Look ma, no scroll

[Jerry Byers]

I just picked up a great little mandolin this week. I drove up to Acoustic Music Works in Pittsburgh on Saturday, and spent the morning playing a lot of Steve's mandolins. Steve is a great guy and very knowledgeable about his mandolins. He showed me a MT2V that he just got in, and I fell in love with it. These things are killer. I played a number of Collings that day, but this one just stood out to me. So, I've gone to the dark side and now have my first A5 - no scroll!

[Jerry Byers]

The back...

[Jerry Byers]

The neck...

[Jerry Byers]

Another shot of the top. It has the typical perfect finish that Collings is known for. I think the varnish adds something special.

[Jerry Byers]

Thanks Shayne. As you can see, I haven't given up my strap yet. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[JEStanek]

Good one, Jerry.

[floyd26]

nice mando jerry, acoustic music works is awesome thats where I bought both my collings and my old wave. I had my eye on them mt2v's, they are definetly top notch, I hope to get one some day get one myself.

[mandopete]

If that one's anything like the one Fred Frank used to have, it's a good 'un!

[mandoforme]

Great looking mandolin!

[Rick Smith]

Very nice Jerry. Congrats!

[Celtic-Grass]

thats a beaut!. Next mando I get is going to me a Collings MT. (but check back with me tomorrow when i change my mind again) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Jerry Byers]

Thanks for the comments.

You can't go wrong with a Collings MT. Steve has a used wide-neck MT that just sings; I was very impressed with it.

[sgarrity]

I've been lusting after one of these for a long time. All the ones I've played have been excellent instruments. Not to mention, they are one heckuva value. This one looks VERY nice!!

[bradeinhorn]

I love me some a-5.

[steve V. johnson]

So Jerry, it seems that being scroll-less is an unusual thing for you...

How does it feel, now that you've had the A for a while?

I'm a non-scroll guy myself, so I have no idea what it would be like to be a scroll guy and then go without.

Thanks,

stv

[Kevin Briggs]

Nice mando!

I like the Collings more every time I play them. Sometime I might get to sit down and play them for an extended period, and I'm sure I'll fall in love.

Steve at Acoustic Music Works is great. He has a strong opinion about what mandolins he likes, but he is able to express it without being pushy or arrogant. I'd definitely purchase a mandolin from him if I had the funds. He knows mandos.

By the way, he has a fantastic Breedlove Alpine there that is collecting dust. he's accepting reasonable offers for it. I think he just wants to move it so he update his stock.

[Rick Schmidlin]

Smart and perfect choice.

[rekx]

It's true...you just can't go wrong with a Collings MT.

[Jerry Byers]

So Jerry, it seems that being scroll-less is an unusual thing for you...

How does it feel, now that you've had the A for a while?

I'm a non-scroll guy myself, so I have no idea what it would be like to be a scroll guy and then go without.

Thanks,

stv
I never thought I would prefer one over the other, but it seemed in my MAS pursuit that I would tend to pick mandolins with scrolls. However, I am mostly a chair picker, although I need a strap to keep my left hand from hurting.

I did have a Mid-Mo for awhile that I loved to play. I would take it with me on the boat and spend hours playing it. It had no scrolls and I didn't use a strap for it either. It was just a fun mandolin to play.

I've only had the MT2V for a couple of days, so I can't comment on the scroll removal procedure yet. But when you play with a strap, you tend to not notice the scroll being there or being gone.

I have to say that I do love the beautiful symmetry of an A-model. The lines are clean - simple and sweet.

[pjlama]

Nice Jerry, congrats! I wish he'd do a blacktop MT2V with an englemann top. The MT2's I've played are stellar.

[steve V. johnson]

Thanks, Jerry.

I've played all my instruments with straps, on all the time, since I dropped a friend's guitar and damaged it, decades ago. I'm quite used to them and like 'em, and I like, as you mention, that I tend not to hold the instruments with the left hand.

Shayne, that's a great-looking two-point! Very cool. I don't know how two-points fit in scroll/non-scroll world. My Crump bouzouki is a B-II, a two-point, and so I have begun to really enjoy two-point styles.

Congrats on the Collings, Jerry. It's gorgeous.

Enjoy,

stv

[Joe Dodson]

Congrats! I flat love my MT, but those varnished MT2's inspire real envy. I bet yours sounds great.