A Weber dream materialises

[Leigh Coates]

That's a beautiful mandolin, that's for sure!

But I have to say, looking at the picture of your sun-room, garden and dog made me lonesome for England. The view outside looks like my cousin's garden in April. I love it there and hope to go back to visit REALLY soon.

[desaljs]

Rod,

Congrats. Glad the saga came to a nice ending. Thanks for the photo of the tailpiece. It does match up with the beautiful color of the body.

Very classy appointments. You done good!

[Chris Keth]

That is beyond beautiful in a very classy, understated way. Very English.

I do love the shading on the back of the neck. Adding that makes every major surface of light wood sunburst.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Rod - without a doubt,that is one of the most beautiful Mandolins i've ever seen. The LACK of headstock ornamentation & fingerboard dots,is right up my street & the colour is stunning. It makes me wonder if you didn't take a hint from this one,although i have to say the headstock on yours is more to my taste.All told,a very,very beautiful instrument indeed,
Saska

[Rod_Neep]

Saska..... that one does look beautiful too..... and it has one special feature that I wish I had done on mine...... It has ebony tuner knobs, but I can still do that...



See how the pearloid ones stand out brightly on mine. Now imagine the look of it with ebony knobs, or even better, snakewood, which has that "tortoise" look to it. Stewmac sell Waverly guitar machines and knobs, but unfortunately not snakewood mandolin knobs.



I also have a nice arm rest on order from King Brown. Ebony with a Celtic knot, like the one that I have fitted to my Bridger A. I'll have to see how it looks, but it might distract from the "simple theme".

Finally, I have always been in two minds about an ebony truss rod cover with a simple and tasteful abalone inlay. Again, that may distract from the lovely simple appearance of the headstock.

Thanks for all of the wonderful and encouraging comments, folks. I really appreciate you sharing my dream.

Rod

[Ivan Kelsall]

I really like the ebony tuner buttons as well,very cool.I'd love a set of ebony ones for my Lebeda.The thing is, the ones on it are real MOP so i'll just leave 'em be. I too thought of either a MOP or Abalone TRC,but as my Lebeda Headstock is 'simplistic' (not too ornamented) maybe not quite as nice as your Weber Rod,again,i'll defer. The only thing i'd add to your Mandolin,is a new set of strings every now & again,
Saska

[guitharsis]

Congrats, Rod. Absolutely stunning. Love the simplicity of the mandolin and the tortoise/tortoise color scheme. The honey/tortoise loaner isn't hard to take either.

[Michael Cameron]

Originally Posted by Rod_Neep

This is what I play with when I am not playing mandolin. More fun.

Just wondering about your Martin (K3?) uke. New or vintage?
Lighter in color;so,it's koa,right?
Has a nice sound. It has the "skunk" stripe down the fretboard,but no "cartouche" on lower soundboard;so,I'm thinking it may be newer?

Pretty Weber!

[Rod_Neep]

Oh... yes Michael. That is my Custom Martin 3-Cherry uke that I took with me to Africa. One of the new ones, but I had them make it without the dark red stain, and so its a natural cherry wood.




I have a collection of Martin ukes, new and vintage.... OK. I am a uke nut too This one is a custom 3-K, again a modern one, but "retro" in the style of a 1919 3-K with a kite inlay on the headstock and a bowtie in the fingerboard.



But the ukes and guitars haven't had much play time recently!
Mandolin has kind of taken over.

Rod

[Rod_Neep]

The final hours of waiting....
... the arrival
... the moment of opening and unveiling

[mdlorenz]

that thing is crazy nice....

[Susan H.]

Rod, do you know how hard it was to watch that video and NOT drool all over my keyboard??? That is a beautiful Weber. Mine pales in comparison. I hope you have many, many years of enjoyment from it. They are beautiful to look at and wonderful to hear. Congratulations.

[Brett Byers]

Rod,
You totally made my day. Any time I start to get bogged down or caught up in the small things, I'll come back and watch this video and it will remind me of all that is right with the world. Thank you.
I think when your Bridger Octave is ready to ship I'll just hand deliver it so we can sit down in that lovely sun room of yours and share a couple of pints!

[Rod_Neep]

I think when your Bridger Octave is ready to ship I'll just hand deliver it so we can sit down in that lovely sun room of yours and share a couple of pints!

Brett.... you would be made to feel like a king over here. Book the flight fella! (Continental fly direct from the US into Bristol, which is close to me). I'll get in the supply of suitable local beers. That's a very serious invitation! Spring time in the Royal Forest of Dean is something to be experienced!



Notwithstanding the fact that there have been several hands building that mandolin and creating the great sound, lots of kudos goes to you for creating the thing that everyone notices first.... the colour and the finish. It is truly awesome. Beautiful. Perfect. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. But you have seen my initial gut reaction in the video.

Buying an expensive instrument long distance without hearing it first isn't an easy thing to do, especially a custom instrument, a one off that is going to be an "unknown". That is why I chose a Weber. Everything I read about you guys and the company just gave me good vibes, and I knew that all would be OK, and I never had a doubt.

Please pass on my thanks to the team at Weber.

Cheers
Rod

[trevor]

There are 14 Weber mandolins, 1 mandola and soon to be 2 octave mandolins and a mandocello to try out in my store.. not far away... about 150 miles.

[Brett Byers]

I certainly am just a cog in the wheel, and everyone at the shop played a big part in the success of that instrument. Mike, Vern, Helen, Dan, Bruce Jr, Bruce Sr, Gary, Clint, and Marty all have very important roles in the building of all of the mandolins. And of course Tony, Kathy, and Mary in the office. I'm going to make a point of showing this video to everyone in the shop today. I don't think I've ever actually witnessed someones "first impression" like that before with one our mandolins. Usually we'll get an email, or a phone call a couple of weeks or months after they've gotten to know their instrument, but to witness a video like this really gives it a whole new perspective.

[Rod_Neep]

A lovely spring day, with temperatures in the upper 60s.
Spent the whole afternoon gardening.... and the early evening picking... outside the sun room.

Life is grand.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Brett,as a Weber owner, i have to say that you folk at Weber deserve all the kudos that go with the territory. I've never seen a Weber that wasn't immaculate, & Rod's instrument & his initial reaction on seeing it,is testament to that fact - beautiful,beautiful craftsmanship,
Saska

[Bob Stolkin]

Rod,

That is a fine looking instrument. Contgrats!

Bob

P.S. I'm surprised someone hasn't grabbed that also-gorgeous tortoise-bound Big Sky at Cotten.

[Capt. E]

Thank you so much for the video, Tears came to my eyes and a smile on my face watching you open the case and play for the first time. I own a Weber "Bighorn" and still receive immense pleasure just holding it. The exquisite sounds it produces elevates to ethereal realms. I am sure it will be the same with you.

[Rod_Neep]

Today I made her a new strap, using 2mm round leather cord of natural and black. I was aiming at a colour theme to match the instrument. It is finished with neatsfoot oil which softens it up nicely.

The scroll loop is of a fixed size, just enough to go round the scroll, and with 6 ply braid..... spliced back into itself..... and then for the main strap I added three more cords to make it nine in the braid, and 1/2" wide.

[Capt. E]

I like the armrest. First we've seen of that.

[Tony Polecastro]

Rod, the video is excellent and as Brett said, it made my day as well!!! The strap and armrest are an awesome touch!!!

Even over my crummy computer speakers that instrument sounds as good as when I first played it up in setup, can't wait to hear it a couple years down the road.

To see the look on your face when you first opened it was absolutley priceless!!!

[Rod_Neep]

Well.... the third instrument of the "trio" is now on its way to me!
Phew..... its been a long wait, but I am sure that it will be worth it.

Like the other two, (The Bridger A and the Yellowstone) first it travelled from Montana to Jon Garon at MyFavoriteGuitars.com in Naples Florida.... and now it has started the journey to England...

Location Date Local Time Description
NEWARK , NJ , US 13/08/2009 20:23 ARRIVAL SCAN
LOUISVILLE , KY , US 13/08/2009 18:31 DEPARTURE SCAN
13/08/2009 15:45 DEPARTURE SCAN
13/08/2009 12:25 ARRIVAL SCAN
WEST COLUMBIA , SC , US 13/08/2009 11:13 DEPARTURE SCAN
13/08/2009 10:04 ARRIVAL SCAN
MIAMI , FL , US 13/08/2009 8:31 DEPARTURE SCAN
13/08/2009 4:10 ARRIVAL SCAN
HIALEAH , FL , US 13/08/2009 3:35 DEPARTURE SCAN
13/08/2009 0:03 ARRIVAL SCAN
NAPLES , FL , US 12/08/2009 21:31 DEPARTURE SCAN
12/08/2009 20:21 ORIGIN SCAN
12/08/2009 16:55 COLLECTION SCAN #

The wait begins again! It could be here Monday, maybe.

This one is the Weber Bridger Octave, finished in Brett's special "Desert Dawn" colour. Its been a long wait, but the folks at Weber were not 100% satisfied with the first one they made for me, and therefore started on another. That's quite OK with me, because that shows that they are fussy and want things to be dead right for me, the customer.

I hope to be able to post photos Monday, perhaps. Plus a shot of the family of three Webers.

Rod

[Chris Biorkman]

I think it's safe to say that Rod likes his Webers.