on to any instrument, $40,

Korg CA-30, the nicest least expensive small chromatic tuner on the market, batteries included, $20

Clip on pick-up for electronic tuners, Perfect for the Korg CA-30; $17

Guide to Abbreviations and Physical Condition;

New; An instrument that came to us from the manufacturer. It has never been owned by a consumer and has it's full warrantee.

Mint; As the instrument came from the factory. No blemishes at all

Near mint; Almost as it came from the factory

EC; Excellent condition, a very clean instrument that has a few minor blemishes

VG; Very Good Condition, reasonable wear for its age.

GC; Good Condition; plenty of player wear.

Plus or minus indicates the condition is half a grade better or worse.

HC; Price includes a Hard case, either made of laminated wood or ABS plastic. Hard cases offer the most protection for your instrument. The disadvantage is they are heavy.

OHC; Original Hard Case, the hard case purchased with the instrument when it was new.

SC; Softcase, refers to a chipboard (stiff cardboard) case,

OSC; The chipboard case sold with the instrument when new.

GB; Gigbag, a padded cloth bag. Usually with shoulder straps.

Shipping

We ship most of our instruments via DHl. Cost to ship a mandolin or fiddle is $15 to $25. Cost to ship a guitar is $15 to $40. The cost of insurance is extra. We will be happy to quote before shipping.

Small goods like banjo heads and other parts cost $5 per order for Priority Mail shipping in the US no matter what the order size. Out of the USA shipments will be quoted before they are shipped.

To Order
Please call us at 304-636-6710. As payment we accept checks and MasterCard and Visa.

Email; Occasionally a customer will let us know that the "Contact Us" button will not work on their computer. If you have that problem, please use smakula<at>meer<dot>net You will have to change the <at> and <dot> to @ and .