Everything is better with a scroll

[Mike Handley]

Well, it's not a mandolin, but looks similar...

[Mike Handley]

Back...

[Mike Handley]

Neck joint...

[Mike Handley]

Body and scroll ..

[Mike Handley]

25 inch scale, western red cedar top, everything else is maple from Home Depot. (Hey! I'm cheap!) I used walnut strips on all the seams. I like the way that looks on archtop guitars.

It's a 15 inch lower bout which is about 50% larger than a mandolin body. Three inch body depth. From the info I've gathered, that makes it about the same size as the old K4 mandocellos.

This is my third instrument, and my first 'burst. I was shooting for the old F4 colors. It took me about four months to make. I finished it up on Saturday and played it with our church praise band on Sunday. It was everything I hoped for.

[Ken Sager]

Three words come to mind:

Hole E Cow

It's a monster. You did a great job. It's the coolest looking guitar ever.

Congrats!

[ShaneJ]

That's cool!

[JEStanek]

Cool looking electric guitar, man! That's two non-traditional builds in a day... The style O mando and a florentine guitar. Tip o the hat to you! That looks great.

Jamie

[DryBones]

Just more confusion for the masses when they comment on someone playing mandolin. "that's a nice little guitar you got there". guitars that look like mandolins and mandolins that look like guitars, where will it all end? Stop the madness! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

I have to ask... is that puppy for sale?

[newbreedbrian]

wow....i mean,wow. thats awesome, nice job

[Antlurz]

Totally Trippindicular!!!!

Love it!

Ron

[Chip Booth]

That is too much fun. Everyone should have one.

Chip

[pick up the world]

thats so cool! would love to have one like this one!!!!!

[dang]

NICE!!!!
did you make a case too?
how is the sound, with and without amplification?
Many call the scroll an "expensive strap hanger" so I am curious as to your strap button placement. Just works better?

[Antlurz]

For my money, that strap hanger is a lot better looking than tying a chunk of rope around the scroll. Been thinking of putting one like it on the F4 I'm putting together.

Just need to be sure there is headblock behind it.

Ron

[Mike Handley]

Thanks for all the comments! I haven't had enough playing time yet to feel really comfortable with this monster, but I'm getting used to it.

I'm in no position to even try to sell this beast. Being my third instrument, who the heck would want to buy anything from me? I'd guess I have a maybe 200 hours into it. If I sell myself short and charge say, $20 per hour, I'd have to start out at 4 grand on the low side. But, I've seen other 'new' K4 mandocello copies going from 4 to 8 grand. Now, who wants to pay 4 grand to some nut in the boonies of Michigan that kind of money on an instrument that could spontaneously combust in a couple of years for all I know?

As far as the sound goes, I'm happy. Before I added the pickups, knobs and switches, it sounded rather thin. By covering up half of one f holes, the bass really improved. I see now that I could have made them smaller. For all of my electric guitars, I use light strings (.009's) and pick rather softly. This one could certainly use some heavier strings but it was always my intent to play it plugged in. I did not have to cut out large holes for the pickups. The pickups are extending out of the mounting rings a bit more than I anticipated, but I only have a 3/16 hole under each pickup for the wiring, and the four screw holes for each mounting ring. All of the weight of the electronic garbage deadend the top some more. It is parallel braced.

The better hollow body guitars I've played seem to have certain 'pop' or 'snap' to the strings that I love - I happy as heck that this one has the 'feel' I was hoping for.

No case yet, but it fits tightly into a D size gig bag I have. I'll have to haul this to a store to try out some hard cases. I've seen a few cases described has having the depth I need. If I can't find a hard case, a decent bag will do. "I only drive it to church on Sundays"

If there was no scroll and the arc of the shoulder was extended, the neck would join the body at the 15th fret, which is the same as a lot of other archtop guitars and hollow bodies. The strap button is in the obvious position and it balances well. I'm sure somebody must have put a strap button there on a mandolin. My F style mando does not balance right for me with the strap in the scroll.

Thanks for looking! (Now back to my "Post-Building Depression"....)

[straight-a]

Now that's COOL!