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Thread: Passernig, who's tried them?

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    Registurd User pjlama's Avatar
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    Default Passernig, who's tried them?

    I'm not in the market but have been curious about Passernig for a while. There's a beautiful one Smoky Mountain has in the classifieds which stirred my interest. I'd be curious what people thought especially compared to the other Austin builders; Ellis and Collings. I know Stefan used to work for Collings but would like to hear what camp his mandolins are in as far as tone goes. Here's a pic of the one from the classifieds.
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    PJ
    Stanley V5

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    Registurd User pjlama's Avatar
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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    Here's another shot, this guy looks like he's got it going on.
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    PJ
    Stanley V5

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    Registered User pickinNgrinnin's Avatar
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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    I used to own one about 5 years back and it was a great Mandolin. Excellent fit and finish and tremendous volume and tone. very balanced from high to low with exceptionally strong mids. Had a woody and dry tone. Chopped like a fiend. It was one of Stephan's earlier makes - #34 or 36 IIRC. He had his initials SP on the Headstock. Never have seen or played an Ellis but I've played a number of Collings. Stephan uses a Dovetail neck joint and varnish/French Polish on his Mandos. To my ears, Collings Mandolins have their own tone and they sound different from Stephan's Mandolins. He doesn't seem to take a lot of interest in building Mandolins with highly flamed back and sides but he does use top drawer tone woods. His prices have certainly come up over the past 5 years but they are still a great buy in my opinion.

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    Registered User Cary Fagan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    I have #36 actually, bought it when still in the white. Five years now. It's my keeper. Playing it in my avatar.
    Cary Fagan

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    Registered User liestman's Avatar
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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    I have an A5 model by him and it is seriously wonderful. I taught a workshop and used it for at least half of the days. One of the class, the owner of a really nice Collings, got to play both side by side and commented that he did not have to work as hard to get the Passernig to sound as he did the Collings. It is very responsive, so you can get good tone at both ends of the how-hard-you-pick-it spectrum and everywhere in between. Most F hole mandos I have played do not have this luxury. He ever reworks the case, to better support the instrument. Definitely a fine craftsman with a great sense of what makes a great players instrument. Passernig's are wonderful.
    John Liestman -
    Eye new ewe wood lye kit!

  6. #6
    Layer of Complexity Kevin Knippa's Avatar
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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    I own an Ellis A, but would not hesitate to purchase a Passernig F (or even an A) if I were in the market and did not already have the Ellis. I know both Tom and Stephan and they are both committed to making great instruments. For the money, you cannot beat one of Stefan's instruments (any model). You'll pay twice as much (or more) for an Ellis than for one of Stefan's. I would take an Ellis or a Passernig over any Collings model on any day of the week, regardless of the cost. For what it's worth, both Mike Marshall and David Grisman speak highly of Stefan's instruments.

  7. #7

    Smile Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    Quote Originally Posted by pjlama View Post
    I'm not in the market but have been curious about Passernig for a while. There's a beautiful one Smoky Mountain has in the classifieds which stirred my interest. I'd be curious what people thought especially compared to the other Austin builders; Ellis and Collings. I know Stefan used to work for Collings but would like to hear what camp his mandolins are in as far as tone goes. Here's a pic of the one from the classifieds.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    I just bought this mando from smokey mountain 2 weeks ago. Everything stated by Dan in the ad is putting it mildly. This is THE most incredible mandolin that I have ever played or owned. Not putting down Any brand by any means. But let me mention that I have owned and or played Gilchrist, Altman, Ellis to name just a few and I can clearly say that I would not trade this Passernig for anything.

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    Default Re: Passernig, who's tried them?

    In June of '10 , I was in the market for a new mandolin , and I dropped in to Fiddler's Green here in Austin since they had the biggest variety that I could make an " A to B" comparison side to side . They had several Kentuckys that were within the budget figure I had in mind , as a matter or fact most of them were well under that figure . Since I had already decided that this would be my last upgrade ( barring finding grandpa's long lost Loar or a wayward Ellis or Gilchrist in the pawn shop for $100 , NOT likely ) my reasoning was that I would rather extend some above my budget than buy under and shortly after wish that I hadn't ,which is completely contrary to the usual tight-fisted nature of my Scottish ancestry ! As a result ,I began looking at and considering some of the Collings A models they had hanging on the other wall . After checking several of them out , Ben made the suggestion that , if I was considering A models I should check out the Passernig . I did and absolutely loved the way it played , hands down , better than any of the others I had played . I spent an extra day or two making sure in my mind that I was willing to spend the extra money and went back , still unsure of which I was going to buy . Collings quality is a given , resale would never be a problem , whereas until Ben showed me this one , I had never seen a Passernig . I played all of the Collings again , narrowed it down to two of them , and the Passernig . Ben suggested that I sit on the other side of the room and listen to him play all 3 , and I am so glad he did . From the players perspective there was a difference between the two brands , but from the opposite side of the room I was just stunned ! About 12 bars into Ben playing the Passernig , my mind was made up .
    I will second what most others have said on here . The Passernig , while very well built , fit , and finished , does not possess a high " bling " factor . It is immediately apparent that it is a quality build , it's visual attractiveness is very understated , and I love it . I believe that it more than adequately compensates for this in the sonic realm . It is extremely responsive , sounds very good when played softly ,yet is also able to be heard in a large jam , it can really project when it needs to . It performs very well when you have to "whip" it a little . If I had an unlimited budget , I would love a goregeous mandolin with beautiful inlay and highly figured wood , but I don't . Therefore I am more than happy with something that executes it purpose extremely well . The Passernig , while not hard on the eyes by any means , is undoubtedly built more for "go" than "show".
    I spent considerably more than I had intended to spend when I set out to buy a new mandolin , and have not regretted it for a single moment since I did . I have a mandolin with more than enough room for me to grow into , and I believe that it's sound is improving as time goes on as well .

    I have included a couple of YouTube vids of my mandolin I found after buying it , in much more capable hands than mine !

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyiMp...e_gdata_player

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adEiF...e_gdata_player
    '09 Passernig A5
    '82 Kentucky
    '05 Deering Sierra
    '81 Gold Star maple archtop
    '79 Guild D-35SB
    '98 Gibson J-100
    Mid 1890's German fiddle

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