New passernig

[Cary Fagan]

Here are some shots (not as good as the mandolin deserves) of my new Passernig. Stefan sells through Smoky Mountain Guitars and the shop was very helpful and friendly, with an easy retun policy. But this one is a keeper. German spruce top, sugar maple back and sides. Oil varnish with a French polish. Played it at my first jam this week and got many compliments. I love the sound of it--loud, pure, woody. Felt like a dream, too.

[Cary Fagan]

the pickguard is by Tom Ellis. He's a neighbour of Stefan and kindly went over to put it on for me. I've talked several times to Stefan and he's been great. Here's the headstock.

[Cary Fagan]

The scroll

[Cary Fagan]

The back.
Stefan's not into using highly figured wood but there's a bit of flame in it. The finish feels like silk. Several people have asked me to post some pics so I hope these satisfy. Stefan is a part-time builder and doesn't produce a lot of mandolins (I think this is about his 15th F) so if anyone is interested, he or she might want to put one on hold at Smoky Mountain Guitars. Thanks all.

[ronlane3]

mandoplucker,

When you receive that one, you have to send me your DMM.

[Lane Pryce]

Cary you have a very nice F5 there. Very understated and elegant. Looking at the peghead makes me think Collings MF5. I really like the colors of the burst too. You did well my friend. Lp

One other thing. The Passernig name looks much more professional than the SP on the older F5's. Lp

[cooper4205]

i might have to trade the F2 in on one of those soon. the fit and finish look pretty darn good for the price range. how do they compare with higher priced mandos in that department?

[pickinNgrinnin]

Cary-

That is one fine looking Mandolin and I bet it sounds even better! Stephan is really turning out some top drawer Mandolins. That's the first look I've seen of his new headstock design. Dan talked him into doing that. Lots of fine Mando building going down in Austin these days.

Shayne-

Hope you are enjoying #34 - that's a heck of a Mandolin

cooper4205-

Yes, fit and finish on #34 (my only reference point) is excellent. I don't think anything would come close to it in this price range and it is better than some that sell for more. Tone wise, they could go head to head with many much higher priced ones out there.

[Cary Fagan]

I agree, the headstock inlay is very fine and understated. This week a friend brought his new Collings MF5 blonde to our jam and I noticed that the inlays, though different, had a similar look to them. (He pointed out that the body of the Collings was a bit wider. But we were pretty much a mutual admiration society.) The fit and finish is at a very high level. I do think they are priced very low and imagine the price will only go up. And they will still be worth it.

The pickguard didn't come with the mandolin; I arranged for it (which only meant an email to Tom Ellis) and paid an additional fee. Well worth it. It's exactly as I wanted it, very handsome and perfectly installed.

I'm still tweaking the sound. It had lighter strings on it and I've just put on J74s. I'm also playing with the action. It was set up well but I like my action very low. The Passernig sounded terrific at the jam this week, sweet and loud. I'm just starting to dig in more and get darker tones from it. I'm picking in about an hour with a banjo and fiddle and look forward to another workout.

Nice to hear from you all.

[AW Meyer]

Very nice, Cary. I like the look of the Passernig, and I know you like the tone. It seems you may have gotten into the Passernig camp at the right time. Nothing like a great mandolin at a very reasonable price. I think you know what I mean. While you're experimenting with strings, maybe you should give the Newtones a try. I prefer them over any other strings I've used. I love their tone and their feel. Just a thought...

[Crowder]

I plunked down a deposit on a Passernig today at Smokey Mtn guitars. I played the owner's early-generation one and decided to take a chance. I'm looking forward to seeing what his new ones are like.

[tterral]

Mike,

I did the same a last week, without the benefit of seeing/hearing one, which is a little spooky for me. I feel pretty comfortable with the decision after reading about them and discussing them with a former owner. Lot of good hype that sounds well deserved. What were your thoughts about Dan's mandolin? He played it over the phone and said it had really old strings on it. Bad enough conditions over the phone, but with old strings, it was really had to tell much.

I am also looking at a Will Parsons mandolin, maybe I will end up with two.

[Crowder]

The strings on Dan's mandolin are about the crustiest I've ever seen, which is funny since he could always just take a set down off the wall and restring http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif He also likes a high action, which I'm not used to. However, I could tell that the mandolin was made "right" with good attention to detail and correct proportions. The chop on his is very strong, for sure, and the neck has the profile I like.

He talked me into taking a chance on a Pearwood F that is supposed to be in the shop within a few weeks. It is supposed to have curly maple binding top and back, and will probably have an unbound headstock. Fairly similar to my Collings MF in appointments, then. It's supposed to have a better tailpiece than earlier Passernigs, and Dan didn't know whether the headstock would include the "new" logo treatment and inlay or not. It sounds like the builder prefers not to have questions or special requests, which is one way of doing it I guess. When the mandolin comes in I'll drive back up here from Chattanooga and check it out. According to Dan, there have been two or three other mandolins built from this Pearwood tree, and each has had a great tone. This is the first one he's doing from that wood with back binding, etc.

I'm still hopeful that I can find a mandolin in this price range that has "IT." So far I've been through a BRW, a Pomeroy and two Collings. I play and enjoy my MF and will happily keep it if the Passernig doesn't blow my skirt up. I also have a friend who is building and is very conscientious about getting things right. I might end up with his #4 or #5 if he'll let me have it.

[Sadee]

Crowder - just curious as to where you netted out with the Passernig? And how did it compare to your Collings MF? Thanks!

[tterral]

Try this link, Crowder explains what he thinks about his Passernig (to say the least, it sounds like he likes it):

http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin....ssernig (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=44453;hl=passernig)

I should have my new Passernig in a week or two, can't wait.