Mowrys

[bush-man]

I think Andys mandos are the nicest I have seen, construction wise. Can some of you that own them post how they sound? Do they sound as good as they look?

[Lane Pryce]

Yes they do sound as good as they look. You can hear Josh Pinkham playing one of Andrew's mandolins on the Mowry site. I have had my A since April and it has opened up very nicely. If you live near Asheboro NC you are more than welcome to come and play it; then you can form your own opinion. Lp

[first string]

I'll let you know on Thursday, after that big ol' fed ex truck finally arives. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Brad Weiss]

I can't wait to find out in January! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[tattiemando]

I live in Scotland I'm not going to get mine till I get it shipped from my mother inlaws house to the old country. I agree I haven't seen any mandolins I like the look of more than Mr Mowry's. His mandolins both A model and F model really are outstanding looking. I also found Andrew very easy to comunicate with while he was building my mandolin. He regularly sent me the lastest photos on the building process, and it was a real joy to receive emailed photos of my mandolin in progress from begining to end. All the requests I made as to what was best for me and the mandolin were accomodated. I don't think you could get better customer service.

[Bruce Clausen]

I am very happy with the A-5 Andrew built me last Fall. Feels good, looks good, sounds good. I use it for jazz playing in a couple of bands here in Vancouver Canada. (I play choros and classical material on a flat-top.) Sound is very even across the strings and up and down each string. Good volume, notes really pop out, but with a fine, musical tone and excellent sustain. I don't think you could go wrong. --BC

[first string]

Well my mandolin arrived last night. For reference, it is the first one pictured on the “latest batch of F5s” thread, though the images don’t begin to convey how beautiful this instrument is. For those of you who are curious about specs, it has an Engelmann top, a compound radius, Waverly tuners, and a Bill James tailpiece. It is set it up for FT 74s with a relatively low action. The playability is amazing. At my request, Andrew finished the neck with only tung oil, and it is incredibly smooth. Fretting is effortless.

But moving on to what is truly important—the sound. I have to be careful here, because I don’t want to be one of those people who comes onto this board and makes a lot of seemingly outsized claims about their new instrument. But I will say that I was at one of the most prominent music stores in the country recently, and I played almost everything they had (including a number of extremely high end mandos) and I personally wouldn’t trade mine for any of them. Of course a lot of that probably has to do with the fact that it was built to my preferences, but my point is, the sound is all there. I won’t try to describe it, because in my opinion, that is usually a futile pursuit. The best I can do is to say that while MAS may rear its head again, I will never willingly part with this instrument. Hopefully it will someday be joined by an oval, and an OM, but when it comes to F5s, I couldn’t possibly ask for more.

I don’t want to go on too long, but I must add that if you are thinking about a custom mando, Andrew deserves your consideration. But don’t consider for too long, because if there is any justice in the universe, some famous player with a lot more talent than yours truly will start playing Mowry mandolins, and before long they will be out of reach.

Okay, I’m going to shut up now. I know that this kind of glowing review makes a lot of people groan. But believe me when I tell you it is normally not in my nature to behave this way…it’s just that in this case I have a very strong cause to.

[Eric F.]

James, congratulations. It sounds like you've found your dream mandolin. That is one gorgeous mando! Enjoy.

[Lane Pryce]

The love affair begins. Lp

[Dave Gumbart]

Count me in as a very happy owner of a mandolin made by Andrew Mowry. I purchased an F5 from Andrew, which I received back in late March. Others have more experience with more mandos than I do, so you can take what I say with a grain of salt, but it sounds great. A definite upgrade from what I was playing previously, which was a pretty good instrument itself. Heck, it even makes me sound good - how's that for a recommendation? From the start, the A and E strings were right on, and the lower strings have developed a nice, full body to them. I consider myself lucky to have a high-quality instrument I will grow with as I continue my playing years.

Mmmmmm, chestnut-colored mando. Drool.............

Dave G

[bush-man]

Glad to hear imput from you Mowry owners. I think his workmanship, at least from photos, is the best I have seen. I'm happy to hear they sound as good as they look. I covet one desperately, but can't commit that cash yet, even with a 1 year waiting list. As soon as I think I can free up the money, I will get on the list. I need to go buy some lottery tickets. hehehhe

russell

[Chris Biorkman]

His work is some of the most pleasing to the eye that I have ever seen. I have been so impressed with his work, that I just put myself on his waiting list. I was told that it would be a little under a year until it was finished. I also found out the other day that my wife was pregnant with our first child. Seems like the next ten months or so are going to be filled with just a little excitement and anticipation (I'm pretty excited about the baby too #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif ).

[tattiemando]

It's cool to hear all the people on the cafe like Andrew's mandolins. I can tell you I also had just ordered a mandolin from Andrew Mowry and we got news that my wife was pregnant with our second child. The excitement is too much. First String, I think your mandolin looks fantastic. Every aspect of it looks incredibile.

[first string]

Thanks Tattie...Yours isn't so bad looking either. I think you said somewhere on another thread that you have to wait a month before picking it up. I don't know how you can stand the suspense. I don’t think I could take the knowledge that my mandolin was sitting somewhere, completed and ready for me, without being able to try it out.

Oh…and thanks again to Dave G. Though I had been following Andrew’s work for a while before I saw your mandolin, the pictures and words you posted and PMed to me, were what put me over the edge.

And as for you biorkman, you're certainly in for a treat.

[Lee]

Does he make a 2-pointer too?

[Brad Weiss]

Does he make a 2-pointer too?
Yep- check out the pics page on his website:mowrystrings.com

Andrew's pictures are worth several thousand words (happily, NOT several thousand dollars!)

[Lee]

Ah yes, now I recall. His 2-pt is remininiscent of the Mickey Stinnet 2-pt. Very nice indeed.