Girouard Mandolins Now at The Music Emporium

[Don Grieser]

The Music Emporium is now carrying Girouard mandolins. They have a great A5 and Monte style F5. Videos and great pics. NFI. Just really like their work and wish them great success. They also launched a new website that looks great at www.girouardmandolins.com

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...rd-g5-ensemble

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...ard-a5-concert

Edit: They just added an oval. Love that tone.

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...-studio-deluxe

[lenf12]

Their headstock inlays are gorgeous. "Girouard" is so beautifully rendered. Great work Max and Lauri!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Mandobar]

I believe there was one more there, but it may have sold very quickly.

[Perilous Deep]

Great dealer for Girouard. The Music Emporium is surely one of the best showcases for instruments on the web, photography is second to none. Should get some great exposure for the instruments.

And that's where my cedar/birdseye #73 F5 came from to boot, though it was on consignment then. I think maybe it was Mary's before?

[Charles E.]

I love mine. It looks like those backs came from the same log.

Did Max and Lauri relocate out of Pawtucket?

[Mandobar]

Yes. That was mine, Perilous.

[WoodyCTA102]

Man, that oval hole sounds really nice on the video. The A5 does too.

[Al Trujillo]

Just fell in love with that Oval !

[Perilous Deep]

#73 is a very fine instrument, and I'm grateful to get to play it, and to the folks at TME for the chance to pick on a number of really fine mandolins at the time. It really stood out to me, and though I agonized over the decision, I've not regretted it for a moment!

[Mike Arakelian]

Great news. I try to visit TME every time I'm in the Boston area as they always have a great collection of mandolins to see and play. Now with Girouard on hand, even better. Will be there in late May! BTW, I'm pretty sure that Max and Lauri are still in Pawtucket.

[Charles E.]

I just found their contact info on the new web site, it is in the "available" section. It gives their address in Glocester RI.

That oval hole looks really nice, sounds good too.

[Mike Arakelian]

You're right about Gloucester, RI. I just saw the oval hole that TME has listed and sure enough they mention Gloucester. Beautiful mandolin...hope its srill there in May when I visit

[Caleb]

Beautiful instruments. I would love to know how to pronounce the name 'Girouard' correctly though. It bugs me every time I see them mentioned that I don't know the pronunciation.

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

The video of the Ensemble model, the Monteleone style mandolin, sounds great!!

[Mandobar]

I believe Max and Lauri, moved their household Gloucester. The shop may still be in Pawtucket.

[Max Girouard]

Thanks for posting those links Don, and thank you everyone else for the compliments! Yes, we are very excited to be working with the Music Emporium. It had been years since I had been up there, and forgot just how amazing the store is in person.

Caleb, our name is pronounced Girard with a soft G.

We used to live in Warwick and commuted to our shop in Pawtucket. We ended up buying a house in Glocester, RI which had room for the shop, so decided to bring it on home. Now I can roll out of bed and start cutting wood without the commute through Providence!

[lenf12]

We used to live in Warwick and commuted to our shop in Pawtucket. We ended up buying a house in Glocester, RI which had room for the shop, so decided to bring it on home. Now I can roll out of bed and start cutting wood without the commute through Providence!

Good for you guys getting out of the city commute and moving out where the air is clean. Keep up the great work!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Don Grieser]

Glad to help you out, Max. You and Lauri are building some fine mandolins these days and the cafe folks should know about it.

TME put the 4th mando up today, and it's a dandy. This one and the oval are my faves, but everyone likes a bit different things tone-wise.

http://themusicemporium.com/mandolin...rd-a5-ensemble

[Al Trujillo]

Max and Laurie: Thank you for posting your reply to my question on FB about the Oval A at TME. One of those is definitely at the top of my 'someday before I die' list.

[darylcrisp]

if I had the cash, I would take hold of that Girouard A5 Ensemble in a heartbeat. Looks and sounds terribly nice!

[red7flag]

For the last five days, I have been playing my Girouard Studio A Mandola quite a lot. One reason is this thread and one is that in a few weeks I will be recording a few tunes on my upcoming CD and want to hone in the Mandola skills. The Girouard is simply a great sounding instrument. It has a depth of tone that just grabs your attention, Two weekends ago I played it at a grass jam. Especially in the tunes in G and D, it fit right in. I had no trouble getting enough volume to take a lead. This all being said to shout out kudo's to Max and Lauri who, if my mandola and the TME videos are any indication are simply making great instruments that have a tone of their own. I tried the mandola out at a local dealers store as a result of the great things I had heard about them on the Cafe. I had no intent of buying. I started picking and internally said "Oh WOW!." That night when reviewing the dealer here on the Cafe, I realized how impressed I was with that Girouard and made arrangements to buy it. I would not hesitate to pull the trigger on another Girouard or recommend them to someone else. Not only a great bang for the buck, just a great bang period. NFI.

[Don Grieser]

I've been playing my Girouard mandola lately, too. Mine has the bog cedar top. A wonderful instrument with such a rich deep voice that it makes even fine mandolins sound small when I switch back to mandolin. Looking forward to my Girouard 2 pt oval hole mandolin that is under construction right now. Cedar top on that one too.

[ccravens]

At the risk of looking like a band-wagon jumper, I have also, ironically, been playing my Girouard mandola a lot lately, after putting on some new strings. The depth of sound and articulation (some mandolas can be a little muddy) always impress. Like Tony, I've even used it in a bluegrass setting a time or two,

I am continually playing my Girouard A-model mando; just tried the new D'Addario Nickle-bronze strings on it. Plans to record the dola and mando together are taking shape!

Needless to say, I like Max and Laurie's work...



Glad to hear about the shop being in-house now! Seems like a good deal.

I'm sure I've posted this before, somewhere on here, but here is me trying out my dola at church with my friend Jonathan on mando, doing the old hymn "There is a Fountain." Excuse the clumsy playing by me.

https://soundcloud.com/ccravens/there-is-a-fountain

[red7flag]

From my experiences with my Girouard and listening to the available videos, Max and Lauri are delivering instruments that are really tonally different than any others that I have played. They have captured a depth of sound, both in their mandolas and mandolins that make them stand out. For those that have not played one, I strongly suggest you do. Videos capture some of what they have, but when you play one, you really feel the power and depth. While my mandola has what many consider the standard tone woods, Adirondack top with figured maple sides and back. they somehow get a different tone from them. They have gone out and provided a unique musical experience and I am glad I have one. Prior to playing my Girouard, I have only once had that totally difference experience when playing an mandolin family instrument. At IBMA, back when it was in Nashville, I played a used Sobell at the Elderly booth, Had I had the resources, that instrument would have gone home with me. I had the same reaction from the Girouard. Just WOW.

[dchernack]

I have played all four a couple weeks in a row -- very seriously considering buying the F5 with the Monty-style scroll. All great trebles. In my opinion the F has the best tone but they all sound just sooo great. Compared the F5 ensemble and the A5 concert to the three MT2's they have in stock and they were definitely less dark, with more bright pop but still some good bark. Good volume, but not the loudest in the shop. Definitely worth a try.