Design A Weber Instrument Giveaway

**NewsFetcher** · Feb-24-2011, 5:41pm

The Mandolin Cafe has posted news:
Design A Weber Instrument Giveaway
http://www.mandolincafe.com/news/publish/mandolins_001328.shtml

Weber Fine Acoustic Instruments and the Mandolin Cafe are combining efforts to give away an opportunity for some lucky individual to design their own instrument - mandolin, mandola, mandocello, guitar or resonator instrument - using Weber's innovative Design A Weber tool and receive a $4,500 credit towards an instrument to be built to the winner's specifications.

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**Jessbusenitz** · Feb-24-2011, 6:36pm

This is going to be sweet! Just one small hitch. I gotta win it

**George R. Lane** · Feb-24-2011, 6:42pm

As the owner of 2 Webers, a great Vintage A and a new Yellowstone. I probably shouldn't enter this contest, but I do feel the need for a custom distressed Yellowstone A to fill out my little mando family. You just can't have enough Webers, in my opinion.

**Charlieshafer** · Feb-24-2011, 7:28pm

I'm of the same mind as George. Already have three Webers, don't deserve another, I'm sure there's a needy guy or girl out there who should get this, but what the heck, I want another.

**Ben Somerville** · Feb-24-2011, 7:39pm

Guys, I don't have any Webers! Just back out and let me have it, will ya?!

**Randi Gormley** · Feb-24-2011, 7:56pm

I've always wanted the chance to design an instrument but am waiting to win the lottery ... it would be nice to try for an instrument of this caliber -- thanks, guys, for another great contest!

**Caleb** · Feb-24-2011, 8:02pm

Thank you, Weber. What a nice gesture!

**Gary Watkins** · Feb-24-2011, 8:04pm

My wife just ordered a Weber Special Edition for me from THE MANDOLIN STORE. If I win this one, I'll give my Special Edition to someone that doesn't have a mandolin. Pay it forward!

**richardbradford** · Feb-24-2011, 8:50pm

Wow! Thank you Bruce and Scott for such a generous giveaway of what is simply a beautiful work of art, regardless of the model or the design. Like many others I dream of owning a Weber. I wish everyone the best of luck...but just a slightly little less luck than me ;-).

**George R. Lane** · Feb-24-2011, 9:04pm

Scott, Bruce & Mary

What a great gesture. I have had the great pleasure of creating 3 mandolins with Bruce, my first was a custom Gallatin F, the second is my Vintage A, my dream oval and now my custom Yellowstone F, all I can say is WOW.

So to whomever wins this dream prize, you will have a great experience creating the mandolin of a lifetime..

Good Luck to everyone.

**JEStanek** · Feb-24-2011, 9:18pm

I gotta admit, a nice mandola or mandocello would be champion. F-style, A-style doesn't matter, free-style, Nice!

Jamie

PS. As a Moderator here, I won't enter. Dreams are nice give me 5 minutes with this fantasy, please. Thanks.

**Jim Ferguson** · Feb-24-2011, 9:53pm

What an awesome giveaway. Thanks to Weber & Mandolin Cafe & good luck to all who enter.........:-)
Peace,
Jim

**GRW3** · Feb-24-2011, 10:01pm

I've got a mandola in the pipeline now. I don't know if I could stand the anticipation. Oh heck, you bet I could.

**Jill McAuley** · Feb-25-2011, 2:05am

I LOVE playing around with the "Design a Weber" tool on their website - what an awesome give away this is going to be! I'm thinking Bighorn, no wait, a custom colour F, or how about custom colour and inlay on an A?...Choices, choices, choices - now all that's left is to win it!

Cheers,
Jill

**Ryk** · Feb-25-2011, 5:35am

Many thanks to Scott & Bruce for this chance to dream. Probably my only shot at a mandocello.

Off to the Webber site!

Ryk

**Santiago** · Feb-25-2011, 7:15am

Weber makes some strong instruments. Great way to introduce the world to what they can really do as a shop -- both the tool and the contest. A little audio would be great, but then we'd never leave the site.

**Rickey Noel Mitchell** · Feb-25-2011, 7:17am

Designing a Weber Mandolin is my dream, and a Weber will be my next mandolin and the one that I play for the rest of my life. Too win one would mean I wouldn't have to wait a few years.

**rsaunders** · Feb-25-2011, 7:35am

I am a left-handed grandfather who dreams of playing the mandolin, but cannot afford a quality used instrument. Winning this contest would be like Christmas!

**Badeye01** · Feb-25-2011, 9:12am

Only a dream. I will enter but I have no luck !! I could enter 99 times with only 100 entries and still lose. But I can Dream.

**GRW3** · Feb-25-2011, 9:42am

I didn't notice last night that Scott had asked if anybody had used the Weber build it yourself process. I have and the instrument is in process. It is discussed in a thread titled "Moving on Up, to a Mandola". The actual process is pretty easy. It is available for every level of mando family instrument they make. A good thing about a custom mando is that, unlike some of the custom guitar programs (like Taylor, Martin for instance), you're not swiming upstream against economies of scale where even a slight modification means big bucks. Every Weber is almost a custom instrument so variations don't seem to require super premiums.

You step through page by page and every aspect of guitar is covered. If your choices require changes they are done automatically and you are informed. For instance, I chose a D hole for my mandola. Well, the standard Weber bracing is tone bars with X bracing optional. For the D hole however, only X bracing is used. That may seem obvious but I think it's good they point this out.

The MSRP roles up as you add items so you can experiment with your budget. At the end of the process you can submit it directly to Weber or generate a PDF to take to your Weber dealer. I made PDFs of several variations so I could consider them off line. I took the final version to my dealer. Be sure to review the order with Weber after your dealer submits it to be sure that the transmittal process went according to plan. I my case, the substitution of the Trad Brekke for the Std Brekke was missed.

The pictures of Ted E's mandola were very encouraging as I have almost the same instrument about a month behind his by order date.

**Dan Margolis** · Feb-25-2011, 9:51am

I spec'ed out a Bighorn mandola. The only upcharge that kind of shocked me was the hundreds of dollars that they want for a pickguard.

**yellowbarber** · Feb-25-2011, 10:47am

I don't understand how to enter...am I missing something?

Also, the "Design A Weber" tool only covers cookie-cutter trim levels and not wood selections. I like Bruce Webber's work, for a custom I'm more interested in the nuts-and-bolts of the build and not the bling.

**George R. Lane** · Feb-25-2011, 10:53am

The contest doesn't start until April 15. The rest of us are just all hyper about the announcement.

**Rodney Riley** · Feb-25-2011, 11:32am

Love to have mine with a wider neck. I'm with you Gary. Either find someone that doesn't play. Or a good player that can't afford an upgrade to my Weber Gallatin.

**Ed Goist** · Feb-25-2011, 12:43pm

I'm with Jill...Bighorn all the way!
One with the Translucent Walnut finish...That would be so sweet...
Thanks to the fine folks at Weber for sponsoring such an exciting and generous giveaway.
-Ed