I RECENTLY #{TODAY} BOUGHT A 1983 KETTLER MANDOLIN AND WAS
WONDERING WHO ELSE OWNS ONE???
and what do you think of them??
I RECENTLY #{TODAY} BOUGHT A 1983 KETTLER MANDOLIN AND WAS
WONDERING WHO ELSE OWNS ONE???
and what do you think of them??
charles wayne mitchell
Hey Charles, quit yellin'!
Okay, fine, you're excited, go ahead!!
I for one think they are great. At least the one I let get away. Fortunately I steered a friend to it as I did not have the funds needed to buy it. My friend loves it and will not part with it. I have tried repeatedly to get it off of him. There was one on Ebay a while back that was a little rough cosmetically and someone had enlarged the F-holes from their normally smaller size. A fellow Cafe'r bought it (frussel - I believe) and he reported it to be a cannon. He flipped it on another deal and it ended up at Buffalo Bros. (I think). Could this be the one that you got?
I liked the plain simple look of the stain finish on it. I wasn't crazy about the fingerboard extension but that's a small gripe. Let us know about yours!
Cabin Fever String Band, National Pike Pickers
Hi Charles
I know that Rick Willey from St. Joseph, Michigan has a Kettler A model. I have played it, very nice balanced woody tone. Not sure about when it was made, I would guess in the late 70s or early 80s. Rick plays with his brothers in a band called The Willeys and mostly uses his mandolin for Celtic.
Bill
Orrin Star used to (maybe still does) have one. Frog inlay on the peghead as I recall.
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '84 1N, '84 A5-1, '06 Phoenix Bluegrass, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5
A freind of mine who lives in Roseburg Oregon, Joe Ross, has one and has had it for years. He loves it. Kenc
Cartwright's Music & Repair Shop
"I repair what others sell"
Stayton, Oregon
The one I had was excellent. It went towards a Collings MF that I just had to have, and of course no longer have. Both are missed. Absolutely no complaints with the Kettler, it was a real good bluegrass mando. Frank
FJ Russell
Es mejor morir de pie que vivir de rodillas. E. Zapata
I know this is an old thread but I am a new member. I own a Kettler F5, dated september 4, 1980, serial number 0121. I love the mandolin, not only does it sound great but it has an unusually narrow neck which to me makes it easier to play. The downside is no truss rod. I believe this was something that Mr Kettler experimented with briefly then scrapped, as I have never seen another one like it, before or after.
My name is Joseph Scott, I am from Taylorsville, NC, I have been playing the mandolin for ten years, i am a member of the Scott Family Band (feel free to ask for instructions on how to purchase a cd) and the Christian Faith Bluegrass Band. I am a proud honor of a Kettler F5, serial number 0121.
Joseph,
Is it possible that yours has a carbon fiber rod in it?
I know my friend's ended up having the neck worked on (planed, refretted).
Jim
Oh yeah, how about a photo?
Cabin Fever String Band, National Pike Pickers
I will at some point post a photo, currently I do not possess the technology. There is no truss rod cover on the head, so I don't see how it could have a truss rod. And I did have to have my fingerboard planed. But in my opinion the mando is so good its worth it. Mine was previously owned by John Akin of Moravian Falls, NC, who rode it hard for 20 years, nearly wearing a Willie Nelson hole where the finger rest would be. He solved this problem by covering it with lacquer. Needless to say its not much to look at, but is a dream to play. Also, in addition to the standard Kettler frog inlay, it also has a tiny butterfly and hamburger on the head. One of the strangest contraptions you could ever see, but a dream to play.
Joseph Scott
First one I've seen in years was at MerleFest this year.
A really distressed F5 model. To me it was lacking fine detail workmanship but was huge on sound.
That was probably mine f5loar, don't see how one could be more distressed than mine
A buddy of mine owns an F style Kettler. He wrote to Mr. Kettler a few years back and received a reply! I will post some photo's and a scan of the letter as soon as he gets them to me. He purchased it new in 1978 in Virginia and it is supposed to be the 2nd one made. It is a very nice instrument and he has really taken great care of it. It just has some fret wear from playing.
Finally got some pics of the Kettler. Hope you enjoy.
Hi All:
I indeed own a Kettler (blond top, padouk back and sides, maple(?) binding) made in 1979.
It's a cool, one-of-a-kind Kettler (ie not aware of any other padouk instruments of his) with a quite thin neck and a radiused finger board
(radius added later by Kettler when the neck needed a regluing).
It's got a really mature and balanced tone.
There is an inlay of a tree frog on the headstock - Kettler originally called his
instruments Tree Frog Mandolins I believe - then realized it made sense to have his name up there. #From what I heard he stopped building years ago and was making horse-racing carriages for harness races.
I met him (and the mandolin) at one of the early Berkshire Mountain bluegrass festivals (probably in '79).
Orrin
www.orrinstar.com
Alabama Mandolin Week - Nov 4-9
There was a guy at Butch Baldassari's 1994 World of Mandolin seminar in Nashville who had one. Nice mandolin, as I recall. I have not seen another since then.
Pictures Orrin we need pictures.
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”
My Mandos:
Kentucky Km900
Lloyd LaPlant F5 #6
Lloyd LaPlant F5 #132
Neil Dean 2 point
Weber Yellowstone HT
If you are in Maine, as I am also, you should know that Wilf Clark of the Misty Mountaineers plays a 1984 Kettler F-5. I tried it very briefly. His action was set Monroe-high, but it had a loud hoss of a bark. But like I said, it had an action you could drive a truck under which could have easily been remedied, but I suspect he likes it that way. Lacking in details, as someone else mentioned, but a loud instrument.Originally Posted by (mainemandoman @ Sep. 25 2005, 16:58)
http://www.stephaniereiser.com then click mandolins
OK - in deference to mandopornafficianados of all persuasions - here are some pics of my Kettler.
Note: the top is actually quite beat up; that doesn't really come across in the pic.
And that is an Eastman tailpiece (which I had put on about a year ago when I had
some work done on it; I like how it looks).
Orrin
www.orrinstar.com
Alabama Mandolin Week Nov 4-9
Front view.
Headstock
Back. (Natural, unstained padouk.)
I like that look!
Elrod
Gibson A2 1920(?)
Breedlove Cascade
Washburn 215(?) 1906-07(?)
Victoria, B&J, New York(stolen 10/18/2011)
Eastwood Airline Mandola
guitars:
Guild D-25NT
Vega 200 archtop, 1957?
Orrin,
Beautiful wood on your Kettler. I am used to seeing the pointy fingerboard extension on the fingerboard and the smaller f-holes.
Jim
Cabin Fever String Band, National Pike Pickers
Orrin,
Thanks for posting pix of that great looking mando. Does it have a different tone with the Padouk back and sides?
“Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.”
My Mandos:
Kentucky Km900
Lloyd LaPlant F5 #6
Lloyd LaPlant F5 #132
Neil Dean 2 point
Weber Yellowstone HT
I'm sure the padouk influences the tone - but I really couldn't describe it since there are so many other factors that affect tone. I will say that when I met Kettler and this mandolin, he had several for me to try and I found this one - the only padouk instrument among them - to be the best sounding.
Have always liked the look of the dot-free fretboard.
Orrin
www.orrinstar.com
Alabama Mandolin Week Nov 4-9
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