Hello Adrian,
I had the chance to get my hands on a Big Mon a few months back, and it was as good as any mandolin I have ever played. I then got to wondering, have you guys have ever built an oval hole Big Mon?
Thanks.
Z
Hello Adrian,
I had the chance to get my hands on a Big Mon a few months back, and it was as good as any mandolin I have ever played. I then got to wondering, have you guys have ever built an oval hole Big Mon?
Thanks.
Z
Hi there Zissou Intern. We have only built one--which we adored... and actually, a picture of the back of that mandolin is featured on the front of our website, resting against the stairs to my home. Would be happy to talk tone and all the variables any time. Give us a call. All the best, Adrian
Shawn, in this hour long video by Adam Steffey he demos and also gives him impressions about many of the Northfield models including a direct comparison of difference in tone between Engelman and Adirondack spruce topped Northfield mandolins. If these two mandolins are typical it could be an important decision to make.
Bernie
____
Due to current budgetary restrictions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off -- sorry about the inconvenience.
Bernie, do you happen to know at what point in the hour he compares the spruce tops?
Northfield F5M #268, AT02 #7
BSG,
The discussion of topwood starts at about minute 25. Good Stuff
David
You can't get there from here.
Thanks David and Bernie, I saw this workshop when it was originally aired. It's nice to hear the sounds of the different tops.
Northfield F5M #268, AT02 #7
That A with the Englemann top just has such a nice, full tone to me.
Music speaks to us all. And to each of us, she speaks with a different voice.
J Bovier A5 Tradition
1924 Gibson A Snakehead
2005 National RM-1
2007 Hester A5
2009 Passernig A5
2015 Black A2-z
2010 Black GBOM
2017 Poe Scout
2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
2018 Vessel TM5
2019 Hogan F5
Music speaks to us all. And to each of us, she speaks with a different voice.
J Bovier A5 Tradition
Take a look at their website. Adrian, or whoever has written the page concerning his background and the background of the company, did a nice job of explaining the details of how things work at Northfield. There are also changes being made to their build environment as I have seen pics on their Facebook page of their new showroom in Michigan and I have seen mandolins hanging after finish has been applied. They may be moving more operations here. From what I gather this is not a factory environment, but mandolins being made by a handful of builders in small batches.
"your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."
Or perhaps a "factory" with a "small shop" working environment -- this company seems to be on a good path.
Not to highjack the thread in any way but it is worth pointing out here, since you mentioned the topic, that Gibson now builds mandolins in exactly that way mandolins made in batches by teams of luthiers.
It is worth noting that this method works. In the case of Gibson a strong case can be made that the "factory" is now building the best mandolins ever -- even surpassing (over all those made under Lloyd Loar's watch in the 1920's..
Oddly enough I've never played one of these Northfields.
Bernie
____
Due to current budgetary restrictions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off -- sorry about the inconvenience.
Hey Everyone,
Thought I'd take a moment and share a link that explains more about our new workshop in Michigan.
http://www.northfieldinstruments.com...round-the-shop
....... and consider this an open invitation to anyone interested in visiting us :-)
I bought the NF-F5S and I am very happy with it. I have a tone guard on it, and man the volume and tone are incredible.
Hi Everyone,
Wanted to let you all know that we are proud sponsors of the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival this year. We will be bringing a few different models and displaying them at the Woodstock Music Shop tent in the vendor area. We'd love to show anyone going to the festival what we're working on.
Looking forward to meeting some of you and catching all the great music that weekend has to offer!
Played a recent Big Mon at the Mandolin Symposium and was really impressed by how it plays and sounds. It's also a tremendous improvement over an earlier standard Master model I had. I heard there had been some refining of the build process and this one really shows.
Hi Folks-
I was at Mando and Banjo Week at Swanannoa last week. What an amazing gathering of teachers and other great players: Emory Lester, Mike Marshall, John Reischman, Catarina Lichtenberg, David Surette, Darol Anger, Joe Craven. I got a chance to meet Adrian and Peter from Northfield and they were there for the entire week. They had on display a master models F and A, an oval F4, a Big Mon, an F5S with Engelmann and an A5 also with Engelmann. Everyone was free to play whichever model they wanted and Adrian and Pete were always there to answer questions, etc. The instruments were simply impressive. Easy playing, responsive, full, balanced. To see and hear Mike, John, Emory, David and the others play them, often in jam mode was an amazing treat. The Northfield mandolins received numerous positive comments from instructors and students alike, who often came back to play them over and over. Emory Lester's Master Model sounds amazing. I think several other Cafe' members were there as well. And NFI here, just saying how great it was to see and hear all the Northfield models together. Thanks for spending the week there Adrian and Pete.
I received my new Big Mon this weekend. I could not be more pleased. I got a red spruce top, sugar maple back, and the large sound holes. It sounds like a young, frisky Aretha Franklin. Every time I play it, I say "wow" out loud. The fit and finish are very good too. I requested a simpler peghead inlay, a plain fretboard, 1 1/8" nut, traditional neck shape and frets, and a modern FB extension. It feels great in my hand, and has the look of elegant simplicity that I really love. The folks at Northfield are doing things right!
I like the way you spec'd the Big Mon and love the 'burst. Add a Sam Bush "Hoss" cut off and you have my dream mandolin! Play it in good health. I hope to join the Big Mon club some day.
Nice, I'm waiting for a master model later this year. Have fun!
Northfield F5M #268, AT02 #7
I've been reading through this thread over the last couple days and another I found on the site, and I felt compelled to add a comment, though I don't often comment on this site, nor am I the world's best player or probably even better than average...
I recently purchased an NF-5S. Two things. One, I absolutely love the way my Northfield sounds and plays. I read a lot about sound on this site and others. Not a lot of folks weigh in on playability, but for me playability ranks up there with sound; in some ways it may be even more important to me. If the instrument feels awesome in hand and fretting it is a breeze, then it makes better music IMHO. My 5S is AWESOME to play, AND it sounds great: very balanced between lows, mids and highs; great projection; killer chop (my band mates commented on this aspect straight out of the gate!). I have another very nice mandolin, but I fear it is not long for my world because the 5S just cranks!
Two, as part of my purchase and follow up, I had the pleasure of dealing directly with Adrian and Derek, though I didn't purchase the mandolin directly from Northfield. Without boring anyone with all the details, I can say without a shred of doubt that the customer service I received from them was BY FAR the best CS I've ever received from an instrument manufacturer or retailer, bar none!
I couldn't be happier with my purchase.
Northfield 5S
Girouard A-style
Weber Hyalite
Huss and Dalton Road Series OMR
White Mountain No Frills Banjo
Hey Rick,
Just came across your post. I just bought #67 back in April from someone in Nashville. Great instrument. I'm very happy with it. I'm curious why you sold it. Seems like this mando has had a few owners.
Bill
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