Video Review Stanley V5 #63

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 12:09am

Robert asked for long notes to get a better feel for the Stanley V5, well here they are.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 12:23am

Stanley Compared To Heiden;
Ok, I'm getting a little self conscious here, I think my breathing is louder than the mandolins. Despite me being a dork, breathing hard and not playing my best it gets pretty interesting; At first the Stanley seems stronger but as it goes on the Heiden gets pretty lively. These are both great mandolins to my ear but different. I hope you enjoy this and please forgive my heavy breathing and lack of form at the very end.

**Raggle Taggle** · Jul-10-2012, 8:23am

Wider nut on the Heiden, yes? How would you compare the neck profiles of the two? BTW that Zoom sounds and looks great!

**robert.najlis** · Jul-10-2012, 8:34am

Thanks so much for doing these videos. They are very interesting and informative! I am still soaking in the difference between the Heiden and the Stanley. And now... MAS!

**John Kinn** · Jul-10-2012, 9:45am

Great videos! First I thought the Stanley was more "woody" sounding (if that makes sense), but after some minutes I wasn't so sure. I guess the differences are better felt by the player than the listener. Both outstanding mandolins for sure, and the playing as well.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 9:58am

Originally Posted by Raggle Taggle

Wider nut on the Heiden, yes? How would you compare the neck profiles of the two? BTW that Zoom sounds and looks great!

I think they're both 1 1/8", the Heiden has a radius, larger frets and a round neck profile. The Stanley is a v with flat board and small frets.

**mandophil(e)** · Jul-10-2012, 10:43am

Two great sounding mandolins! And, really impressive pickin'. I generally am a fan of the "traditional" bluegrass sound in a mandolin, and love the cutting highs and jangle of early vintage Ferns and non-Virzi'ed Loars, but that Heiden really has a great tonal quality. Love it. And I'm sure as you beat that Stanley into shape it'll get better and better.

**hank** · Jul-10-2012, 10:57am

Thanks for sharing PJ. I enjoyed your playing as much as the comparison of two outstanding mandolins, I especially like some of your Rock/Blues riffs on the Stanley.
I noticed a part on the last segment sort of a Thile type mach speed where the larger frets and radius on the Heiden may have helped in the notes ringing out more clearly than the Stanley but otherwise to my ears the Stanley ruled. I would have enjoyed being there, truly hearing their full acoustic voices as you made them sing so well.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 11:34am

Thanks guys! I probably had one too many before turning the recorder on but I am a little self conscious when broadcasting my playing so liquid courage was needed. Anyway, the Heiden's modern sound and set-up allows for cleaner fast playing but the Stanley forces you to dig in and push which to me equates to a more traditional approach. Even if the mandolins sounded exactly the same the flatboard and little frets make a player sound more old school, where a modern set-up does the opposite IMHO. It's important to note that the Heiden is 13 years old and the Stanley just over four months old but I do play hard and I play a lot, we just had our 5 week anniversary together. In a jam the Stanley just cuts above everything else where the Heiden blends beatifully. I'm a luck guy to have both.

**Trey Young** · Jul-10-2012, 2:36pm

Hey PJ,
Enjoyed the videos with the Stanley vs. Heiden, good job on making those guys speak! Just a quick question, and I hope folks don't mind a slight derailment of the current discussion, but how would you rate the Elkhorns that you owned up against the Stanley and the Heiden. Just wondering as I've only briefly played a Stanley and have never seen a Heiden in person. Either way congrats on two great mandolins!
Take care,
Trey

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 3:21pm

I think Robb (Elkhorn) is doing a great job and making great mandolins that are under the radar right now. His stuff is more in the middle of these two, not super modern nor super trad. I feel like he's closest to Ellis in tone but not at the same fit and finish level, although quite good and more than acceptable. The only mandolins I've seen at the Ellis level of fit and finish are Collings. My only complaint would be that I found his (Elkhorn) necks to be a little big for my left hand. I started to experience fatigue so I couldn't play as much as I like (all the time). I also got a Gil when I owned my two Elkhorns and then freaked out about having a half dozen mandolins at a total of 40k so I sold them all and started over. Oddly enough my intent was to just have one to love but the Collings and Heiden came to me at the same time. I traded for the Heiden and planned on selling it but fell in love and the Collings was what I was planning on so I got it right then too. After having the two I realized I really wanted the most traditional mandolin I could get and not break the bank. So here I am again with too many mandolins but at least I'm at half the expense. More than likely I'll have to sell one of my current stable so I'll be sorting through that in the coming months. The Collings is awesome and if I find myself mostly playing the Stanley in a few months like I am now I'll sell the Heiden but if I split time I'll sell the MT2V. Long story short I think Elkhorns are fantastic and would own one again in a heart beat but for me I'd rather have one modern and one traditional mandolin.... for now

Originally Posted by Trey Young

Hey PJ,
Enjoyed the videos with the Stanley vs. Heiden, good job on making those guys speak! Just a quick question, and I hope folks don't mind a slight derailment of the current discussion, but how would you rate the Elkhorns that you owned up against the Stanley and the Heiden. Just wondering as I've only briefly played a Stanley and have never seen a Heiden in person. Either way congrats on two great mandolins!
Take care,
Trey

**Trey Young** · Jul-10-2012, 3:31pm

Thanks for the run down PJ.

His stuff is more in the middle of these two, not super modern nor super trad. I feel like he's closest to Ellis in tone but not at the same fit and finish level, although quite good and more than acceptable.

That is the basic conclusion I came to just from watching your video, or at least for my Elkhorn. I felt like mine definitely leans more toward the Heiden sound, at least when I play it. I've only played an Ellis for a brief moment, but I can see how one would put Elkhorn in a similar tone-camp to an Ellis.

Whichever two you stick with you should be pretty happy! Enjoy them in good health. Take care,
Trey

**sidewinder** · Jul-10-2012, 4:06pm

Found this thread to be really interesting ! Of course I am particularly interested because I recently bought a mandolin from Chris. It is the vine inlay model he has on his website, don't remember the S/N but he built it in 2010 and it was his personal mandolin for a while. I really appreciate PJ taking the time to share for it warms the old ticker to see someone else enjoying their Stanley as much as I am enjoying mine. It is also interesting to hear someone else play one, not much out there on these to review but IMHO he is top notch builder and as PJ mentioned I kind of feel like I stole mine price wise as well, and I can't say enough about how easy it is to work with Chris. Mine is very Loar like with the mids and the highs you would expect. Looks like the builds are very consistent as well, I have never heard a negative word so for those out there that have been wondering about Stanley mandolins, well you now have a recent thread to check out.

**Denny Gies** · Jul-10-2012, 5:21pm

Now that's just great fun. Thanks for thinking of us.

**Don Grieser** · Jul-10-2012, 5:59pm

Great job on the review and the comparison, PJ. Enjoyed your playing. I've got to get in there and try those out in person.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 6:29pm

Originally Posted by Don Grieser

Great job on the review and the comparison, PJ. Enjoyed your playing. I've got to get in there and try those out in person.

Thanks Don. I can't wait for you to visit so we can pick all the fun stuff between us. I think you'll appreciate my modest but satisfying little collection. My new-ish house is great for playing, there's a dedicated music room with a kegerator, it's great to have space to hang.

**Mike Bunting** · Jul-10-2012, 7:30pm

Stanley's do seem have way more of that hard Loar/Monroe tone, but of course, that is exactly what Chris is aiming for. I've had the pleasure of sampling a couple of Heidens, two Wiens, a Kimble (very new) and a Mowry just this weekend. Of course they are all crackerjack and I'd have them all, of course, if I could. The only one that I would put in a similar camp to my V5 #20 is the Mowry, although people don't talk of them much, I think that Mowry's deserve to be listened to. At the end of the day though, I have to say that i'm still very much enamored of the Stanley sound. Nice to hear of a new Stanley fan and to jump in on this thread. I find it hard to do these comparisons since it is all so totally subjective and all our ears are different but what the hell, there's my Canucks 2c worth (about 1.95 cents u.s.)

**terzinator** · Jul-10-2012, 8:21pm

Originally Posted by pjlama

Thanks Don. I can't wait for you to visit so we can pick all the fun stuff between us. I think you'll appreciate my modest but satisfying little collection. My new-ish house is great for playing, there's a dedicated music room with a kegerator, it's great to have space to hang.

I was a little jealous before, with the mandolins, and the talent, and the chops... but that just tears it.

**Mike Snyder** · Jul-10-2012, 9:22pm

Yeah, the kegerator was just over the top.

**Bigtuna** · Jul-10-2012, 9:51pm

Great comparison, thanks for putting that together. I must say I favor the Stanley vs. your Heiden. However, as good as your video is there is nothing like hearing them in person, so I won't write off the Heiden just yet. I guess what I'm hearing, I think, is the Stanley seems to have more volume while your Heiden is a little more mellow with a deep rich tone. Like you said its apples and oranges. What a great pair! I have to ask, what's on tap?

**scapier** · Jul-10-2012, 10:22pm

This is totally cool, thanks for posting and the chat about the Heiden vs the Stanley is very helpful. I have a Heiden A5 and I've ordered an F5 due this fall (selling the A5 therefore, if any interested) and I'm glad to hear my ears are hearing what others are. I think the Heiden is more a modern sound and that's why I like it. That being said, I know Mr. H is a big fan of Reischman's Loar, and has done lots of work on it, and THAT Loar is a very unusual instrument, dare I say more Heideny? I remember picking up a Gilchrist in Myhre's Music in Edmonton (the store owner's) and being utterly mystified by it. I've begun to appreciate the traditional sound more lately though.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 11:10pm

Originally Posted by Bigtuna

Great comparison, thanks for putting that together. I must say I favor the Stanley vs. your Heiden. However, as good as your video is there is nothing like hearing them in person, so I won't write off the Heiden just yet. I guess what I'm hearing, I think, is the Stanley seems to have more volume while your Heiden is a little more mellow with a deep rich tone. Like you said its apples and oranges. What a great pair! I have to ask, what's on tap?

We have a couple of very good brewerys here in the ABQ area. My favorite is Marble www.marbleBrewery.com, right now I'm running a 5 gallon keg of India White Ale. It's an American wheat that's hopped like an ipa with citrus, it's 7% abv. I usually go for their IPA but when I went for fresh keg last weekend they didn't have straight IPA ready so I went with the seasonal. It sounds crazy but having a kegerator makes a lot of sense, for amazingly good beer it runs me $50 for five gallons. If I just buy beer I spend quite a bit more plus I'm being enviro friendly since there's no waste with the exception of mine. Plus I'm always ready for friends to come over. It was a tough sell with the war department but we entertain nearly every weekend so it makes sense and I need to keep the lines clear during the week so it's a win win!

**Jim Roberts** · Jul-10-2012, 11:16pm

Originally Posted by scapier

This is totally cool, thanks for posting and the chat about the Heiden vs the Stanley is very helpful. I have a Heiden A5 and I've ordered an F5 due this fall (selling the A5 therefore, if any interested) and I'm glad to hear my ears are hearing what others are. I think the Heiden is more a modern sound and that's why I like it. That being said, I know Mr. H is a big fan of Reischman's Loar, and has done lots of work on it, and THAT Loar is a very unusual instrument, dare I say more Heideny? I remember picking up a Gilchrist in Myhre's Music in Edmonton (the store owner's) and being utterly mystified by it. I've begun to appreciate the traditional sound more lately though.

Yep...keep in mind the Heiden in the video is quite old and Michael's new mandolins are off the charts good.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 11:17pm

Originally Posted by scapier

This is totally cool, thanks for posting and the chat about the Heiden vs the Stanley is very helpful. I have a Heiden A5 and I've ordered an F5 due this fall (selling the A5 therefore, if any interested) and I'm glad to hear my ears are hearing what others are. I think the Heiden is more a modern sound and that's why I like it. That being said, I know Mr. H is a big fan of Reischman's Loar, and has done lots of work on it, and THAT Loar is a very unusual instrument, dare I say more Heideny? I remember picking up a Gilchrist in Myhre's Music in Edmonton (the store owner's) and being utterly mystified by it. I've begun to appreciate the traditional sound more lately though.

Yes, too often we equate the Loar sound to the strident Big Mon tone when its been demonstrated that there's more to the story than that. I think it's appropriate to aspire to both tonal camps, sometimes you want chocolate and sometimes vanilla, one's not better, just different. Can't we all just get along

BTW congrats on the new F, please share it with us when it's born.

**pjlama** · Jul-10-2012, 11:32pm

Originally Posted by Jim Roberts

Yep...keep in mind the Heiden in the video is quite old and Michael's new mandolins are off the charts good.

True but I just got it back from Michael a few weeks ago. I liked it so much that I sent it back for a complete update. He dressed the board, did a full refret with EVO wire, fitted a full contact bridge, reset the tuners and tail piece plus gave it lots of love to make it on par with what he's up to now. I'm sure he's loving them up different now but I gave him the open check book to make it it's abosolute best and it's pretty amazing. He did say its a very good example of his work, I quizzed him about what he's learned and changed over time but he seemed to think this one had what he considered "Heiden" quality. I'm not saying the new stuff isn't better, I've just been told by Michael that this is a good representation of his work. Again comparing oranges to apples doesn't make sense but since I have a new recorder I'm game for anything

What's worse is you gotta see me chose between them at night, it's like having two very fine ladies vying for your attention; do you want soft and sweet or hard and rough, depends on the beer I guess