Daniel hoban flat top

[Fliss]

I tried out a beautiful little flat top at Hobgoblin in Manchester today. The builder is Daniel Hoban, and this is only about his second or third mando. It's got a European spruce top and Rosewood back and sides, and it's very responsive with a bright, ringing tone. Don't you just love it when you discover a new luthier who builds lovely instruments?

Fliss

[Fliss]

Here's a photo of the Rosewood back

[harwilli55]

That's a right pretty instrument, love that back. I bet it does ring.

Harlan

[Lee Callicutt]

Beautiful. I admire the design ethos of the instruments coming from the British Isles and am envious of your access to them!

Just curious, Fliss, have you ever had a chance to play a Buchanan?, or perhaps an Oakwood?

[David Hanson]

I've met Thomas Buchanan and played his mandolins, great bloke and great mandolins.

I've also played Oakwoods and they too are very fine instruments.

Both are made in West Yorkshire, only a few miles from where I live, Oakwood in Leeds and Tom Buchanan recently moved from Scotland to Cleckheaton in West Yorkshire.


Dave H

[Lee Callicutt]

How would you compare the fixed bridge Buchanan to the more traditional floating bridge for tone and projection?

[Mandovark]

I played a Buchanon at Forsyth's in Manchester recently. It was a spruce/mahogany with the usual pin bridge. I couldn't say exactly what effect the pin bridge had on the sound, but my impression overall was that the mando had a warm, rich sound with a lovely bass end but just a little less treble than the Fylde Touchstone that I ended up buying that day. It was a difficult decision because I thought that the Buchanon edged the Fylde on the lower end, but the Fylde was slightly more balanced.

[PseudoCelt]

I've played a few Buchanan instruments, both mandolins and bouzoukis. I really like his bouzoukis, but for some reason, I could never get a sound I was happy with out of a Buchanan mandolin. Perhaps it was the pin bridge, or maybe I just didn't play them for long enough. In any case, they always sound good in the hands of others, so I look at it as more of a problem with me rather than the instruments.

Someone at one of the sessions I attend has a Oakwood spruce & sycamore (maple) bouzouki. It's a lovely instrument, very loud with a nice tone too.

There are a lot of makers in the UK now making good quality instruments at good prices, particularly flat-tops. It's a good time to be a mandolin player.

Patrick

[Fliss]

Beautiful. #I admire the design ethos of the instruments coming from the British Isles and am envious of your access to them!

Just curious, Fliss, have you ever had a chance to play a Buchanan?, or perhaps an Oakwood?
Yes, I've played both Buchanan and Oakwood mandolins, both very nice flat tops (though I haven't tried Oakwood's wider range, and I know they also do a carved top mando) # I saw a beautiful walnut back on a Buchanan mandolin at Forsyth's yesterday #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif #

I'm not sure what difference, if any, the Buchanan bridge makes to the tone, if I had to guess I's suspect that differences are more likely to be other factors such as the way the luther works with the wood, the design of the bodyshape, bracing, the woods etc

I think we are very lucky to have access to the work of some very talented luthiers, particularly when it comes to flat top mandolins. # For example, as well as Oakwood, Buchanan and Fylde, there's Moon, Kai Tonjes, Stefan Sobell, John Marlowe, and of course Phil Davidson - I love my Davidson flat top!

Fliss