Tell me about your Bulldog Mandolins.
What do you like??? what do you not like??
How do they rate among other small builders?
BB
Tell me about your Bulldog Mandolins.
What do you like??? what do you not like??
How do they rate among other small builders?
BB
I’ll start this off by saying that Barry Kratzer is a friend of mine who I play music with often. I own two of Barry’s mandolins both of which were built to my specifications. One is an F4 hybrid (long neck) and the other is a brand new black 2 point which I picked up the day before Thanksgiving I have also played pretty much everything he has built over the past 3 or 4 years and what you get from Barry is a consistent sound. If you hear one of his mandolins he will build that sound into the next one. I have always been impressed with the wood grains and finish of his instruments as well.
I own a Gibson Distressed Master Model which is one of the best “ Monroe” sounding mandolins I have heard. I play different styles so want different sounding mandolins. I also own a 2006 Duff varnish, tone bar, F5. Barry’s mandolins approach the sound of the Duff.
Barry sells everything in his line for under $2,800. If that’s your price range and you want a custom builder he’s a good one
Dennis Satterlee
In my opinion is one of the best UNdiscovered Luthiers out there.
I bought a 2-point mando from him a few years ago and I just love that mandolin. Good tone very similar to a Gibson maybe just a tad brighter and superfast slim neck.
He knows how to build a good mandolin!
I also have a 2 point that I bought about 2 years ago. I had a set up done on it and since then have really enjoyed the tone and playability. Unlike Jim's (I think his is #31 and mine is #30) mine doesn't seem that "bright"-more mellow than my KM 1000. I think that for the price, they are a really good value. Hope this helps.
Thanks
Several mandolins of varying quality-any one of which deserves a better player than I am.......
Not knowing Barry personally I have seen a few of the BD mandos as well as others he has had a hand in building. Great bang for the $$
Mike I almost bought your mando but went with the more traditional looking head stock. My only other mandolins is a 1916 Gibson oval hole and a 2002 Fern and both of those mandolins are pretty dark even for Gibsons so compared to the Bulldog the BD sounds like a Taylor guitar! LOL!
But that's OK that's the reason I bought it I wanted something different. I plan on installing a pickup and using it as an electric jazz mando as I have been playing occasionally with a singer songwriter who plays a lot of jazzy tunes. This mando is perfect for that.
Nice to know where #30 went to!
Jim, what's even funnier, is that I had originally planned to buy #31, but you had already pulled the trigger on that one, so I went for the one with the wild head stock. Now that I have had it for a while I am glad I got it due to it's uniqueness (is that a word?)
Thanks
Several mandolins of varying quality-any one of which deserves a better player than I am.......
I've admired his mandolins for a while now, but have not had the resources or justification for getting a second mandolin. I like his approach to building, and have liked the sound clips i've heard.
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
I really like my Bulldog. It has a very even tone and is extremely easy to play. It is the mandolin that I pick up and play the most.
I got this three and a half years ago in a trade. This is the only mandolin that I've hung on to for that long (and I have no intension of ever selling it). That should say something in itself.
Pete
Pete Braccio
"The Rules: Play nice and don't run with scissors"
http://www.braccio.me
Check out my web site for:
Jack Tottle music files
BBC Virtual Session files
O'Neill's PDFs
ITM Tunebooks, and more
Barry is a frequent poster here too. He offers a lot of insight on building, a lot of advice.....He has some stuff posted on youtube as well.
One day I'll stop all this crazy buyin', practicin', and playin'........course I'll be dead.......
Don't forget to give Barry's wife Sabine due credit. She does the inlay work on his instruments and gets better with each new instrument. I asked Barry for a picture of a bulldog rather than the script logo on the headstock of my new #45 and I still can't get over how great it looks.
Just saw this thread and thought I'd add my two cents. I have two Mandolins, one of them being Bulldog #21 by Barry. He had it on loan to Travis Chandler for one year, and had just got it back from Travis when I saw it. Barry cut me a nice price on it, and gave me an as new warrenty with it. I have seen and played alot of different Mandolins, (which is only a drop in the bucket as to what is out there for sale), but the only two Mandolins I have played in my life time that rival it were a 1936 Gibson, and Brad VanLoenen's Mandolins from Turkey Creek Mandolin Works. I wouldn't part with #21 for any price. Would like to purchase two more Mando's, one more from Barry, and one from Brad. Good workmanship, good tone, & alot of bark. Forgot one thing, Barry is a peach to talk to, and to deal with also.
Zane Briggs, Colo.
I just yesterday acquired #45 (formerly owned by osb1945, see above), and I am VERY pleased with it. I bought it at a good price, mostly because I thought it looked very cool, but was immediately impressed by the workmanship and the tone. I am bonding with it today, and it has just what I look for in a mandolin - a powerful, deep bottom- end tone and a punchy mid- range. Very impressive! I hope to commission another mando from Barry soon.
Thanks to Seth Rippey for making this mando available at a good price, he's a great guy to deal with.
I have had a Weber Yellowstone and a Flatiron F along with my 98 Martin HD-28 and my Taylor. That is to say I know quality when I hear it and feel it in under my fingers. I got Bulldog #74 the day after July 4th this year and it certainly falls into this category. I asked for a color to match #65 ( solid - don't care for burst) and a satin finish. That's exactly what I got for a more-than-fair price. I have read the 1000+ comments on tone change after some play-in time but I can say without reserve it certainly sounds more woody than when I got it. It sounded great when I got it - just sounds even better now. That's a GOOD thing for me. I asked Barry about sounding better after time and his comment was "if it don't sound good out of the gate it probably won't get better" It has curly maple sides/back. Engleman top and a Randy Wood bridge and radius. Plays ever so nicely. I don't think it will go anywhere for a while if ever.You just won't go wrong with Barry. Very easy to speak to (which I did) and answers emails really fast. He also installed a twin K&K internal pickup.
Last edited by edandjudy3946; Dec-30-2013 at 4:54pm.
Blessings from the Smoky Mountains
2017 Northfield Big Mon Engelman top
1998 Martin HD28VR
2001 Taylor 514CE
2018 Blueridge BR240A
50's Conrad baritone uke - was mom's
2 tenor ukes Leolani and Kala
I'm actually the owner of the Bulldog #65 mentioned in the post above...and yea, it's a damn fine instrument. Bought it off the classifieds here close to a year ago. It's my first good quality instrument, so I can't really compare it to anything else other than the $200 fender mando I owned before this, but the sound and playability is second to none as far as I'm concerned. At this point, the bottleneck is my talent, definitely not my tools...
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