I won an auction of household goods plus...

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cubie12

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So I win this auction of household goods locally in my hometown of Indiana. Needless to say a "supposedly toy ukulele" was part of the lot. When the owner of the home came into the house, when I was picking up my lot, I asked her about the "toy ukulele". She reported that it was a real ukulele! So now I own a Favilla Baritone Ukulele made in NY during 1953-1957.
I have minimal information, but am looking to sell the Favilla (I don't want to become too attached to it) as I inherited it by default.
NOTE: I did read the rules about 10 threads, but ya'll asked as to why I am here.
 
You might want to do some research on Favilla baritones of that era to see what they go for. In the meantime, to make it more saleable, take it to a luthier and have it cleaned up, adjusted, restrung, etc., and start noodling around on it. You might make the friendship of a lifetime.
 
cubie12 said:
Can't stay on tune for anything, though...
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Did you put new strings on? Firstly, they'd have to settle if you did (that takes a while, depending on the type of strings, sometimes up to a week or so). If you didn't, then that might be one of the problems; old strings need replacing. If somethings not staying in tune, that's one of the first suggestions anyone has around here: change strings/try different strings. If it's got friction tuners, those can be brilliant and they can be frustrating - I had to replace friction tuners on one of my instruments because they would not hold tune, regardless of the fiddling I did to adjust them (turns out that they'd dug themselves into the wood of the headstock and had no room to be adjusted further). I was very, very pleased with the results (I used GraphTechs).
 
ploverwing said:
Did you put new strings on? Firstly, they'd have to settle if you did (that takes a while, depending on the type of strings, sometimes up to a week or so). If you didn't, then that might be one of the problems; old strings need replacing. If somethings not staying in tune, that's one of the first suggestions anyone has around here: change strings/try different strings. If it's got friction tuners, those can be brilliant and they can be frustrating - I had to replace friction tuners on one of my instruments because they would not hold tune, regardless of the fiddling I did to adjust them (turns out that they'd dug themselves into the wood of the headstock and had no room to be adjusted further). I was very, very pleased with the results (I used GraphTechs).
Click to expand...
Oh, I'm sorry. I meant my own voice! I kind of sound like a cat in heat 🤔 😳
 
I've had a number of Favillas. One of my favorite vintage instruments. Photos would really help. Early Favillas don't have any markiings inside nor serial numbers. Ones inbetween have the Favilla stamped inside and the later ones have a paper label inside.
 
I totally agree 👍
It is hard to start looking up information about something that just fell into your lap!
Would love to find a home for it!
Tom was a big help to get me in the right direction!
 
cubie12 said:
It's a bit rough but no through cracks.
Click to expand...
Those old Favillas seem to be built to withstand abuse. Although likely it's just survivorship bias. I had an old Favilla soprano that had definitely been neglected with no care paid to proper storage, humidity, etc. Other than some massive finish checking and a few dings, it escaped pretty much unscathed. No cracks on the soundboard or back and one possible crack on the side of the lower bout. It had been stored in its original cloth gig bag for who knows how many years (smelled very musty when I got it) and likely standing up on the end because the teeth of the zipper had left an imprint in the finish....and by imprint I mean the finish was completely gone at the bottom in the shape of the zipper.
 
The owner, who came into the home when picking up my won lot (most likely in her late 70s), said her boys played the Favilla when they were young. So, I'm sure it hasn't really seen the light of day for years. Being a speech therapist (now retired), I'm usually asking a bunch of questions to find out more information, and not shy if i dont know that person.

The auctioneer was 100% positive the Favilla was a toy and just tossed it into the lot, as no other good place to put the pesky rassle. So when the owner came into the room I had to ask if the Favilla was a toy uke. She said 'no' of course, and her boys used to play it and didnt want it. The auctioneer was really surprised to hear her answer. (He's a really nice guy and has about become a friend of ours.).

To make this story mot too long, I don't play instruments however am now so intrigued with ukuleles! Plus I'm really enjoying what is said in this group and am learning so much. So, there you have it. A person who accidentally won a Favilla by default. So, what am I going to do with this interesting piece??? Don't know! Life is grand, and I so love surprises!
 
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