Flood-tone mando's

[Al Hagensen]

Looking for info. on these Mando.'s Anybody playing one?
How's the sound,playability,etc...?
Thanks in advance,Al

[Matt K]

Hi I have one of Thomas Flood's mandolins.
He described it as a prototype for his flood-tone design, and is shaped and sized a bit differently to mandolins he is currently selling in the classifieds.
I bought it as something to take travelling with and play around the house. I am very happy with it in that context. It is certainly a folk/celtic style instrument, which i enjoy the contrast of to my arched top A style. I enjoy the instrument's warm tone and it sounds good across the strings.
It is in his usual shorter scale, which has taken some getting used too.
The issues i have with the mandolin are:
--the shape of the headstock where it joins the neck. I find my index finger coming in contact with the headstock when i play the first fret on the A and E strings.
-A bit of unsightly work where the fretboard and top meet that i always seem to notice when i am looking down for fingering.
-As he describes this as a prototype instrument I am not sure if either of those issues would be relevant to his current models.

I hope this helps,
Matt