Mando Candy & Drool Websites (-:

[tburcham]

I enjoy looking at the various instrument retailer's mandolin inventory and dreaming about the fantastic mandolins in their stores. Right now, my favorite drool site is Smokey Mountain Guitars...they've currently got some absolutely killer mandos from some of the best builders around the world. As a resident of Tennessee, I hope I can visit their shop one day to see some of these in person. Absolutely NFI...just admiration for some beautiful mandolins. What's your favorite mandolin drool site?

[JEStanek]

My favorite drool site is the Post a Picture of Your Mandolin section of the Café and most often in the Mandolins in Progress thread.

Jamie

[Chris Biorkman]

I think the Acoustic Music Co. in the UK has some pretty cool mandolins on their site. Not just from the big makers either. They have some of the top small shop guys around (Nugget, Kimble, Ellis, Heiden, etc.).

Smoky Mountain Guitars has a nice website as well. That's where I got my Ellis.

[DeamhanFola]

Elderly.com can always be counted on for a Pavlovian response from me. How can you beat a website that has 2 Loar F5s on it?! They are also an amazing bricks & mortar place too--I stopped there a couple days ago on my way through. Amazing instruments of all sorts hanging there for you to play. I tried about 10 vintage Gibsons of A and F style, Collings oval holes (A&F), Weber Vintage A&F... Super helpful staff too. If you're good, when you die you get to be a cusomer with unlimited credit at Elderly.

Mandolin Brothers is also amazing also & shares the same "pick up & play" policy in their store. Their website is nowhere near as user-friendly (or as full of pics) as Elderly's but Stan Jay's off the wall ad copy makes up somewhat for this.

Gruhn's also has some class instruments, but like Mandolin Brothers, it's haphazardly organised.

If you're ever passing through Lansing MI or Staten Island NY, don't miss these places!

[Wesley]

Carmel Music has to be one of my favorites.

[Jim MacDaniel]

I have a lot of fun visiting builders' web sites, and a few of my favorites from an eye candy point of view include:
Austin Clark (http://www.clarkmandolins.com/2point.html)
James Condino (http://www.condino.com/mandolin.html)
Stephen Holst (http://www.pacinfo.com/~sholst/mandolins.htm)
James Curtis (http://www.jamescurtis.com/)
Brian Dean (http://www.labraid.ca/)
Gary Nava (http://www.navaguitars.co.uk/Gallery.htm)
Paul Shippey (http://www.paulshippey.co.uk/)

I also frequently visit Martin Stillion's one-stop-shop for all things emando, past and present: emando.com (http://emando.com).

[brown akers]

Jonathan Mann at Manndolins - Redwood Top with Root Beer Finish. And the F-7. And the Tobacco Burst Finish. And the Two Point flat back Jazz Model. AND the "Grasshopper" burst finish. The solid heft and weight and workmanship he displays just knocks me out. Great photos too, I think he takes them himself. Also, Greg Boyd's House Of Fine Instruments. What a Fine Name.

[man dough nollij]

Check out Andy Manson (http://www.andymanson.co.uk/home.html).

http://www.andymanson.co.uk/images/hugemlives1.jpg

[Jim MacDaniel]

Great link Uncle Pen. While the mermaids are a bit over the top, they sure are interesting -- but I really love the OM he made for Lief Sorbye, and the backs on his F-style mandolins are incredible.

[JEStanek]

It's worth digging deeper on the Mermaid by Andy Manson. Check out the bridge. Seriously. That is a cool instrument. I would love to have something like that in my home.

Jamie

[Jim MacDaniel]

"Loving your instrument" could take on a whole new meaning when you have to hug it in order to play it. ;)

[John Flynn]

Check out Andy Manson
I suspect he's related to Marilyn.

[Fliss]

+1 fot TAMCO (http://www.theacousticmusicco.co.uk/)

And + 1 for Andy Manson - sorry I don't know how to embed the YouTube link but here is a video of Andy playing the mermaid (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd8IfxYvbUE)

I've seen that mermaid guitar in reality and it is quite an astonishing piece of playable sculpture.

I'd love to commission him to make me a mandolin equivalent of this H2 Mandola (http://http://andymanson.co.uk/photos-group-92.html)

Fliss

[man dough nollij]

I suspect he's related to Marilyn.

And not Charlie, though he does build some killer instruments. :popcorn: