Varnished (A) models

**tattiemando** · Mar-27-2006, 3:54pm

Puncha (A) models varnish who has played them? did you like them ? I would love to find Varnish finish (A) model within my budget of $3500. is this possible Pomeroys I beleive are good mandos .how do there varnish finished mandos compare? How do people find distressed model finished varnish mandos ?

**Jim M.** · Mar-27-2006, 4:23pm

I haven't played the Pruchas, so I can't comment on that.

But if your budget is $3500, almost any small builder will custom build a varnished A. Heck you can get some varnished F's for that price. For example, there's a very nice varnished Mowry F at Greg Boyds now.

**Alex Fields** · Mar-27-2006, 5:41pm

I almost bought that Mowry.

**Chip Booth** · Mar-27-2006, 6:37pm

I'm a firm believer in a good varnish finish in general. Jim is right, for $3500.00 you should be able to find some interesting varnished A possibilities. I think for that money you can get into a new Arches, Old Wave, and more.

Chip

**Lane Pryce** · Mar-27-2006, 6:43pm

I play a Kelley A5 with a thin oil varnish finish. It feels alive when its played. It was born October 2005 and its growing up fast --- varnish IMO is the way to go. Lp

**Bill Van Liere** · Mar-27-2006, 6:50pm

At that price you might want to drop Hans Brentrup an E-mail to see what his Model 21 is going for these days

**Eric F.** · Mar-27-2006, 6:58pm

You can get a varnished Arches and have enough left over to get a vintage Gibson A to keep it company. That's what I did!

**Thomas** · Mar-28-2006, 10:38am

I had a varnished Phoenix a coule of years ago that was awesome. Paid $2500 and wish I still had it. Best mandolin I ever had for the money.

**Mandobar** · Mar-28-2006, 10:42am

you can get a nice varnished A style brentrup for that money.

**tattiemando** · Mar-28-2006, 11:26am

Yeah I had a look at their site ,nice mandolins . Do you play a Brentrup, if so what qualities shine through ,if they play as good as they look I will be interested, I am also speculating over a Pomeroy how do they compare to Brentrup mandos ?

**Chip Booth** · Mar-28-2006, 1:09pm

tattiemando, I play a Brentrup 21V and have played 3 other F hole Brentrup mandolins. #My overall impression is that he gets a fairly modern sound (not Gibson), with a lot of solid bass, good overtones, and plucky notes that comes across as sort of percussive. The tone and volume is very even across the strings and up the neck. #The mandolins I have played are a little darker than some other makers, although his new Eclipse model that I played at Wintergrass was brighter and clearer than the others I have tried. #I'm not saying this is bad, obviously I think it isn't since I bought mine. I'm just trying to be descriptive. #Hans' workmanship is absolutley incredible, and his esthetic is perfectly understated, just my taste. #I can't find a fault with the construction of any of the instruments I have played. #I assume he must give really great service to an original owner, as he has been very helpful with me as a second owner. #

Chip

**Jim M.** · Mar-28-2006, 1:25pm

Tattie - Asking us what we think may give you some ideas, but in the end our opinions are worth what you are paying for them, i.e., not much.

If you can't get out and try the ones that interest you, you need the Mandotasting CDs:

Mandotasting

Get all three CDs, put on some headphones, blindfold yourself, and listen until you hear one that really puts its hooks into you. Then, call up that builder and get him to build you your dream A. Then let us know about it.

**Jeffrey Lewis** · Mar-28-2006, 6:09pm

Try Neil J Dean. All A styles start at $2500! He only uses varnish that I know of. I've got a varnished A on order right now! YOWZA!

**Rick Schmidlin** · Mar-29-2006, 10:20am

A Prucha A is a fine mandoline for the price and stands with some the best. I much more prefer the Collins MTV personaly.

**Alex Fields** · Mar-29-2006, 10:25am

MTV...hah. I never thought of that before. Maybe the dash is important after all.

Sim Daley's mandolins are about as good as mandolins get, and his A style has a base price of only 2500. That's with lacquer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask him how much extra he'd charge for a varnish. And with a Daley you could be almost certain it would be worth more than you paid for it in a few years...he's just now getting really well known as a builder, with Adam playing his instrument and all. I have directly from him that his prices are going up in May.

Just a thought.

**Mandobar** · Mar-30-2006, 7:20am

mandolin players are fickle, so don't buy a mandolin because you think it will appreciate. buy it because you like the way it feels and sounds to your ear. then if it goes up in value you'll be twice as happy.

as for how a brentrup compares to a pomeroy. don paine makes a nice mandolin. but i sold mine though after buying several brentrups. i find the depth of the sound on Hans' mandolins to be just what i am after. it is a matter of preference, but i will tell you that every penny more i spent on a brentrup was a penny well spent.

**JimRichter** · Mar-30-2006, 7:37am

Almost any small builder can build an A5 for $3500 (which actually, is getting toward the top end of cost in an A5--you will only pay more for the bigger guys: #Nugget, Dude, etc.)

Will Kimble's baseline A5 is $3500 to $4K. #Hans makes one, I believe, at that price point. #If Randy Wood is still making A5s, you could get one from him at that point. #Neal Dean, Sim Daley, etc. should be able to make one at that price.

As far as Prucha, Mowry, and some of them, I'd encourage you to think hard about the price. #Their names aren't as well known so if you go to sell, you may not get your money back out of it when you sell. #The guys I mentioned above keep a respectable price in the secondary/used market.

This is a $3500 varnished mandolin. $3500 can buy a lot in an A5.

Jim

**first string** · Mar-30-2006, 8:50am

"As far as Prucha, Mowry, and some of them, I'd encourage you to think hard about the price. #Their names aren't as well known so if you go to sell, you may not get your money back out of it when you sell."

I can't say that I agree with this assessment. Or rather, I think it is perhaps the wrong way to think about things. First off, I will acknowledge that I just ordered a mando from Andrew Mowry, so perhaps I'm biased...but I don't thinks so. My question is, when did people start thinking about instruments as investments? I am continually amazed by how some individuals obsess over resale value. Ok, ok; I know some of you are in the habit of switching out mandos on a regular basis. But for myself, (and I don't think I'm alone in this) when I buy a custom instrument, I intend to keep it for the rest of my life--or at the least for over a decade.

Even if you want to think about it on a purely monetary front, there is no such thing as a sure thing. Prices of established builders do occasionally fall. And you never know when one of those lesser known builders is going to get and endorsement, or otherwise garner a lot of attention, and then their prices go up--at which point those people that got in on the action early...

But my main point is this: buy what you like, and don't worry about how prestigious the name on the peghead is.

**JimRichter** · Mar-30-2006, 9:22am

Originally Posted by

But my main point is this: buy what you like, and don't worry about how prestigious the name on the peghead is.

Trust me, there is no snobbery there. It's plain economics. #Some mandolins are more desirable than others. #I think with something like an A5, there is the strong possibility that at some point it'll be sold or traded for an F5. #There are people who love A5s, but it does seem like a lot of people get them because they're short on funds (and it's reasonably affordable to get a great instrument from a great maker) or it's the step toward getting an F5.

I've not personally seen Mowry's work, but I've seen photos at Greg Boyd's site and have heard good words here. #It's not a slam of his work.

Yes, you should get what speaks to your heart. #However, our hearts are fickle and when MAS strikes, our hearts will tend to abandon what was yesterday our favorite mandolin in the world.

All I'm saying is that at $3500 you can buy a helluva mandolin by a very established builder that will retain a lot of its value when you sell. #I had a Holoubek F5 which was a great F5. #Traded/paid $3000 for it. #That was the used price. #When I went to sell it, I barely got $2200 for it. #That was a great buy for someone else, but a soaking for me. #That mandolin spoke to me. #it had great fit and finish. #However, it's known as a Czech mandolin by a relatively unknown maker and no one was willing to pay what my heart was willing to pay for it.

I'm for the heart--but I've traded or sold enough instruments to know I've gotten rid of things I never thought I'd get rid of. #I don't look at instrument buying in terms of investment--only getting back close to what I put into it.

Now in the case of my Kimble fetish--that's pure heart, cause I've been playing instruments made by a friend. #

I hear you and I mostly agree. #Just don't write off where I'm coming from. I see you're new to at least posting here at the Cafe, so if you know my history here, you'd find that I'm someone not caught up in the monetary reasons behind buying instruments. I'm only concerned about not getting soaked when and if I sell--because most of us here do it a lot. It's not an issue of making money (speculating).

Jim

**first string** · Mar-30-2006, 12:13pm

Jim,

I hope it didn't seem like I was accusing you of snobbery. That really wasn't what I meant. Your perspective makes a lot of sense. It's just not for everyone in my opinion. I think the people that tend to switch instruments a lot are more visible on the café. It makes sense if you think about it. When someone buys or sells a mando, they tend to post about it. Where as it is a lot rarer for someone to write in and say that they've been happy with such and such for ten years. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm betting there are some others out there like me who tend to hang on once they find something that they really like.

Oh, and you're right, I am new to posting (but not to reading). And I'm very much interested in hearing what you have to say, even if we don't necessarily agree. That's what this place is all about, right.

**Rick Schmidlin** · Mar-30-2006, 12:26pm

If you got a Prucha from Greg Boyd, he agrees on a fair trade deal if you up grade.

**tattiemando** · Mar-30-2006, 4:17pm

Thanks for the information regarding mandolin builders, I have been trawling the sites and emailing the builders, who have all emailed back giving estimated pricing and options .All the mando builders Brentrup,Prucha,Sim Daley and Dean. I'm will eventually make a choice however I am still very much enjoying shopping around and speculating. If anybody else has any more opinions or builders address's and web pages please post your details here as I beleive there are some very intersting views and preferences.

**elenbrandt-redux** · Apr-01-2006, 10:12pm

I am another Hans Brentrup fan -- I have two of his A models. There is nothing like 'em, they are heaven. By the way, I specifically chose the A models -- not because I couldn't afford an F, but by pure preference. As you can see from the above posts -- Brentrup fans are a noisy (and happy) lot. But whatever mandolin you choose -- buy the instrument that really sings to you and for you. Try to ignore what the rest of us have to say, it's all about personal taste.

**Lee** · Apr-07-2006, 4:55pm

I'm another A fan. Too much garish behavior on an F. It's distracting. Once over $2400; there are lots of builders who'd do an A for you. Paul Newson comes to mind. Lou Stiver deserves more recognition.

**cgwilsonjr** · Apr-08-2006, 12:43pm

I also am a big A model varnished fan. I have a wonderful Brentrup L-21V and a A.L. Smart on order. Also, have a Collings MT-2 which is also a fine (albiet lacquered) mandolin.