prucha mandolins

[John Rosett]

i haven't read too much on here about prucha mandolins, and i thought i'd share my experience.
i went to greg boyd's place on saturday, and he had just recived two 'f' models. he was on the phone with someone who was thinking of buying one. greg asked me to play them both, plus a varnish prucha and a new collings mf-5 over the phone. then greg asked me to take one of the laquer one home and play it over the weekend, to warm it up a little. i think it's just abou the nicest mandolin that i can remember playing. really even all over the neck, really strong in both the treble and bass,great volume, and beautiful workmanship. the only thing keeping me from buying it is the fact that it's just not in my price range. it's $5400. and i've got about 50cents.
i'd like to hear from some prucha owners. what do you think?
john

[MikeB]

John, I'm not surprised at the lack of response you're getting. I owned a Prucha A (probably hanging in Greg's shop right now--the one with the extension cut off), and loved it! #I finally traded it for Greg's first Collings MF model, and then only because I couldn't afford to keep both. #

Prucha's are WAY overlooked, if you ask me. #They are great mandolins.

[August Watters]

I've never owned a Prucha, but I've played several -- great traditional bluegrass tone, and flawless workmanship. Prucha's a seasoned builder -- he's been building more than 20 years in Prague, and is at the top of his game. And he's a great guy -- I met him in Louisville at IBMA last year.

Fun Fact: Prucha also runs a shop that makes metal parts for banjos and mandolins, including (I'm told) most of Gibson's.

August W.
http://www.galleryofstrings.com