My new Pava F5!

[Nate Lee]

This is my new Pava F5! I got it last week and I love it. I already owned #83 which is an A model. The two mandolins offer such a great contrast. The A is so sweet, sustainey, and full of overtones. The F has a very similar tonal quality with the added benefit of being a real banjo killer. I plan to use the F mostly for five piece bluegrass band situations, and the A for things that are a little less bluegrass. I'm working on a solo album and both mandolins will be on it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KOE8gxIzCw

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Great sounding mandolin!!!!

[Ron McMillan]

Lovely F5. I'm very curious as to how the A and the F siblings differ in sound, and would love to hear a side-by-side YouTube comparison.

[Nate Lee]

Lovely F5. I'm very curious as to how the A and the F siblings differ in sound, and would love to hear a side-by-side YouTube comparison.

Hi Ron, I can make that happen! I'm headed to Long Island Bluegrass Festival tomorrow to play with the Jim Hurst Trio, but I will try to make a video next week!

[Mike Arakelian]

Congratulations...a great looking and great sounding mandolin...enjoy!

[Glassweb]

nice!

[Denman John]

Thanks for sharing that ~ really good!

[ccravens]

Thanks for the video!

Great sounding mando.

To think the sound will only get better - wow.

[Nate Lee]

Thanks for the video!

Great sounding mando.

To think the sound will only get better - wow.

Thanks! It's getting used to being a mandolin instead of a tree, and I'm getting used to the new mandolin, so what you heard is definitely just the tip of the iceberg!

[GRW3]

I got to play it a little at Acoustic Music Camp. It's very nice right out of the box. The fit and finish were excellent. It played very easy and had a ton of sound. It's only bound to get better.

[Nate Lee]

I got to play it a little at Acoustic Music Camp. It's very nice right out of the box. The fit and finish were excellent. It played very easy and had a ton of sound. It's only bound to get better.

It was good to see you at AMC George! I'll be recording with my Pava F5 (and probably my A as well) this coming Tuesday. I'm in the home stretch of making a solo record, and I'm really excited that the F5 arrived in time for me to record with it!

[Nate Lee]

Here's an A/B comparison of my Pava A5 (#83, 2014) & Pava F5 (#194, 2016) at the request of Ron McMillan:

https://youtu.be/X_0aiN6RotQ

[Nick Gellie]

Here's an A/B comparison of my Pava A5 (#83, 2014) & Pava F5 (#194, 2016) at the request of Ron McMillan:

https://youtu.be/X_0aiN6RotQ

It sounds very similar to my Pava A-5 which I got in a trade recently - thanks Danny Clark. Also sounds fairly similar to a Collings MT I have also. I will have to change my Avatar also. The two instruments seems to be linked genetically in terms of both their tone and playability.

[DataNick]

Nate,

Wow! What a nice in depth A/B you provided dude. Thank you so much for taking your time to produce that!

I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the F5 seemed to have just a bit more "depth" to it's tone to my ears...both are wonderful sounding mandolins...so now my MAS barometer is moving between Ellis A5 or Pava F5...LOL!

Great Job Brotha!

[Nate Lee]

Nick, I agree. The sound of your mandolin sounds a lot like mine. I have noticed incredible consistency in all of the Pava mandolins I've played. You should make a video of your Pava and your MT. There have been a lot of threads recently asking for a comparison.

[Larry S Sherman]

Nate, great video comparison, and I like you hat. :)

Might be my imagination but the individual notes on your A5 sound rounder, and the F5 a bit more cutting. Personally, I preferred your F5, but you A5 might have a better chop?

In any case...in time your F5 will most likely develop into even more of an amazing beast than it already is. You are lucky to have such a nice brace of mandolins!

Best, Larry

[Jim Garber]

Nate, IMHO they both sound great. The one music store I go to never seems to have them in stock. I think they sell quickly. One of these days I would love to play one (either one).

[Nate Lee]

Nate,

Wow! What a nice in depth A/B you provided dude. Thank you so much for taking your time to produce that!

I know it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but the F5 seemed to have just a bit more "depth" to it's tone to my ears...both are wonderful sounding mandolins...so now my MAS barometer is moving between Ellis A5 or Pava F5...LOL!

Great Job Brotha!

Thanks DataNick! To me the two mandolins have a different kind of depth. The F has a strong, powerful, plosive depth, but the A has a depth of overtones that is just incredible. I like them both a lot, and they provide a nice contrast, while still belonging to the same tone family. Of course, tone is difficult to describe with words, which is why I didn't talk much in the video.

[Nate Lee]

Nate, great video comparison, and I like you hat. :)

Might be my imagination but the individual notes on your A5 sound rounder, and the F5 a bit more cutting. Personally, I preferred your F5, but you A5 might have a better chop?

In any case...in time your F5 will most likely develop into even more of an amazing beast than it already is. You are lucky to have such a nice brace of mandolins!

Best, Larry

Thanks Larry! I agree. The A5 has a sweeter voice, and the F5 cuts like crazy. I prefer each for different things.

[Nate Lee]

Nate, IMHO they both sound great. The one music store I go to never seems to have them in stock. I think they sell quickly. One of these days I would love to play one (either one).

If you come through Nashville, look me up and you can play both of mine!

[Ron McMillan]

Here's an A/B comparison of my Pava A5 (#83, 2014) & Pava F5 (#194, 2016) at the request of Ron McMillan:

Hi Nate,

Thank you for this great comparison video. I agree that the similarities in sound/tone are stronger than the differences, but I may have to listen to it on the headphones a few more times to make up my mind.

What is obvious is how the A5 clearly holds its own against the F5, which is (of course) considerably more expensive. At a list price on the Ellis website of $2849, the Pava Player must be one of the best bang-for-the-buck small shop instruments on the market. Thanks again.

ron

[Johnny60]

Hi Nate - just seen the F5 video. What a great mandolin! Really rich tone, which I love in a mandolin.

[LillianBelle]

Now you need a Pava oval to complete the sound samplings ...

there is a Pava oval at Elderly I have my eye on, priced just a tad bit high for me.

[wildpikr]

A good player brings out the best in a fine instrument as you've just shown. I can hear the sweetness in both instruments but there's no doubting the strength of the F5...it packs a punch!

[Mandobar]

Nate, IMHO they both sound great. The one music store I go to never seems to have them in stock. I think they sell quickly. One of these days I would love to play one (either one).
Drive farther north.

[wildpikr]

I posted earlier to this thread...complimented Nate's new instrument and gave a nod to DataNick's observation about MAS...

Just browsing through and noticed half of my reply is missing for some reason...not deleted or altered by me...not sure what it means in cyberworld...~:>

Nonetheless, Nate's still a good player with a couple of fine Pava mandolins and DataNick's still right about MAS!

[Nick Gellie]

Thanks Larry! I agree. The A5 has a sweeter voice, and the F5 cuts like crazy. I prefer each for different things.

I have tried out my Pava #14 and compared it to Nate's A-5 and F-5. Mine has plenty of cut and drive without losing tone. It could be according to Cathy that the early Pavas had a Sugar Maple back rather than Red Maple. I don't hear that much difference between Nat's A and F in terms of either tone or volume.

[Jim Garber]

There is really no comparison to even the best recording vs. hands-on playing. No doubt the recording he made, no matter how good will not give you the subtleties of paying in person. I think you can hear the difference in the videos but it is very slight, probably more obvious in person.

[Nate Lee]

There is really no comparison to even the best recording vs. hands-on playing. No doubt the recording he made, no matter how good will not give you the subtleties of paying in person. I think you can hear the difference in the videos but it is very slight, probably more obvious in person.

Agreed. The video doesn't do either mandolin justice, and the differences that sound subtle to a listener are much less subtle when you're playing them. I have the F5 with me at IBMA this week. If any of you are here and would like to check it out look me up!

[Nate Lee]

Here's a new Pava Pro F5 I checked out at Carter Vintage Guitars on Sunday. The tone, resonance, and setup are excellent.

https://youtu.be/7TkrM6z3Hn0

[lflngpicker]

Congratulations on an excellent mandolin, Nate. Happy performing!

[yankees1]

Beautiful ! I'm sure it sounds great ! Same bloodline as an Ellis !