StewMac Mandolin Building Video Set

[Mando Mark]

I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a stewmac F5 mandolin kit and giving it a go. A friend suggested I purchase the 2 VHS set first and watch it to see if the project is within my capabilities. Are there any suggestions concerning this?

Thanks

[Stanley Cox]

I bought the kit and the video. Saved a little money that way. For me that was the way to go since I needed all the help I could get. The video shows wat McRostie is talking about most of the time. I dont believe you can go wrong buying the video.
Stanley

[dstretch]

Definatly buy the video. Do get it with the kit. There is alot of work to do, but it is well with in your capabilities if you take your time. Watch the video in full, and then watch again as you go through each step in the building process. With my limited woodworking skills, and the fact that #1 is coming together just fine. You should have no problem.

[Stephanie Reiser]

I agree - buy the videos with the kit.
I am working on my second now. I am hoping that
my third will be completely from scratch, but the kits
sure have taught me alot. The hardest part for me was fretting and setting the instrument up for playability, and for that I took it to a professional. But now I have enough confidence to do that myself.
Stephanie

[Links]

Just curious! Stew-Mac must have sold a "slew" of those mandolin instruction tapes. Why aren't more of them around? Is everyone keeping them in case they build another one?

They are pretty expensive, although I am sure well worh having, but it seems like the "after-market" sales would have brought the price down. It also seems like the price would have come down after some of their production costs have been covered!

Just asking!

[Jonas]

Also: why don't they come as DVDs now in this digital age? I am in Sweden and my VCR can't play NTSC tapes, but my DVD can play american DVDs.

[Jim Rowland]

Links,I'm sure your guess is on the money. I bought this set a couple of days before they went on the market in general(they then thought it would be a three tape set),and I still get it out and play it through before I start a mando. I also study individual segments and agree that a DVD would make the search a lot handier. All in all,it's a great lesson and Mr.MacRostie is a fine luthier-instructor.
Jim

[chipotle]

I have been looking at a few kits, the StewMac among them. I think their videotape is overpriced but they seem to need it to assemble their kit.

Also, you have to purchase hardware and strings seperately.

I am sure they are good kits, but I am leaning to the Siminoff. JMHO

[Joe Mendel]

Don MacRostie told me last fall that they are planning to put the mandolin building video out on DVD.

[Links]

I would certainly not propose to tell Stew-Mac how to run their business and realize that they have to charge more than the cost of making a disc for their instruction tapes, BUT, it seems like they would want to make it more attractive for folks buying their kits to have proper instructions. It seems that $25 would be plenty for a CD if you were spending four or five hundred on a kit!

I'm probably wrong as usual. Just a wild, wild guess, but do you think anyone will be copying discs for use by their friends? A reasonable price would certainly cut down on this possibility!

[Ellie]

I have the tapes, they go into details far beyond just putting the kit together, and really are worth every dime.
Don is an incredible guy, very generous with his time and knowledge, and he builds some kickass mandolins. Buying them instead of copying them will help keep those guys making videos.
Piracy may seem like a small thing when you're talking about ripping and burning a pop band who's selling millions, but when it comes to people like Don, and the low volume of tapes made,it's actually depriving them of their incentive to keep making the tapes.

[Links]

Ellie:

I agree with you actually. I don't advocate piracy or ripping off any copywrited material regardless of how harmless it may appear. Personally, I would choose to buy a tape or CD that someone had any further use for. My point was that someone, not as ethical as you, will copy the tape or CD and pass it along.

I am also under the impression that Don is a great guy and very helpful. I still think the videos appear to be overpriced, when bought in conjunction with a pretty expensive mandolin kit. Certainly, it's a free market so I have the option to buy or not to buy. That's fair!

[Dale Ludewig]

I met Don last year at IBMA and we talked for quite a while. He seems to be one fine guy, interested in both sharing what he's learned and also interested in how other people do things.

I don't know if Don is the one who sets the prices on the video tapes. But it must have taken a bunch of time to make the video. Bob Benedetto's set is pretty pricey, or is it? They may sound like they're costly, but they're cheap compared to getting private lessons. Plus you can watch them over and over, even if you do some things differently. I just happened to be watching Don's a couple nights ago and I've watched it many times. Always a new idea to think about.

I'm sure there are cheaper kits than StewMac's. I've never used a kit. But to me they sound a lot cheaper than going out and setting up a shop to produce what you get from them for the money. And I guess I feel that the info on the tape, having never used a kit, is especially valuable to those buying the kit. Not that they should charge more, but why less? Same info.

NO financial interest. Just my thoughts.

[Links]

Thanks Dale! Good points!

Like I said in my first post - "I'm probably wrong!"

[Rob Powell]

Right on Dale...

It's not like Don is getting all the money from those tapes either...if he even gets any cut beyond what they may have paid him originally.

If you buy the tapes with a kit, they're $75 instead of $125 and the kit is reasonably priced for what I understand you get.

$75 or $125 for 3 hours of an experienced luthier's time instructing me without getting frustrated when I need to ask him to repeat something over and over again seems extremely reasonable http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Although I haven't taken lessons (and I should) to play the mandolin, I suspect that it would cost more than that for 3 hours worth of lessons...

--Rob

[reverb41]

just got this reply back from stewmac:

Thank you for contacting us. We are currently working on moving the How To Build a Carved-Top Mandolin to a DVD format. We are planning to have this finished within the next 6 months.

If you have any other questions or comments, please contact us.

Best regards,

P J Gilmore

Stewart-MacDonald

www.stewmac.com

[cal3g]

I purchased the tapes to get visual instruction. I was using the Ultimate Bluegrass Construction Manual but some things were not real clear, the video instruction by Don cleared up any questions that I had.
I also purchased the blueprints that Stewmac sells, I found that having all the prints on one large blueprint gave me more of a complete insight on measurements, construction, etc.
I build from scratch, but recommend the tapes from Stewmac. Oh, I did have a few questions while in the process of building my first, and asked Don via email his response was speedy and thorough, so not only are his tapes excellent, but he is always willing to help.

Regards
Garry

[Jim Hilburn]

I've been buying Stew-Mac instructional tapes for years, long before I started building full time. I still go back for "refresher courses" every so often. I've got 3 finishing tapes which are mostly about lacquer, but Don looks like he's about 30 in the earliest one. I've also got their fretting video, and didn't hesitate to buy the F-5 video, even though I was building them pretty regularly. There are some things I do differently, but I definitely picked up some idea's. Just the sharpening segment is worth the price of admission.
I also think the Bennedetto tapes are a must have for new or experienced builders.

[Rob Powell]

Well, there you go...if the videos are good enough for Jim Hilburn...do I really need to finish that sentence? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[tope]

My first mandolin was from a StewMac kit and I had the video. Invaluable info. Although I built from scratch from there on out and I now do many things quite differenty from Don it was a good place to start on mandolins. I had done a lot of repair and built a number of guitars before but it was a good way for me to get into building mando's.
Gary

[Michael Lewis]

As Dale Ludewig and Jim Hillburn have pointed out, along with many other fine folks, the instructional material is worth the price of admission. If any of you think the price is too high take a look at the cost of books for the violin world. You ain't seen nothin' yet. The value is not the tapes but the information they contain. Yes, Stew/Mac could sell them for less , and OPEC could sell oil for a lot less too. If you want that information just pay the price, it is a good deal.

I like the saying "just take what you want, and pay for it".

[Rob Powell]

While we're on the subject....

I'm going to get the Macrostie videos but I don't see anything in the description about finishing. Would the Benedetto set have some good stuff on finishing or can someone recommend a good video on finishing?

Keep in mind, I'm going to be doing the finishing by hand (no spray equipment.)

Thanks,
Rob

[Jim Hilburn]

I don't have the most recent Stew mac finishing videos but I think they still concentrate on lacquer. There's a good french polish video by Ronald Fernandez, but there's more to know about varnishing a mandolin than he covers. You have to read a lot here and on the net to get good info, and you'll probably still come up short.
Bennedetto covers how to color and lacquer an archtop.

[onlyagibsonisgoodenuff]

From what I've seen, Jim, you don't need any schooling on mandolin building!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Jim Hilburn]

I had to learn it somewhere. And you can never learn enough about this.

[chipotle]

WOW, now I feel about 2 feet tall after making the comment on the price of the tapes.

It seems the value is worth the price so that is a good thing!
And at $420 for the A5, well that is great as well with that much preliminary work done.

Thank you Dale, Jim and everyone, you have converted me and I may wind up learning more than I had anticipated and that is a good thing too.

[Links]

Me too Chip! I feel about 1'6". I'm going to send an extra $50 when I order mine!

Just kidding guys! Ya'll made some good points. You are not paying for a piece of plastic and some videotape, but years of knowledge and experience. If we can't charge a decent fee for that, the we are all in trouble!

[Jim Hilburn]

I checked out which video's I had, and remembered I had Don's "Building a herringbone" vid which was to accompany the dread kit Stew-Mac sold. With that and their blueprint, I built this guitar in "98, only from scratch. Great segment on shaping the braces.
I didn't expect much, but it turned out to be quite a guitar.

[J. Mark Lane]

...#The value is not the tapes but the information they contain. #
Ah, value. What a concept. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif


I'm not a builder...but a former cabinetmaker turned...something less...valuable. <g> But I can say with comfort that the StewMac vids are great. I have the fretting and setup vids, and they are expensive but well worth it. You can't put a price on the content. Kind of like some of the instruction vids that are out there...like the Homespun stuff. You want to complain about $60 for a set of DVD's that get you up close and personal with Sam Bush? Ha. I'll have another, please.

Mark

[Mando Mark]

Thanks to all for the many fine responses. I ordered the video, but had an additional question. I am aware of all the StewMac videos, I am unfamiliar with Bennedeto videos and where I could purchase one. Can anyone tell me about them?

Thanks

[Pete Braccio]

You can get 'em from StewMac It's a 4 DVD (or 5 VHS tape) set that goes over the construction of an archtop guitar. I'm only about a 1/4 of the way through, but it looks great to me.

Pete

[Jim Hilburn]

It is great. Huge amount of useful info. It's a good idea to question some of what he does (like needing glue only on one side of a joint) but there's still an awful lot of stuff that translates right to mandolin building.