My iv kit

[leathermarshmallow]

Well, I couldn't wait any longer. I put my new mando together in the white. I realize that I have some little things that I still have to do, but it sounded AWSOME!!!

It will not look nearly as good as it sounds.

I feel quite certain that I have been lucky this time. I am already planning my next build. If it sounds as good as this one...then I will be VERY happy.

I probably will not get it stained, etc. for a couple more weeks.

I have been comparing it to the sound of my Glenn and I believe it sounds nearly as good to my untrained ear.

[4Strings]

Congratulations on getting it together with awesome results. I hope your finishing experience goes better than mine. I used a violin varnish over a hand-applied glaze of oil pigments for the color. Basically, trial and error with lots of error and a couple cat hairs thrown in for character. Anyway, it too sounds pretty good with a decent pop/percussiveness to the notes. I am currently working on my 2nd and am keeping the plates a bit thicker, hoping for a more rounded tone with a sweeter E string.

By the way, I ran across a utube video of some guy playing his IV A kit mandolin.

[Andrew DeMarco]

leathermarshmallow:

How much work did you do to the plates?

[mandolinplucker]

I've done 4 of them. The first one was a "distressed model" from the start. Quite a few mistakes. It is still the way I built it with no upgrades or do overs and it is the best sounding one of them all. My first one was dyed with fiebings leather die and sprayed with Deft laquer in the spray can from Home depot. The best looking one yet was died with rit clothes die. It's a powered die that is mixed with water and comes in lots of colors that you can mix and match. It's a year old and is played a lot and I havent noticed any fading. I use sprayed laquer on my ukuleles and mandolins. It's hard, durable, resistant to sweat,reparable and easy to apply. There are more exotic finishes like trueoil ( lots of coats and drying time ) varnish (LONG drying time and not as durable),or french polish (steep learning curve)