View Full Version : The new fern 'a'
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:42pm
...And it sounds beautiful.
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:43pm
Another...
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:44pm
The Headstock
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:45pm
The Back
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:47pm
Close-up of the ribs and binding
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 12:48pm
One more binding close-up...
mandoforme
May-30-2007, 1:06pm
Rick, very nice looking mandolin! What will be the price for the Fern A? I like it a lot!
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 1:11pm
List Price for the Fern 'A' is $3,775.
Kevin Briggs
May-30-2007, 1:26pm
Looking good, Rick. Any chance of providing sound clips?
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 2:14pm
Well, we tried to record it, but the microphone on the computer isn't doing the instrument much justice. Stay tuned; I'll have some soon.
sgarrity
May-30-2007, 3:10pm
I've always thought that Weber did a great job on those traditional A5's. Very very nice!
Doug Edwards
May-30-2007, 3:31pm
Very nice. How does the sound compare to the Beartooth? I played several of those that really sounded nice.
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 3:36pm
It may take awhile, but I will have sound clips soon.
fatt-dad
May-30-2007, 5:17pm
X or tone bar?
Very nice mandolin!
f-d
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 5:45pm
Tone Bar.
Russ Jordan
May-30-2007, 5:51pm
varnish?
Rick Banuelos
May-30-2007, 6:07pm
Nitrocellulose Lacquer. We'll do it in Varnish, though.
Steve Cantrell
May-30-2007, 7:23pm
It's a fine-looking mandolin without a doubt. Hope someone gets one local so I can test-pick.
B. T. Walker
May-30-2007, 7:56pm
Gorgeous. I really like a bodies, too. Very nice, indeed.
Barb Friedland
May-30-2007, 9:09pm
Rick,
It sure is purty. I'm leaning toward an A style or a 2 point. I sure would like to play one of these new A ferns soon. How soon will these start turning up at dealers and will any be going to Steilberg String Instruments in Louisville, KY?
Ken Berner
May-30-2007, 9:13pm
Rick, How do you describe the tonewoods; are they graded in some manner, like AAA or AAAA or . . . .? This is a gorgeous instrument and I really like the ivoroid binding. Y'all have really done yourselves proud, once again!
Grandude
May-31-2007, 7:49pm
What top wood is standard, Sitka?
I don't see any difference with it and the Beartooth, except the Fern inlay on headstock.
Is there any?
Kevin Briggs
Jun-01-2007, 8:23am
From my understanding, they want to align the models. They have such a diverse offering of products that all of the names were getting confusing. That's only my opinion. I'm pretty sure the Beartooth and the Fern A are not so different, except for some things like inlay and other cosmetics. The Beartooth was built to be the top o' the line A style from Weber, and the the fern obviously is too. I'd say the Fern looks a little tighter, like a more realized concept.
If you think back two years, and particularly three years, Weber offered the mandolin line and that's it. There were simply F styles, A styles, and some mandolin family instruments. Since then, they've added a two-point, an electric mandolin, guitars, dobros, and I'm not sure if that's all or not. So, in the past two or three years, the company has literally doubled it's instrument offerings. It's pretty impressive for such a small crew. There are only a few very qualified people making these instruments, in a modest, albeit charming old school house. If you ever have a chance to visit them, it's really cool. You'll think you went to mandolin/acoustic heaven or something.Also, after leaving there, you'll feel pretty good about the price structure. The instruments are so beautiful and all have their great STE setups, so they sound perfect.
Ken Berner
Jun-01-2007, 8:43am
I noticed a couple of differences between the A Fern and my '99 Beartooth. The headstock shape is different; the Fern shape is more like snakehead. The Beartooth has "WEBER" inlaid on it, not "The Weber". The bridge furnished on the Beartooth was the original Brekke and the fretboard on the Beartooth was not elongated as on the A Fern. The rest appears to be pretty much the same; beautiful woods, finish, etc.
I have a snakehead Beartooth and it says "The Weber"
not Weber. The fingerboard in not elongated like the
Fern A though.
Rick Banuelos
Jun-01-2007, 10:05am
To catch up:
The tonewoods on the Fern 'A' are some of the best we have; you should really hear this particular instrument. Even though it looks similar, we had to completely overhaul the fern inlay to fit it to the tapered peghead.
We use our best sitka for our tops (standard).
Nick Triesch
Jun-01-2007, 10:41am
That is the best looking A type mandolin I have ever seen. Weber is now making the best mandolins they have ever made. The color and fit look fantastic! Nick