Number one (again)

[sunburst]

Here's another custom order, designed from square one, almost. I've never built anything like it before. First mandola, first flat top/flat back mandolin family instrument.
I borrowed a pro photo studio, lights and camera for the pictures, so I was out of my "comfort zone" shooting these. They're a little too hot, some detail is washed out by the over exposure, but here they are anyway.
First, the front:

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The back:

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The top is red spruce, stained red with a mild 'burst. Sides, back and neck are quilted maple, left blonde. The customer (a member here) wanted "red on blonde".
The top and back have induced arches, with X braces.

[sunburst]

The bindings are curly maple with a strip of dyed black maple to visually separate them from the quilted maple.

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Spalted maple rosette around the oval sound hole:

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...and finally, the peghead. The "wildwood flower" inlay is Oconee bell. Each flower is 8 pieces of pearl, the rest of the lines are engraved.

[B. T. Walker]

Wow! I love the quilted body with the curly binding, and the dyed strip to separate them was a very nice touch. Excellent work, sir.

Brian

[Jim Rowland]

Another ace John! Just superb.
Jim

[Antlurz]

Hey, Man!

You keep this up and you're gonna have to go pro! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Ron

[wichitamando]

Nothing is more gorgeous than a red on blonde. Of course I'm talking about the mandolin...

Absolutely gorgeous!

[Andrew Lewis]

Red on blonde? Was this one for Tim O'Brien? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Beautiful work! I especially love the dyed black maple lines - a nice, classy touch.

[F5G WIZ]

Beautiful work! How was it bending those sides? I've heard quilt can be difficult to bend.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

What's the scale length on that John?

It's beautiful.

Daniel

[Gail Hester]

Bravo John, those are beautiful appointments. I'm also interested in the scale and what string gauges are you using?

[grandmainger]

Lovely, Lovely!

The top looks completely flat. Is there any kind of induced arching?

Sound clip?

Drool.
Germain

[Gibson A5]

Another fantastic job John. I know your happy with how that one turned out.
Bill P.

[JEStanek]

Very impressive, John. Incredibly elegant. My favorite detail is the spalted maple rosette.

Jamie

[sunburst]

Thanks, folks.
The top and back have induced arches. I don't know the radius, but a straight edge laid across the center of the top is clear of the edges by 1/4" or more. (I used the "fair curve" method outlined in the Cumpiano/Natleson book, for those who are interested.) The top and back are both X braced.

The scale length is 17 inches.

Was it hard to bend the quilted maple? Well, as you can see, there are no tight bends in the sides, so that made it easier than a "normal" mandolin, but no, it wasn't easy. I left them a little thick to start (abaout .090") so I could sand out the "kinks" and "facets" later. I didn't use a form for this one, so the bends had to be very close to the drawn line. I broke one side just trying to touch up the bend to conform to the line. It was already bent, but just a little too far off of the line, so I rocked it on the bending iron with gentle pressure to correct it, and SNAP!

I stung it with a collection of individual strings (phosphor bronze) based on the gauges of the DaDario J-72 mandola set. It will be up to the owner to figure out what gauges work best. The instrument is one of a kind, so it's all experimentation from here.

No sound clips. I can't play mandola, I only had it for a day or so after it was strung up, and the instrument now resides with it's new owner, whom you can pester for sound clips if you'd like. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Mark Walker]

John - great looking workmanship from top to bottom, back to front.
Keep up the great work! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[billhay4]

Beautiful!
Bill

[grandmainger]

Thanks for the info John. One more question: what's the peghead veneer? It looks too grainy to be macassar and too brown to be rosewood...

[sunburst]

The peghead overlay is ebony, not macassar, just streaky ebony (from Walter Lipton).

[Mike Buesseler]

What everyone else said! And, for my money, John, your inlays are the most beautiful I have ever seen. That instrument is gorgeous!

[Skip Kelley]

John, another perfect Instrument!! Really beautiful!

[Bob DeVellis]

This is a really fine looking instrument and I wouldn't be surprised to see some demand for more of this type. Exquisite craftsmanship.

[ShaneJ]

Absolutely gorgeous! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Bill Snyder]

A fine looking instrument.

[kyblue]

I wish I could get some better photos of this instrument, because the photos above really do not do it justice. But, unfortunately, my camera and photography skills are lacking. Almost as much as my picking skill, actually.

The red is the same tone as an old Gibson F4, only a bit lighter in color.

The blonde perfectly sets off that crazy quilt on the back (wood from Spruce, of course), and the photo doesn't show how perfectly John bookmatched that back.

It got the Daniel Carwile seal of approval tonight, John, big time. I could tell he was in the zone while he was playing it, he said he was imagining what he could do with it on stage.

Tonight was the first time I heard it played (except for my feable attempts), and I was surprised at how loud it is! So was Daniel, he remarked on the volume of an instrument that is brand new and pretty much unplayed.

It has that signature Hamlett playability, of course. And, fit and finish are perfect, to my eye at least. And John, that passed Daniel's inspection as well, and you know he looked hard at it and you know how picky he is!

I've ordered a set of nice strings from Ted, just to see how that will affect it.

John, Daniel said definitely put a clear pickguard on the top to protect it. He also suggested I not let anyone else play it, for fear of them marring the finish!

If I manage to get some other photos, I'll post them later.

Sounds clips? Maybe I'll see if Daniel wants to record a clip.

Paula


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[Steve Cantrell]

That's a smoking hot instrument John, and congrats Paula. Very nice.

[amowry]

That's absolutely beautiful. I love the peghead shape (and everything else!).

[Adam Tracksler]

John makes one of the finest instruments i have ever seen, or played. This one is no exception.

[sgarrity]

That is a stunning instrument. #How about a matchng octave??? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[sunburst]

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone!

Paula, if you can get some sound clips I'd like to hear them too. I'd like to know what that thing sounds like, and Daniel playing it would surely make it sound about the best it can! I got to hear Ken play it for a little while, but he gave it back pretty fast because he was afraid he'd scratch it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[tree]

The aspects that impress me most reflect John's careful and insightful approach to design. #I love wood binding, and the black dyed strip, to my eye, sets it off perfectly. #I like the treatment of the end of the fretboard, and the rosette. #The peghead is not only appealing visually (shape, proportion, tuner placement, and inlay), but the string pull is nearly straight, and adjacent strings bypass each other with plenty of room.

That inlay is just plain tasty - right up there with the white pine cone he did awhile back. #I'm perfectly happy with my mandolin, and so far I'm a fairly practical, one-mando guy (thanks, dear) but if I ever commission one, I know where I'm going. #It'll take me awhile to come up with an idea for an inlay as cool as that, though.

[Austin Clark]

Absolutely gorgeous, John. wow.....

[Bill James]

This is an instrument where every single detail comes together to create an incredible result. The lines of body, headstock, tailpiece, colors, inlay, everything...it's hard to stop staring at it.

Stick a big feather in your cap John!

[kyblue]

Bill, I think you hit the nail on the head. And, as I said previously, those photos really don't do the instrument justice (no slight to John's photography skills, but there's still a lot more to this dola than what you see here.)

John has an incredible artistic eye. And, his great photoshop skills helped me see his vision in the design phase.

A very underrated builder, in my opinion!

I just wish I were playing mando more now, so that it would get the playing time it deserves. Maybe I'll have to let Daniel borrow it now and then, John. I know he won't scratch it! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Paula

[kyblue]

John,

Took the dola to First Quality today. Didn't find a case, but it was shown a lot of love.

Murrell Thixton seemed to be particularly impressed with the tone, sustain and volume, and both he and Mike Bucayu agreed that it's beautiful -- perfectly executed.

Paula

[kyblue]

Hamlett Mandola Sound Clip (http://www.wayfaringstranger.net/tunes/HamlettMandola.mp3)

I posted this in the cbom section, but wanted to place it here as well in case some don't visit that section.

Enjoy!

Paula

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[Bill Halsey]

Really lovely, John -- just returned from away, but wanted to respond to your beautiful creation. The images look fine to me -- Congratulations! Hope we get to meet sometime.

[mrmando]

I had my introduction to John's work today, via this instrument, thanks to a loan from its current owner. I used it to play "O Sacred Head Now Wounded" at my brother-in-law's memorial service in Chesapeake. Wonderful voice on this thing, really a joy to play. Thanks to John for the build (hope I run across more of your instruments sometime) and DerTiefster for the loan. (And thanks to J.S. Bach for a timeless 4-part harmonization; in A minor one can actually play most of the alto line as well as the melody without too much trouble.) This community means a lot to me ... more than you (or even I) might realize.

[Chip Booth]

Beautiful instrument, congratulations to the owner and builder!