Old wave owners mando tone

[homermando]

Just want to know what other Old Wave owners think about the tone of their mandos. Please state what style it is. I`m mostly interested in the "F" hole models. I have an "A" with "F" holes #295 and if I had to use one word to describe it I would say "woody". While not outstanding as a bluegrass lead instrument it does have a good bluegrass chop with a good "woof" to it. But it also good in other genres from celtic to jazz and it can be driven pretty hard in a way that works well with some rock tunes. Its ok for oldtime but my old gibson has it beat in the "sweet" dept.No small part I`m sure is due to my having played it constantly for the last 5 years. I also prefer the gibson for crosspicking as it seems to separate the notes alittle more. I guess a better one word description would be versatile. I know how subjective these assessments are but people seem to really value these mandos as I see so few for sale.

[Jim Garber]

I am not an Old Wave owner (yet) but I can say that every mandolin of Bill's I have played has appealed to my ears. Granted they were all oval holes but the sweet tone is exactly what appealed to me.

[TimPiazza]

I have two Old Wave mandolins, both F hole. One's an A style, the other is an F style. They both sound awesome, but I have to admit that the F is a little more awesome on the bass end of things. I'm really poor at describing the tone in terms that have ambiguous meanings, because I really don't understand what "woody" "bark" "tight" "crisp" "banjo-killer" and so on sound like. What I can say is that I've played some high dollar instruments, and there is a complexity of tone that seems to be common to them. The Old Wave has that sort of sound. You could say it's something I'd expect in an instrument that costs many thousands of dollars more.

Tim

[homermando]

Well Jim I think Bill Bussman is the perfect choice for that custom neck that your "approach" would seem to dictate.:D

[homermando]

I actually had a non player comment on the "woodyness" of my sound and it was in contrast to the early Collings MF5 the other guy was playing. BTW I have an engelman top and the Collings had red spruce and it was louder but mine is plenty loud. When I first got it my wife said standing in front of it (while I was playing) was like being "naked in a hail storm". I`d like to see that phrase used in a classified!

[bones12]

My octave mandolin with the big blonde body from Bill sounds great. It pushes out great vibrating sounds that can rattle your forearm. I play it poorly but try to have the seat belt always fastened when I do. The craftsmanship is wonderful and the ergonomics are stellar. It is a lot of fun. Doug in Vermont

[Lou Scuderi]

Mine's really great on the lower courses, less volume and breadth (only a little less) on the upper, and an evenly woody/full tone across the board. In the right humidity and temperature, the g and d strings get an incredible depth of tone that I've only ever heard coming from Nuggets and the like.
It's an A style with F holes, by the way. The treble side of the top is a little sunken relative to the bass side, but stable.

[Chip Booth]

I have an A5 that I don't plan to part with. It's been an incredible mandolin for the money, and is my main workhorse performance mandolin. The tone is dominated by the low mids, which makes it very full and rich sounding, while still being clear on the top. I can see how some people used to a more traditional bluegrass sound could say it isn't a great bluegrass lead mandolin, but I don't find that to be the case. I am having a hard time adjusting to a new mandolin with that more upper midrange kind of sound. I've made a lot of mandolin lovers out of listeners who weren't familiar with how sweet a mandolin can sound. At the same time, it's loud, has a rich bark and some "pop" to the notes. Esthetically it's a little rough around the edges, but I am very happy with it overall.

Chip

[mingusb1]

I've got #74 F-style, F-holes.

It's a great sounding instrument with "pop" and "cut", and is bright and focused. I often wonder how the tone is controlled by the shape of the F-holes. Bill makes the sweetest violin-style holes I've seen on a mandolin. Smaller and more delicate than those big bored-out ones you see on some mandos these days.

I love this mandolin and find it to be less "bassy" or "round" sounding in the chop chords and middle string double stops than many of the bluegrass mandolins I hear on modern recordings and in performances.

Z

[Pete Martin]

I have only played Bills oval hole A models. I own a 'dola and about to own an octave from him. 3 of my students own A oval hole mandolins.

While I can not speak of his f hole instruments, my opinion is he make the finest oval hole mandolin family instruments anywhere. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[John Flynn]

I have an OW oval, pictured on my avatar. I have played another OW oval, which used different woods than mine and also an F-hole. I have also owned a rare OW arch-top guitar. All were superb, but of course very different. I am obviously a big fan of Bill's, but his stuff is hard to categorize. It's like everything he does is a unique creation. If I were buying a used one, I would play it and decide. If I were having Bill do a custom build I would say, "This is what I'm looking for...so surprise me!"

[JEStanek]

If the day comes when I can order another custom isntrument, it will likely be one of Bill's. #I've played one (A-oval) and really liked it. #It had great feel and tone for an a-oval. #John, you might get the tone you want shaped like cheese, watermelon or a fish. #And those might be cool to have too! #His one up for raffle will likely be worth the ticket price for me...

Jamie

[Jim Kasperson]

Jamie,

Please tell me more about this raffle.

Kasper

[PhilGE]

Sweet, full, loud when I want to be, soft when I need to be. All these things apply to my oval-hole A-style instrument by Bill. It's not a bluegrass instrument, though I've lusted after some.