Three wise men

[Ken Olmstead]

Thanks to Phil moving to Alaska (Montana's loss for sure) and my buddy Steve visiting from Utah, we had two Ferns and one Elite all in the same room! All I can say is wow! Every one of these instruments sounded amazing but different. The coolest thing for me was to have a sitka, red spruce and engleman top mandolin in the same room by the same maker! My Sitka top had lots of low end grunt and growl, Steve's red spruce has a bold voice with strong, crystalline highs, and the engleman is just plain sweet! They all have that characteristic weber sound with sustain, pop, sizzle, complex and all the other characteristics related to bacon (to quote the Briggadeer!) Absolutely a great time! I will be sad to see Steve go, but I will get to keep Phil as a regular jamming partner. Life is good!!

[Ken Olmstead]

Here is Phil with his Elite. The neck is slimmer than a regular Weber and the playability is better than mine. This mandolin is only about 6 months old but feels and sounds like an old friend! Truly an amazing instrument and Phil knows how to play it! VIVA LE WEBER!!!

[Mandolusional]

Nice! Looks like a lot of fun, thanks for sharing the photos. Nothing quite like getting together with several mandolins to inspire a person to play!

[mandolooter]

bacon....yummm!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Eric F.]

Nice clock.

[JEStanek]

I think that clock speeds up and slows down all day long. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Jamie

[blacksmith]

I thought it was for b&*$o players with no sense of timing. (rimshot!)

[Ken Olmstead]

I never really get to look at the clock, I'm always tuning the d$#@ thing!!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Kenneth - nice to hear that your new 'picking buddy' finally touched down in Alaska.
Alaska might be an awesomely large place,but you've got a mandolin player closer to you than i have in the relatively crowded UK.
Did you get to play the Elite yet & what were the differences that you noticed between your Fern and the Elite ? - purely out of curiosity,
Saska

[Bryan Monarch]

Alright Tenorbanjoguy, I'm officially super jealous. I know we talked a little last summer, and didn't really since I was at college, but I'm back in Alaska now. Only for a month more, but still here. I'm sure playing with two other guys was awesome, and I know this is kind of dumb since I'm asking for an invite, but next time, I'M TOTALLY IN! I have a weber too, it's an A style Hyalite, not nearly as pretty as your guys', but it still chimes. I'd even drive to Anchorage to part take in the next Mandolin fantasma.

Bryan

[Ken Olmstead]

Bryan you are in! I will PM you my phone # and get you over here before you go back to school! I have played Hyalites many times and have always been impressed! Also, Webers are not required for admission! It is all about playing!

Saska - The Elite is a magnificant instrument but the Ferns were no wallflowers! We had to look down sometimes to see what we were playing! If money were no object, I would happily own an Elite. However, since it is... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif