Lebeda mandolins - How many on here play one ?.

[Ivan Kelsall]

About 4 months back i traded in my Weber Beartooth "A" style,for a
2001 Lebeda F-5 "Special" Mandolin i'd been offered as a 'loaner' while the Beartooth was being made good (it had a couple of build problems). I'd decided that being a 99% Bluegrasser,that possibly having 2 'F' styles might be the better way ahead. My first 'good quality Mandolin was a Lebeda F-5 "Premium Plus" that i bought 3 years ago.When i got my Weber 'Fern' i decided that the Lebeda 'had to go' & i traded it for the Beartooth, so that i'd have a Mandolin of both styles. I'm thinking now that i made a big mistake in not keeping the Lebeda,not because the Beartooth was 'bad',but that i don't think i gave the Lebeda a reasonable chance to get played in,in order to find out how it would develop. It was just Mandolin ignorance on my part at that time.
I'd been playing less than a year & knew next to nothing re.Mandolins 'opening up'.
The Lebeda "Special" that i have is proving to be an incredible instrument,easily as good as my Weber Fern & in a few respects,substantially better - i expected that it 'could' be good,but not this good.
It plays so easily & the clarity of the notes along with the intonation all the way up the neck is superb. It's also much louder that the Fern when playing 'chop' chords. It possibly doesn't have the 'refined' tones of the Fern,it's a bit of an 'in your face' & 'up-front' sounding instrument,but it's a dream to play.
Lebeda instruments don't get much of a mention on here & i was wondering how many people have one & what their opinions are of theirs,
Ivan ;)

[swampstomper]

Well, I am a happy Lebeda customer and picker. You can check out my gallery. I just sold my one F model (a very nice Premium+) to make room for more acquisitions, but it was very nice. I have kept a MA5 mandola -- simple but beautiful tone -- and an A5 Master Model -- WOW!! what response and depth. For the money I think Lebeda and some of the other Czech mandos (Prucha, Krishot, Capek) are tremendous values and really nice instruments. They have an old-world attention to quality and access to some good woods.

Like any good wood mandolin, the Lebeda takes time to open up. I've had my A5 for four years now and it keeps getting better (more sophisticated) the more I play it.

Another thing is to try different strings to see which works best with your mando and your setup. Jiri delivers them with medium-gauge SIT but I've found that they can handle J75s for a thicker sound. It depends on what you like.

[Michael Ramsey]

My son, Aaron Ramsey (current mando man for Mountain Heart) was an earlier endorser of Lebeda mandolins.

I bought him his first Lebeda and then they worked out an endorsement deal with him after meeting him at the IBMA in 2001.

On the last recording of our band, Damascus Road, Aaron used his brand new Lebeda mandolin that I bought from Jeff Cowherd. He used this mandolin along with the Aaron Ramsey F on his first solo recording, uniquely named Aaron Ramsey.

They were good mandolins for the money and both of these mandolins are still here in nearby towns with happy and satisfied secondary owners.

[mandroid]

Got an F style , 2nd hand off the Classifieds here, several years ago

but its not a BG Gibson-look quotation , which is what I'd call the ones pictured .
(but most of y'all seem to go that way)

Mine: different headstock shape, binding, markers on fingerboard and finish color.

Have enjoyed it enough to need a re-fret before too long.

He called it the Jazzica model.. :cool:

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Michael - The Lebeda i currently have was a "Special" build that Jiri made for Jeff Cowherd in 2001. It was subsequently shipped over to the UK,when TAMCO (The Acoustic Music Co.) opened up in Brighton,UK that same year. Trevor at TAMCO, then sold it to the original owner who sold it back recently, & then on to me. If it gets any better than it presently is,it's going to be a terrific instrument in the future,
Ivan

[Fletch]

hi to all, I have a Lebeda mando and I love it.With all the appointments it has I love the radius fingerboard best . I previously had an Aria and a Flatiron Performer A.The Lebeda is so much easier on an old mans wrist. I too get the "what kind of mandolin is that?, never heard of it". It has raised a few eyebrows too. I`ll repost with a pic and better description later when my camera decides to start working again.Oh, and read Mike Ramseys post about the happy and satisfied secondary owners since I`m one of them he`s talking about.Mine will need a refret before long.

[Aran]

I tried some Lebeda's last week and they were great Bluegrass mandolins with a dry chop but didn't have the pop I was looking for...

[Michael Ramsey]

hi to all, I have a Lebeda mando and I love it.With all the appointments it has I love the radius fingerboard best . I previously had an Aria and a Flatiron Performer A.The Lebeda is so much easier on an old mans wrist. I too get the "what kind of mandolin is that?, never heard of it". It has raised a few eyebrows too. I`ll repost with a pic and better description later when my camera decides to start working again.Oh, and read Mike Ramseys post about the happy and satisfied secondary owners since I`m one of them he`s talking about.Mine will need a refret before long.

This is the big Fletch. He bought Aaron's first Lebeda. I been meaning to call you, son.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Aran - Where've you been ?. Having had one previously,although a NEW Lebeda Mandolin can be very nice 'tonally',i think they need time to develop. MY "Special" was made in 2001 so it has been played somewhat,but 'not a lot'. Just playing chop chords,it's VERY much louder than my Weber Fern.The Fern however is possibly more refined tonally,but compared to the Lebeda in a 'jamming' situation,it can't compare - it has it's own 'sound' which is special in it's own way. I know 2 other folk who've had new Lebeda's & they've both told me that they're sorry that they parted with them before giving them a chance to develop - great Mandolins given half a chance.I know that if i had to let one of mine go,it wouldn't be the Lebeda - nuff said !,
Ivan