Allen Mandolin

[Ssilvers]

Anyone have or have played an Allen mandolin, made by Bernard Allen in Naylor, MO.? I have an "A" model on the way and was wondering if anyone knew anything about them. It sounded good over the phone and the pics looked great, so for the price I thought I'd try one.

[HarmonyRexy]

Welcome to a Sweet Little Part of the CyberWorld!

Congrats on your Allen!

I have two... an A with a headstock that's more of a F-style... and a traditional F style.

They both are good bluegrass instruments. Of the 2, I probably play the A more than the F. I'm not totally sure why, they both have nice tone with a fine bark.
We pass them around alot during sessions.... I've never heard a negative comment about either or them. I always 'poll' folks about which one they prefer and tell them that they must select one as the winner (none of this, "I like them both" tripe. It's about 50-50 of which one the guys prefer.

I hope that you are as happy with your Allen as I have been.

[Ssilvers]

I called Bernard and he played it over the phone for me and I was impressed with it's "bark". #I can't wait to get my hands on it.

[HarmonyRexy]

Ssilvers,

Does your new A have one of the Red Henry designed maple bridges or an adjustable bridge?
I noticed that 2 of the 3 most recent mandolins that Mr. Allen was selling had bridges that he carved from Red Henry plans.

They looked very interesting. If yours is sporting one of those, I'll be anxiously waiting your take on them.

Mine both came with adjustable bridges. I switched one out for a Cumberland Acoustics bridge.
There was nothing wrong with the original bridge but I just like tinkering sometimes. Plus, I got it a Cumberland abbreviated pickguard so why not?

I hope that it arrives soon.... and is the coolest thing going.

[John M. Riley]

I once had an allen mandolin..I saw it on ebay for 400 bucks so I bought it.. The fit and finish were pretty rough, but the sound was killer. I would put it up against about anything I had ever played for a nice powerful bluegrass sound. But I had a guy offer me more than what I had in it, so I had to sell.

[Ssilvers]

Mine has the Red Henry style bridge that Bernard made out of maple. #I'll let you know what I think of it. #I probably won't get it until the first of next week. #Can't wait. Traditional, mine sounded good over the phone, I can live without the cosmetics as long as the sound and playability are there. My dad just bought a Glenn mandolin and it's not the prettiest, but at the jam session on Fri. nights everyone notices when it barks.

[HarmonyRexy]

You both got yours a lower prices than I did. I just went back and looked up what I paid.
The A was $693 and the F was $783.
I was happy with those price points and as I live with them longer, I'm even more pleased.

I noticed that he had a F on eBay that just sold for $741.

It must be interesting to have a hobby that brings such enjoyment to other people. Mr. Allen describes it as a 'hobby'.

Can't wait to hear how you like yours, Ssilvers!

[John M. Riley]

Ssilvers, got any more info on the Glenn you said that your dad has. I just ordered one. By the way, what number is his Glenn? And what was wrong with its fit and finish?

[Ssilvers]

Traditional, his Glenn is nice, the finish isn't as detailed as some of the productions mandos, but like dad said he bought it for sound and not appearance and it is a hand rubbed finish so I wouldn't expect it to be perfect, thats part of its character. The fit is very good, better than a Flatiron Festival I looked at last week. The Glenn's are a great buy for someone wanting a true woody sounding mandolin, dad would definently order another one form him. I think his is #79, I'll have to ask him later today.

[HarmonyRexy]

Ssilvers,
When you ask your dad about his Glenn number, it won't be #79.
That one's owned by J. Mark Lane. He posted pictures when he did his review. That's probably why that number got stuck in your head.
It will be interesting to see where your dad's falls in the Glenn lineage.

On the Allens, my A is #16 and the F is #19.
He started out on violins and continues to those, too.
I had asked him about the numbering system and he said that his early ones aren't numbered at all. I don't think that he really knew that he'd end up making quite a few... or that people would be interested in the numbers so much.

Do you know what number yours is?

[Ssilvers]

I checked Dad's is #80. Mine is 20 something, some reason 22 or 29 is what I'm thinking, but I work with #'s all day so that may not be right.

[John M. Riley]

There seem to be quite a few f the glenns around. #They seem like a good deal also. #Wonder why ya never hear anything about them....
Probably be 6 weeks or so until mines here.

[Ssilvers]

I think you will hear more about the Glenn's as more of them get into musicians hands. Dads sounds awesome, I may order one later this year or early next year, when my budget permits.

[dhart]

I bought a 2004 Bernard Allen F sight unseen on ebay for $1000 and think I probably overpaid. Spruce top, quilted maple sides, single-piece birdseye maple back with a handcarved ridge, and flame maple neck. Abalone block fretboard inlays, and a fern on the headstock. Bound front but not back. It's well balanced, and while not a light instrument, feels "alive" when played.

I called the maker and he told me it was probably #25, but he didn't number it and "after a while I lose track of them."

It looks great from about 5 feet away but up close the finish quality is pretty sloppy. The tuners don't line up (one, in fact, covers the back of the peghead scroll). The neck, while solid, isn't quite straight, and doesn't line up with the tailpiece, so the bridge is slightly off-center and lined up a little ahead of soundholes on the top. The bridge didn't fit tightly on the top (there were gaps between the top and the bridge base), and the frets were unevenly seated.

The finish was spraypainted sunburst under laquer, reddish on the top and tobacco-colored on the back and sides. It didn't appeared to be hand-rubbed. Some of the machine tool marks and wood imperfections were apparent under the finish. The binding is WBW ivoroid on the body/headstock and single ivoroid on the neck, with slightly uneven fret ends.

Having said all that, the sound is present and cuts well. The A string in particular gets a nice ringing/gurling "bluegrass" tone with metallic harmonic overtones. The chop seems fine to my ears -- certainly enough to hold up rhythm duties against 2 or 3 dreadnaughts. At my local bluegrass jam, people complimented me on the tone and the look of the instrument. It is easy to play, and intonates well all the way up the fretboard, but it frets out or buzzes on some frets on the G and D strings between the 7th and 15th frets. I had a luthier do a $50 setup on it, which included dressing the frets, fitting the bridge, adjusting the truss rod, and trimming some extra wood on the neck extension.

I'm thinking of replacing it with a better-quality F-style mando, like a Collings MF, a Summit, or a small maker of similar quality. Anyone interested, name your price.

[Jim Garber]

Here is a F mandolin by Allen currently on eBay.

Jim

[danman]

I bought an Allen mandolin on ebay in 2003. I paid 700.00 for it. It had a nice full sound, but like others have stated, looked a little sloppy. The neck was a little thicker than I am used to playing, but overall a nice instrument. I sold it at a festival last year for 950.00. The new owner played it all weekend and seemed very pleased.

[HarmonyRexy]

I just noticed that Mr. Allen has a new A up on eBay.
It is number 7413291836.

(If people are wondering about how Ssilvers liked his new Allen, he had started another thread about that. I think that it was called something like 'I got my Mr. Allen mandolin this morning'.)

[Roydw3]

Howdy, I just purchased the A that was on eBay. I am going to mail the check tomorrow. I am excited to get it and have it to carry with me on a couple of trips this summer and to a couple of camps I work with during the summer. I will let everyone know how it sounds when it comes in. Mr. Allen is going to have an F with an oval hole soon on eBay. I wanted to wait for it, but decided I better go ahead and get the A as my first trip is just a couple of weeks away. Hope you all have a great day.

[Ssilvers]

My Allen is sounding awesome. The more I play it the harder it is to put it down. People can't believe the sound coming from an "A" model. It's opening up beautifully and plays smooth and stays in tune. I would definently reccomend an Allen to anyone, I don't think you can beat them for the price. You can get a better looking mando, but you'd be hard pressed to find a better sounding one for this kind of money.

[Roydw3]

My Allen arrived and it is incredible. I am amazed at the quality of mandolin...the workmanship is fine...it doesn't look like a factory mandolin, but I didn't expect it to look perfect...it is hand mande...anyway...the sound was what I was after and even before a string change, and maybe a tailpiece, bride and tuners at some point, it sounds great...If you get a chance to buy one, do it.