J.Bovier Mandolins

[Ivan Kelsall]

Jeff Cowhered the guy who owns the 'Mandolins & More' store,is the brains behind the J.Bovier Mandolins. In fact the name 'Bovier' (as in Bovine) is a word play on his name Cowherd. I don't know much about his Mandolins other than the Black top with the Zebrani back & sides recently posted on here in a thread, is an awsome looking beast.
However that's beside the point. A couple of days ago i bought the 2nd CD by Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain "CHHR 2". Her Mandolin player,Kevin McKinnon in his credits, thanks J.Bovier Mandolins. I've listened over & over to his intro.to the song " I Can Go Back Any Time" & if that's a J.Bovier Mandolin,all i can say is that it sounds superb (IMHO). Put it this way,i haven't heard any Mandolin sound better to my ears.
Does any member on here have first hand experience of the Bovier Mandolins re.their build & sound qualities. If they're mostly as good as the one Kevin McKinnon plays, then they're an up & coming player alright,
Ivan

[celtolin]

I've only played one in a shop. I think it was either the F5 Vine or F5 Tradition. It sounded pretty nice but I was put off by the build quality. It definitely did not look as nice (to me, anyways) as the one pictured in the link provided. It ran for around $750 CAD if I recall. This one might have been old stock (was REALLY dusty) so things may have improved, if the pictures on the site are to be believed.

http://www.jbovier.net/jbovierf5vine.html

[Jim MacDaniel]

I've never played one, but you can mine some first hand feedback in some of these threads:
Theads with "bovier" in the title (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/search.php?searchid=210257)
Threads with "jbovier" in the title (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/search.php?searchid=210259)

[Ivan Kelsall]

Many thanks - I'll have to dig a little deeper into the J.Bovier mandolin site to see if they're available in the UK. As i said the one that Kevin McKinnon plays with Carrie Hassler's band,sounds superb,
Ivan

[mandorando]

Hi Ivan,
Last year I visited Jeff's shop and got to play a few of his J.Boviers. The zebra wood model looks amazing in person! Though they all sounded really good, my favorite was an X-braced A model. I ended up happily buying my Lebeda, but the J.Boviers are my favorite of the Pac-Rim mandos.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I strongly suspect that Jeff's J.Bovier Mandolins have improved quite a bit since they first appeared.I think that Jeff is still the main outlet for Lebeda mandolins in the US,but i'm not too sure on that . At least he had a good 'yardstick' with which to judge the Bovier instruments & i don't think he'd settle for anything less than 'excellent'.
Randy - which model Lebeda did you end up buying ?. Build quality wise,i think that the Lebedas as as good as it gets & mine is a joy to play. It's going to it's 2nd Bluegrass festival for the weekend tomorrow - weather permitting,
Ivan

[mandorando]

Ivan, it was a special F5 fern Jiri made to commemorate 25 years of building mandolins. It has a varnish finish, wide, flat radius-neck, block inlay on the neck, and the truss rod cover "1978-2003" stamped on it. Jeff had never sold it, so it was still "new", though built in 2003. I had played it about 6 years ago at an Ohio guitar show, as well as a couple other Lebedas, and was sold on them right away. I love everything about it, though I fear I'm a bit rough on the varnish.

I don't think Jeff is still the official Lebeda rep in the States, but last year he still had an F5 premium-plus, a mandola, and a resonator guitar.

Randy

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Randy - I know the one. Jeff e-mailed me a pic.of it when i enquired about my Lebeda F-5 "Special" that Jiri built for him in 2001.
Mine also has a varnish finish & although it's very thin,it's as tough as hell bells.It's a dream to keep clean,finger/wristmarks just blow away. My Weber Fern on the other hand, is hellish to keep free of marks - the polishing cloths from Ted Eschliman do help a lot though.
My Lebeda originally had a scratch plate on it,which IMHO spoiled the looks of it,so i removed it.Here's a couple of pics of the front & back of mine - great building & a great sounding Mandolin,
Ivan

[mandorando]

It's a beautiful instrument, Ivan, very nice figuring on the back! Hope the festival went well.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Hi Randy - The festival weather was terrific,hot sunny days -very little in the way of 'jamming' i'm afraid,but it was nice to meet up with & talk to several old friends over a beer (or ten),
Ivan

[Andy Fielding]

Not to change the topic, but...

If you want to hear a JBovier F5Z, check out this YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T34rjVA-FUQ) posted by Rob, who participates here at the Cafe. I ended up buying this mando from him, and I can tell you that it sounds even better in person!

[Ivan Kelsall]

Thanks for that Andy - it sounds as clear as a bell & i can understand why you ended up buying it. Have lots of fun playing. I think that Jeff Cowherd made a 'right move' with these instruments,
Ivan

[Rick Cadger]

I used to have a J Bovier Tradition F mandolin. It was nice, and I found it very playable. Volume was respectable and the tone was pretty much to my taste. It lacked a little character, but I found it to be a very good value instrument at the time.

Looking back at that F5, I'd say the Kentucky Artist and Master mandolins I've played since are louder and have a more authentic bluegrass tone, and marginally better fit and finish, but the Bovier I had was still pretty good.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I have an apology to make Re.the J.Bovier Mandolins. Shortly before begining this thread,i bought 2 CD's. the Carrie Hassler one & one by the band ''Balsam Range'' . I wrongly attributed the playing of a J.Bovier mandolin to Kevin McKinnon of the KH's band - i was wrong.
Having read the sleevenotes in both CD's i simply got my wires crossed. The guy who DOES (or did) play a Bovier Mandolin on the 2009 CD 'Last Train to Kitty Hawk' , is Darren Nicholson of Balsam Range.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H5ZR9ld4o8
Sorry for the wrong info.folks & my apologies - however,on playing the Balsam Range CD,i can attribute what i said re.the Bovier Mandolins for certain !. The one played on the CD sounds superb on the recording,
Ivan

[Andy Fielding]

BTW, there's another "J.Bovier" (http://www.jbovier.com/)—in Paris. I guess that as long as Jeff doesn't start making watches, he should be okay.

[LastMohican]

I played a Bovier F5 yesterday (priced at about $800) at Steilberg strings and I was reasonably impressed. Good playability and good tone. Nice finish and I thought the build quality was OK. For anybody looking for an upgrade from a starter Mando, they should check these out.

[Jim MacDaniel]

The JB model with the black top and zebra wood B&S looks very striking, and IIRC it has some fans here in the forums as well.

[Spencer]

Oskar Reuter of the Downtown Rambler (Sweden) is currently using one while waiting for a custom build from another maker. It sounded fine to me, both on stage at a couple shows and at a jam session at the EWOB festival in Holland a month ago. I think Jeroen Jongsma played it some at the jam there, maybe he has an opinion to offer.

Spencer

[carlnut]

My friend received a Bovier mandolin for Christmas from his wife. It was purchased from a local music store. It had a buzz or rattle or something they could not fix so they sent it back and a new different one was sent to him. It has a very thick top and very little volume. The store is very helpful and is allowing him a trade for something else in their stock. He and I went there last saturday and played almost everything they had below $1500. He sat across from me and played rythem guitar and listened to me playing the mandolins. I played 6 or 7 J. Bovier's and the tone and volume was not particularly consistant. The best one was a mid priced F style with a satin finish. It was very good for a $900 ish mandolin but not outstanding. It was however twice as good as the blackface he is trading back to them. The action and setup was good on all I played. The store is working on the cost and is figuring what is the best they can do. I hope he gets the satin one which will do him just fine. That is my only experience with Bovier mandolins.

[Andy Fielding]

My friend received a Bovier mandolin for Christmas.. It had a buzz or rattle or something they could not fix so they sent it back and a new different one was sent to him. It has a very thick top and very little volume. The store is very helpful and is allowing him a trade for something else...
Heh, that goes to show you that every mandolin's different, and that you need to play 'em before buying 'em.

For what it's worth, my J. Bovier F5Z has plenty of volume, and I wouldn't characterize the top as "thick" at all. It doesn't have the classic "dry" Gibson sound, nor does is it bright and twangy like most imports. To my ears, it has a sound all its own, like a cross between a mando and good acoustic guitar. This may be a characteristic of this model's zebrawood back and sides.

Also, I never fail to get compliments when people see the zebrawood---it is indeed striking. I also think Jeff's artistic, understated headstock looks more like something individual luthier or small shop would use, so that's kind of cool.

Well, I have no financial interest in Jeff's mandos, but I do think that if you have a chance to try some, you may find something especially good-sounding and unique-looking, esp. considering their price range.