Mandolin brands ?

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

What mandolin brands are the Nashville guys and other full time players recording/touring with these days ? A buddy I tour with is getting ready to sell his old Gibson for something less persnickity and is shopping for something great.

thanks
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Bob

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

The hard core guys mostly all still play Gibsons. After that,there's a couple of companies like Weber that you can get a nice high quality off-the-shelf Gibson-like ax from about $2K - $5K. There's a lot of small one-man shops like Old Wave (Bill Bussman) but you might have to wait on one of those although he is likely to have one or two ready to go and his stuff is superlative. Another great mando is the Phoenix - also a one-man operation. There's dozens more including Peter Mix's new creation - a carbon fiber mandolin which I played at NAMM and they're in a class by themselves but be prepared to pony up $3-$6K. And then you have Pac-Rim imports like Michael Kelly and Eastman which look good and sound pretty good but rarely great. Those will set you back $750 to a grand or so and with a pro set-up are perfectly fine for beer joints and road gigs especially if you're gonna plug in. Mandos are more like violins to build and have a lot more mojo and voodoo involved in their construction and that's why you can spend $20K - $50K for the best of the best. I play a Rigel and I would recommend them except they're out of business as of last year.There's also a few Eastern European builders coming on strong and making some world class mandos like Prucha,Holoubek,Janish and Capek. A nice one of those are $3K - $5K. If I was gonna buy a new mando and had the cash I'd go to Gruhn's shop on Broadway and play mandolins all day. What I'm saying is they're all different so try before you buy. One other thing is that I know a lot of guys just got to have that scroll but you can get more mando for your money if you go with an A model instead and there is absolutely no difference in tone. In fact a lot of real serious mando players prefer A models.

Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I play a Fender FM62 electric when I play with the band. It is imported but plays and sounds good. I have a Washburn imported "F" style that I use in the studio. It also plays and sounds good.
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Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Bob, save your money and get a Fender FM-52 and add a Fishman bridge pickup. Its $350.00 and beats out some of the $1500.00 mandolins. You have to try a few to get the right one. Also the Eastman F's for less than $1500.00 are outstanding. The upper Michael Kelly's are also good.

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

Michael I think your about the sound of an A model versus the F model[have heard a few guys argue to the contrary]But IMO the F is so dog gone pretty.

Mark Eaton · Posted 1 Mar 2007 12:25 am

Wouldn't a mandolin be more of a "hatchet" as opposed to an "axe?" Wink

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Mark

Dave Burr · From: League City, TX

Bob ~

I'm in complete agreement with Mike about the "A" versus "F" issue. You CAN get more for your money in terms of tone and playability. It's all about what inspires you to play better, IMHO. Some people have scroll envy and just HAVE to have one!! Personally, I can live without it.

I have the lowest end "A" style Collings that they make and it's better than some $5-$6 "F's" I've played. I gave right at $1,600 for it. Check out the link: http://collingsguitars.com/mandolins-am.htm

The quality put into Collings instruments will blow you away ~ Out of the 10+ guitars and 5+ mandos that I've had my hands on, I've never seen a bad one ~ Right out of the box, they're great and only get better as they're played. A new "top of the line" Collings "F" will cost you anywhere between $8-10K depending on where you buy and how bad you want it ~ a "top of the line" Collings "A" will run about $5-7K less respectively ~ While there may be a difference in sound, it's not "THAT" different!

Of course, you can spend as much as you want. A lot of the serious players that I know of (mostly bluegrass/acoustic players) play boutique instruments or older Gibson's (when i say older, I mean "OLDER") ~ Chris Thile plays a "Dudenbostel" that could probably hold it's own against most Gibson "Lloyd Loar" F5's I've ever heard. A new one ("if" you can get on the waiting list) will cost you around $25K I would think. The same can be said for "Gilchrist" (Ronnie McCoury, David Grisman, Adam Steffey) and "Nugget" (Tim O'Brien) ~ All around $25K!

Personally, I think Collings is a great alternative. You get an awesome hand made custom instrument of equal or greater quality of a "boutique" instrument for a fraction of the "boutique" price. I love my Mandolin so much that I'm actually getting ready to order a dreadnought from them.

Respectfully,
David Burr

Dennis Coelho · From: Wyoming, USA

Michael Johnstone's advice is right on the money, especially where "A" vs. "F" (scroll) models are concerned. The size of the vibrating top and the size of the tone chamber are exactly the same in both instruments. The scroll is filled with a chunk of solid wood and contributes nothing to the sound, though it does make a nice place to attach a strap. The scroll was the most noticable cosmetic change when Gibson upgraded their mandolin line in the mid-20's, but the real differences in terms of sound were the development of tone bar bracing and a longer scale length. You would think that with all of our technology today, it would be easy to produce consistently good sounding mandos, but as Michael points out, there is still some mystery about the tone and projection of these things. (Some very well-known commercial makers have tried to develop mando lines and produced instruments that looked great but sounded really bad.) Last year I spent an entire afternoon at Mandolin Brothers in NYC with six of the top-of-the-line Gibson F-5 "signature" instruments (Doyle Lawson, Sam Bush, etc. $6-10k), playing the same tunes on one instrument after another. I didn't like any of them. (I've played mando since '64.) There are also some very nice Flatiron (forerunner of Weber) instruments around. I have a Flatiron "A" made in '83 that is just wonderful. As with any acoustic instrument, if you find one you like, have some one else play on it at ten-twenty feet away and see if you still like the sound. Good luck.

Dennis

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

For plug-in electric band gigs,it's hard to beat the Eastwood Mandocaster for around $300 http://www.eastwoodguitars.com/Other/mandocaster/Blk-mandocaster.htm It requires a serious setup and tweak job to make it a pro ax but for real loud bands where I have to beat lead guitarists and drummers down into submission, it's the right tool for the job.
I fluctuate between that and a Michael Kelly FSE F5 style with a Fishman pre-amp built in to the upper bout and a Fishman bridge. I replaced the Fishman rosewood bridge/pickup with the much less microphonic Schatten ebony bridge/pickup and the stock tailpiece with an Allen solid brass one and tone quality went up 100% both acoustically and plugged in. You can get it quite loud with a pretty good acoustic tone in a moderately loud band without too many feedback issues using a steel guitar amp.I got about a grand tied up in that ax.
For acoustic gigs like Irish pubs,Italian restaraunts,Americana-folkie or recording, I use my Rigel oval hole A model and just mic it thru the P.A.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I have (and use) several mandolins in various settings. My best one is an old Gibson F-style which has the Fishman bridge unit on it. It sounds pretty good played acoustic but I seldom do that so I use it with a Fishman preamp. That said, my best sounding acoustic mandolin is an Epiphone A-style which I bought in California about 25 years ago. It's louder than the Gibson and has more gonads to the sound.

My most used mandolin is a Fender A-style which I think it a #52 but I don't have it with me at the moment. It's a sunburst and came from the factory with a magnetic pickup by the neck and a tone and volume control. I take it to steel and guitar gigs both as I just have to unplug the steel or guitar and plug in the mandolin with the same cord and just go for it, no muss, no fuss. I also have an Epiphone MandoBird which is a solid body 8 string which looks like a mini Gibson Firebird guitar. It's pretty cool looking but seems to be a little weak on the volume of the high E string(s). I usually just leave it hanging on the wall in my music room for a conversation piece. As far as Mandocasters and other 4 or 5 string versions. I think they litterally suck! A mandolin isn't a mandolin without the double strings. If you don't have the pairs of strings you've got more or less an electric uke............JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

D Schubert · From: Columbia, MO, USA

Don't believe there is a "best" mandolin. I have half-a-dozen, just to prove the point, cheap and pricey. The old round-hole short-scale Gibsons have a very dark, distinct old-timey sound. Great for some kinds of music, but a poor choice for bluegrass -- they just don't have the back-beat "chop" that is essential for bluegrass rhythm. That usually comes from an F-hole long-neck model, which can be had in an A-style or F-style body. Gibson still makes good ones, as do many other custom makers. A mic is the best amplification device for a solid-wood mando, but not always practical. If it will always be "plugged in" a less-expensive laminated-wood mando with a decent pickup may sound just as good as a high $$$ mando through the same signal chain. There are also metal bodied and solid bodied variants, maybe better for jazz or blues. I agree with suggestion above....go to Gruhn's in Nashville, or Elderly Instruments in East Lansing, and play every one you can get your hands on before parting with the cash. And, click over to www.mandolincafe.com for more detailed advice.

Eric Jaeger · From: Oakland, California, USA

Not that I'm a serious player, but I like my Weber A-style. If I decided to get back into serious mandolin I'd probably look at a Gilchrist or Collings. The mandolin players I've talked to like them, and personally I'm finding Gibson's current business practices annoying enough to have stopped considering anything of theirs. Gibson seems to be pricing their new gear against the prices their vintage gear draws, which is why Collings et al. are doing so well.

-eric

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

I agree that any mando must have 8 strings. The Mandocaster I mentioned is unique that way. Eastwood is a company that specializes in building replicas of off the wall 60s electric guitars that looked cool but were sometimes virtually unplayable - Vox,Tiesco Del Rey,etc. The replicas however are very nice instruments and extremely playable and toneful. Well they figured they would build the electric mandolin that Fender should have made but didn't - the Eastwood Mandocaster. It's an 8-string with a mini-Telecaster shaped body,14" scale and 2 single coil pickups that look like they came off a Fender champ lap steel. The thing is real well made,stays in tune,plays easy like an electric guitar and sounds very nice.

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

As Mike Johnstone pointed out, Rigel is out of business. But their mandolins turn up on E-bay and the mandolin cafe classified ads.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi

If I was looking for a new mandolin, I'd get one made by Dave Wendler, (who is also a PSG player.) Here is a link to hi web site.

http://www.electrocoustic.com/
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Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I looked at one in the music store the other day which was a Michael Kelly brand and had a built in Piezo pickup. The F style goes for around six hundred.

Michael Johnstone, the Eastwood you mentioned sounds pretty cool, I'll have to look into that......JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

Charlie St Denis · From: Ontario, Canada

Hey Jerry- I have a Micheal Kelly as I mostly just chord
with a sometimes loud band but I found one with the
Fishman pickup and pre-amp for $699.00 with free
shipping. It's called Micheal Kelly Legacy FS-E mandolin
and it is on Musician's Friend and I wish that mine had
the on board pre-amp now as it's one less thing to
hook up and the battery is in a great spot to remove
when needed. Very Happy

Charlie

Mike Shefrin · Posted 2 Mar 2007 2:24 pm

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Larry Robbins · From: Fort Edward, New York

http://elderly.com/new_instruments/items/WSTE1.htm

Hey Fellow Mando heads! I am currently looking at this (see link) what do you folks think? Any Weber owners?
I'm itchin' to pull the trigger! Need to upgrad soon! Wink

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Twang to the bone!

Michael Johnstone · From: Sylmar,Ca. USA

Those are nice but try before you buy. There can be tremendous differences among different examples of the same model from the same manufacturer.That's true of any brand including Collings,Gibson,Rigel,Breedlove,etc. I played around 15 or 20 well made and fine looking brand new Webers at the NAMM show and was knocked out by only 3 or 4 of them. The rest were anywhere from real good to pretty good with a couple that didn't move me at all. When I got my first Rigel I wasn't as thrilled with the neck or the tone as I needed to be for several thousand bucks so I got on the horn to Peter Mix who told me to send it back immediately and they would start sending me instruments to try until I was thrilled. I was and still am very happy with the second one they sent me. You can't always count on that kind of service tho so at least make sure you can send it back if you're not satisfied. One other thing is that it takes a while for a new mando to "open up" as they say meaning for the wood to dry out and for the tone to develop completely which could be months or years. The trick is to get one that sounds great out of the box and enjoy as it gets even better. That's another reason to look at a nice used one - the tone is already there - or not. Plus you'll be able to get a higher end model for the price you'd pay for a new middle of the pack ax like the Weber in question. Here's a couple others I'd look at: The Weber Yellowstone and the Flatiron Festival F in these classifieds.Flatiron was Bruce Weber's old company before it was bought out by Gibson.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=22498&query=retrieval

Good hunting and good luck

Terry Edwards · From: Florida... livin' on spongecake...

I'm kinda partial to Flatiron F5.

Mine's pre-Gibson Bozeman, Montana and signed by Steve Carlson.

They don't make 'em anymore but you can still get them used.

Terry

Bob Ritter · From: pacfic, wa

Dont know a lot about these things but they must be made of solid wood pieces just like a guitar. Plywood or laminate just does not cut through, especially on the top. Kinda like a guitar comparison beetween a solid spruce top and one that has some sort of laminate. The difference is clear and convincing. .02

btw Terry, That is a very cool photo of you playing. Smile

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Let's go catch a steelhead

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

There are several Rigels being offered right now in the mandolin cafe classified ads whose link I posted earlier.

When my beloved 45 year old Gibson broke, I spent the entire 2005 NAMM show looking at different mandolins, looking or a replacement. I played every mandolin there, and there were several I would have been happy with, but the Rigels spoke to me in a way that the others did not. Since the insurance company was paying, I got 2 matching blue ones.

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Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
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Bob Ritter · From: pacfic, wa

Whoa those look excellent.
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Let's go catch a steelhead

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA