Like I do many evenings here on the cafe, Saturday evening I spent a few hours reading though some threads and across a thread for Grey Eagle mandolins. Like I always do, I did a quick search to see who the builder was and where they are located. Hey what do you know, Richmond Virginia I thought to my self. So early this morning I sent Skip an email to see if I could get a little info on his mandolins and he replied to give him a call and possible swing by to give a few of his mandolins a run through....definitely not go to pass on that opportunity.
Let me first say, my experience today with Skip was a blast! As I left my house I told my fiance that I would probably be gone for an hour maybe an hour and a half......4 hours later, haha...oh well it was awesome! He first asked what I wanted to try out, I replied whatever you got! So the first mandolin was an A5. Boy was it an awesome A5. The tone was very sweet, it had a speed neck which I love, and it really could bark. I thought to myself, wow this A5 is killer! Then Skip pulled out a recently completed two-pointer. Immediately I was drawn to this mandolin as I like things that are a bit out of the ordinary and this two-pointer fit the bill. I have played and owned quite a few really nice high end mandolins and this mandolin is second to none. I am not sure if Skip injected his mandolin with mandolin growth hormones or what, but holy smokes. The action was nice and low yet this baby had tones of punch. You could possibly blow a banjo player over with monster. The tone was sweet, clear with great note separation and had sustain for days. I was in love. The playability was spot on from perfect string spacing on the nut and bridge to a really nice comfortable neck. No effort required for fretting which is something I really like as I have a really light touch. Truly a magnificent work of art. Needless to say, I will probably not sleep a minute tonight as I think about how I have to get me one of those two-point Grey Eagles!!
Anyways, I just wanted to share my great experience today with Skip. A great guy who is extremely welcoming, fun to talk to and one who definitely knows how to build a top notch mandolin.
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