Mountain Heart on Jubilee

[Jim Rowland]

Mountain Heart did an hour show on the KET production "Jubilee" tonight. Adam Steffey was playing a Sim Daley varnish. I never heard a mandolin sound better than that one. Of course,a lot of it was Steffey himself,but the Daley was a real standout among the mandolins I've heard him play. Just a killer sound all the way.
Jim

[Jshankle]

Hi Jim,
I completely agree with your comment about Sim's mandos sounding amazing and Steffey's playing being top notch. One small thing, though - I do believe that Steffey's Daley has a lacquer finish rather than varnish.

Of course, when you have the talent of Steffey and the tone of a Daley, I suppose it doesn't really matter what type of finish you have!

[Jim Rowland]

Thanks for the correction,Jonathon. I was guessing it was a varnish because it didn't seem to have a high polish look to it. But you're right. That sound makes any small details vanish.
Jim

[Alex Fields]

It doesn't look like a lacquer because it's a satin finish. I don't like the shiny look of lacquer at all, but I do like the satin look, and Sim said that you can use a thinner coating with satin (I think), which downplays the disadvantage of the lacquer finish. I was at Sim's shop (heh, that is, his garage) last Saturday and he had an A style with a red satin finish (looked just like Steffey's without the scroll basically) waiting to be picked up...even had the Engelmann top like Steffey's. I played it and it sounded amazing (of course). It was brighter that Steffey's--he said he usually voices A styles brighter because that tone seems to work better with them. I remember thinking while playing it how ridiculous it was that someone was getting a custom instrument for under three grand that could smoke anything Gibson (or Collings, or Weber) makes.

He had two other mandolins strung up, both F styles he hadn't started the finish for. One of those had a huge baseball bat of a neck (some lawyer who Sim said could barely play two chords had ordered it that way because he "has big hands," and when Sim asked him if he wanted it like the Sam Bush model Gibson, the guy asked who Sam Bush was...XD) and one had a standard neck...the standard (with Engelmann top) sounded better than the other two instruments in my opinion...amazing instrument. All of his instruments are just awesome though, and they're consistent outside of intentional differences that customers ask for.

My Daley's going to be varnished, dark brown I think, and Engelmann top. He agreed to voice it for lighter strings (I use light/medium flatwounds) and with a dark, mellow tone (similar to Steffey's but a little more classical). I'm pretty far back on the waiting list (eighteenth, including the two that need to be finished and two that are currently being finished) but I'm already so eager it hurts to think about.

I think Sim has enough of a refutation and gets enough credit that I don't need to recommend him, but I will anyway. His mandolins are unbelievable for the price. He's a match for any luthier out there and his instruments are significantly cheaper than others of the same quality (although his prices are going up soon...I think next month).

Oh, one last thing--the aesthetics on his mandolins are the best I've ever seen. The binding and finish look so clean it's disgusting.

[Jshankle]

You can actually see pics of my Daley if you search for the thread titled "The Birth of my new Daley F5" (or something like that) from a while back. Like Steffey's, it also has the Satin lacquer finish Alex is refering to, although his is colored differently. Ours were made pretty close together - I think Sim finished two after Steffey's when he got to mine.

[Rick Crenshaw]

Mine was the one after Steffey's I believe. #21. I'm getting another one just because I want a back up that I'll actually play. I've had other mandolins as backups but couldn't deal with ever playing them once the Daley was in the house. I'd decided on an Adirondack top instead of the Sitka top which my current Daley has. I guess I oughta talk to Sim about Englemann. I want the next Daley to sound as great as the one I have now but still have a different voice, just for a little variety.

BTW, at band practice tonight we were working with single mic set ups (well, not really single mic - the banjo player had his separate condenser mic since he doesn't sing). The bass player and the guitar player had me turning every which away because when I was up near the mic singing the Daley was so loud I had to really hold back to keep from totally overpowering everyone else. But man, does it sound good.

[F5G WIZ]

Rick, My goup just recently started using a single condenser mike setup recently. Having some problems dialing it in. Seems the instruments over power the voices. Banjo and fiddle have thier own mikes. Having problems with feedback as well. We are still using standard monitors but are thinking of in ear systems to get rid of the feed back problems. Any suggestions? By the way I watched Steffey on Jubilee last night. He is awesome, but noticed he appears to have put on a lot of weight recently. Not that it matters. Never noticed him looking that heavy before.

[Thomas]

Well, with all due respect to Daley mandolins, which, I'm sure are terrific, I've seen Adam when he played his Apitius and his Gibson name-sake and both times he was just astounding. I couldn't tell a dime's worth of difference (my untrained ear I'm sure) between his mandolins. His playing is just great and strong. Similarly, I've seen Wayne Benson play his Tucker, his Fern, a Loar and his name-sake and he was terrific. I think people put WAY too much on the mandolin, when it's the player. My former banjo teacher, Craig Smith, has a pre-war Gibson and a Stelling. When he played my $399 Deering Goodtime, he could have been playing his Gibson for all I knew. A player is a player. Thanks and carry on.

[luvmymando]

Does Jubilee have a website you can see or hear the performance? I used to be able to catch that show when I live d in Ohio but PBS in COlroado does not show it... or mountain stage for that matter.

[AlanN]

Well, with all due respect to Daley mandolins, which, I'm sure are terrific, I've seen Adam when he played his Apitius and his Gibson name-sake and both times he was just astounding. #I couldn't tell a dime's worth of difference (my untrained ear I'm sure) between his mandolins. #His playing is just great and strong. #Similarly, I've seen Wayne Benson play his Tucker, his Fern, a Loar and his name-sake and he was terrific. #I think people put WAY too much on the mandolin, when it's the player. #My former banjo teacher, Craig Smith, has a pre-war Gibson and a Stelling. #When he played my $399 Deering Goodtime, he could have been playing his Gibson for all I knew. #A player is a player. #Thanks and carry on.

Could not have said it better.

Listen to those mandotasting things floating around. Guaranteed you'd have a hard time picking out the pre-war gems from other 'good' mandolins.

[Tim]

And the counter point is that there is art in the construction of a fine instrument. #Appreciating that and being interested in the brand/builder doesn't mean that one is discounting the role of the musician.

[Jim Rowland]

It would be interesting to know if Thomas's former instructor Craig Smith could hear any difference.
Jim

[Garrett]

Did you happen to see my Daley, Alex? It's a varnish blackface F model and should have been being finished.

I heard a big difference in Doyle Lawson's tone, for the worse, when he switched from the Paganoni to the Gibson. He's one of my all time favs so I was sorry to hear the change.

[Windflite]

<Begin Shameless Plug>
If anybody is interested..Last night I #posted my 2002 Gibson Steffey in the classifieds. #I'm selling it because after 4 years of trying I still don't sound like him when I play it! ##Funny thing though, when Adam played it, he sounded just like he always does... #Hmmm...
<End Shameless Plug>

[Brandolin Tucker12]

Although a good instrument makes a diffrence it really is mostly "all in the hands". As far as his weight, he is probably hitting his middle age spread or maybe he can afford to eat better on his Mountain Heart earnings (he he he).

[Thomas]

It would be interesting to know if Thomas's former instructor Craig Smith could hear any difference.
Jim

Of course, but he's won a Grammy and plays with Laurie Lewis. #He can tell who's playing on a recording just by the way they play. #I doubt many could and I doubt many could tell what mandolin XYZ player is playing. #Not being rude, it's just that after always thinking it's the set of clubs, I found out it was the golfer #

[Alex Fields]

Garrett, there were two F models getting varnish applied. I don't recall exactly, but I think one was a reddish finish...the other may well have been your blackface.

[Tim]

I doubt many could tell what mandolin XYZ player is playing. #Not being rude, it's just that after always thinking it's the set of clubs, I found out it was the golfer #

Knowing that there is a difference in how two mandolins sound is a lot different than being able to tell the builder just from the sound.

My wife's golf instructor said she'd never encountered it before but she told my wife to buy new clubs and pitch her old set. #Sometimes it is the tool/club/instrument.

[Rick Crenshaw]

I think people put WAY too much on the mandolin, when it's the player. #My former banjo teacher, Craig Smith, has a pre-war Gibson and a Stelling. #When he played my $399 Deering Goodtime, he could have been playing his Gibson for all I knew. #A player is a player. #Thanks and carry on.

I agree with you to a large degree. But for those of us who suck wind at playing, hearing the tone of a great mandolin gives great satisfaction. I can hear the differences in mandolins and some definitely sound better than others to me. One mandolin might sound great but may sound different than another great mandolin. So? We can't enjoy or appreciate that now?

Now ask your instructor why he doesn't sell that pre-War and that Stelling, buy a decent PacRim and invest the money!

BTW, what kind of mando do you play. Are you not affected by MAS?

[troika]

Hey Alex,
id you happen to play my Daley vintage model that Sim is putting the final touches on? It may still be in the french polishing stage. Come to think of it, the hardware probably wasn't bak on it yet. It has an Engelmann top and an abbreviated scoop (think Flatiron). I'm losing sleep because I'm so excited.

[travisburch]

Alex -

Do you know how many mandolins Sim has made this year? #I placed my order mid-January and was number 13 on the list... Trying to guesstimate my wait.

I love/hate to think about my new Daley mando!

[Grandude]

Travisburch, #my Daley deposit receipt is dated Jan 6, 2006. #At the time he had approx 10 in waiting. #So, ours should come out pretty close together. #He told me that he completes on average one per month. #I bet we're looking at the end of year or early next year. #When mine starts I'll get some pictures to post, and yours should be coming shortly thereafter. #Welcome to the lay-awake plan.