View Full Version : Dearstone Mandolins
Any opinions on Dearstone mandolins?
mandopete
Dec-02-2005, 11:05am
Yes.
Sorry, didn't mean to be so sarcastic. #I've been surprised that we don't see more discussions and ad's for Dearstone. The few I've played have been really nice. #Shawn Lane from Blue Highway plays a Dearstone.
Eric F.
Dec-02-2005, 11:50am
I've played two. They were very nice.
Flowerpot
Dec-02-2005, 12:03pm
Ray makes a great mandolin and has really done well with his redwood tops. They're pretty consistent, with maybe a rare one here and there that doesn't make the cut, but all of them I've tried personally have been great sounding instruments. I own one and it has great projection in a group; loud and cutting, and a very deep chop. I've got some recordings of mine on stage if you want to hear it, but listen to Shawn Lane to hear what you can really get from one.
Flowerpot, I would love to hear your recordings. Thanks
jim simpson
Dec-02-2005, 5:40pm
I have played a couple and thought they were pretty nice. Didn't Dempsey Young play one?
Don't take this wrong, but does anyone else see a resemblance between the Weber Yellowstone and the Dearstone in appearance?
Scotti Adams
Dec-02-2005, 8:41pm
I owned one a few years back...supposedly built with the same wood as Dempseys...I cant say that I was all that impressed with it.....Dempseys sounds good...as does Shawns....but mine I have to say was a dud....those come along every once in a while.
Kevin Briggs
Dec-02-2005, 10:22pm
At Gettysburg Shawn Lane was playign a Hicks.
Roydw3
Dec-02-2005, 11:27pm
Stephen Mougin, who plays with Melonie Cannon, and others, and has played on the Grand Ole Opry, etc., plays one and loves it. I heard him at Claremore, Oklahoma, this year and he was great and sounded fantastic. Adam Steffy was there too, with Mountain Heart. Two good mandolin players.
www.stephenmougin.com
earthsave
Dec-03-2005, 5:34pm
I played a couple well over a year ago at FQMS and thought they were the best sounding instrument on the wall.
woodysny
Dec-04-2005, 1:04pm
I have a redwood top Dearstone that is a "killer", but other Dearstones that I have played are not nearly as good. Actually, most any other mandolin that I have played is not nearly as good.
Scotti Adams
Dec-04-2005, 1:19pm
..mine was a Redwood topped one too...but..like I said earlier..it just didnt cut the mustard. But..other Dearstones I had played cut like a new file.
I got to play an older one a couple of weeks ago that sounded great. It had a deep dark tone. I compared it to a collings f hanging next to it and I preferred the dearstone.
woodysny
Dec-05-2005, 5:16pm
I have no financial interest here, but Elderly has a beautiful redwood-topped Dearstone Master madel in its used and vintage section. Only $4000, which is a very modest price for a top-of-the line Dearstone. I'd buy it but I already have one.
Flowerpot
Dec-05-2005, 5:58pm
kgp1, I've got those recordings if you want me to email the mp3's... they're kind of big, 3Megs each, but decent quality.
murphnmattie
Nov-11-2010, 5:30pm
yes this is an old thread but...my 2002 dearstone d-1a # 25 just came off the ups truck yesterday..it looked a little rough (ebay buy) not completely original (tailpiece, tuners, fretboard)..a little sawdust came out (shaved tone bars?)..and the neck may have been thinned a little....but after a few hours at my weekly jam...way to go ray..these things sound great !! and all for less than a high end pac-rim. not sure how many of these used are out there for sale...but ray will still make you a new one....for $6500...got mine for less than 1/5 of that...worth the search
Big Joe
Nov-11-2010, 7:41pm
Ray builds a fine mandolin, and has been building for a long time. He and his wife are good friends and very fine people. I certainly would not mind having one, but one poster was right... there isn't a lot of discussion about Ray's mandolins, and there probably should be.
David Horovitz
Nov-11-2010, 8:27pm
I heard Blue Highway play on Saturday for the first time and was impressed with Shawn Lane's overall musicianship. He played mandolin, fiddle and guitar and sang lead and tenor on songs he or others in the band wrote. What more can you want!?! Oh yeah, his Dearstone sounded very nice, with a deep, full-throated tone.
sachmo63
Nov-11-2010, 10:09pm
yes this is an old thread but...my 2002 dearstone d-1a # 25 just came off the ups truck yesterday..it looked a little rough (ebay buy) not completely original (tailpiece, tuners, fretboard)..a little sawdust came out (shaved tone bars?)..and the neck may have been thinned a little....but after a few hours at my weekly jam...way to go ray..these things sound great !! and all for less than a high end pac-rim. not sure how many of these used are out there for sale...but ray will still make you a new one....for $6500...got mine for less than 1/5 of that...worth the search
Was this the one that Ray just did a refret for? That was the one recently for sale in the classified, forget the sellers name but I guess the buyer wanted new frets so the seller shipped it to Ray. Anyway, it came with a Calton and that thing was a CANNON. no kidding. I don't think there was anything that could touch it......
From what I've seen most of his mandolins sound very similar.
Greg H.
Nov-12-2010, 2:02am
Well, I fear my experience has been more like Scotti's. Mine was one of the D1A models...shortly after he started making that model. I too have played some of Ray's mandolins that were quite good, but mine just wasn't one of them. Of course it also was up against some rough competition, as I had an Apitius at the same time (and I'm afraid the Apitius was winning that battle) but none the less my Dearstone just didn't seem to be up to the mustard there.
Bill Snyder
Nov-13-2010, 3:42pm
Forgive me but it is muster - as in inspection.
Greg H.
Nov-14-2010, 7:25pm
Sorry, anything I am foolish enough to write at >2:00 am I'm prone to not be up to either Muster or Mustard (though the Dearstone still wasn't as good as I would have expected).
Eddie Sheehy
Nov-14-2010, 8:17pm
I'll chime in here. I bought a Dearstone D1-A on the Classifieds in December 2009. I really liked it - but as a catch and release I guy I was honestly looking at "releasing" for a profit considering that a new one cost $5,999 and I bought it for considerably less. I played on a a "Song of The Week" video and i got a great compliment from "Old Sausage" - whose opinion I regard highly - on the tone of the Dearstone. Sometime later I put it in the Classifieds (reminding prospective buyers - as one does - of the current price for a new one). It sat there for quite some time - the usual looky-loos (send pix, send a sound-clip, "why-are-you-selling-it", "what's-your-best-price") but no cash... OK, so I had hiked a little on to the price I paid for it (still less than 60% of ne w value though)... I dropped the price... and again... and again... and then I sold it for what I paid for it (a bargain) but I had to eat the shipping (and I paid for shipping when I bought it)... so I justified my loss as "rental cost" for when I had it. Not long after I sold it, it was back in the classifieds at a much higher price... which slowly became lower... and then it was gone... for roughly about the same price (unless a trade was involved). Maybe it was the one that got a refret... maybe it was the sticker on the case (something about day-old likker)... I sure wish someone had "spoken more" about Ray Dearstone when I owned it...
Apologies to Van and Donny for not mentioning your parts in the saga...
Eddie Sheehy
Nov-14-2010, 8:39pm
I shold add that I had prospective buyers at the same time for a Gibson F9 and a Collings MF. I created three MP3's each with e same content - a bit of Celtic, Blues, and BG (my BG sucked). I didn't identify which was which. The "Gibson" buyer rated the Collings #1, The Dearstone #2, and he was totally unimpressed by the F9 - (which was a decent F9). The other guy bought the MF...
Eddie Sheehy
Nov-14-2010, 11:15pm
Here's a vid of the D1-A...
XX6I_J2ntMo
murphnmattie
Nov-18-2010, 5:42pm
my dearstone came off ebay from a guy by the name of crazy ron... for $1,250 i feel a person would be hard pressed to find a nicer playing, better sounding mando...with or without mustard ;`)
My D1-A (a 1995) absolutely rocks. Warm and loud! At a jam when strangers recently I had folks from across the room and ask what the heck I was playing and asked to play it. They were all impressed. I Bought it from Mandomutt.com My only complaint is the strings are too close together for my fingers...I'm going the get a new nut put on it and use the entire width of the frets. There is room. The lows and mids are incredible. Has wonderful ringing overtones..especially up the neck. Barks when chopped. Speaking of barks..when my small dog barks in the house it rings audibly for a while hanging on the wall. An explosive piece of wood Ray Dearstone assembled.