Weber elite f #3201

[Rick Banuelos]

For STV-

Engelmann Top
Koa Veneer

...I think you can see the rest. My personality and playing is nowhere near this flashy, but I do SO love this instrument.

[Rick Banuelos]

...And the back.

[Rick Banuelos]

Neck detail

[Rick Banuelos]

Back detail

[Rick Banuelos]

Top detail.

[Rick Banuelos]

More neck detail

[sgarrity]

Very very nice. You certainly have a nice pair of instruments there. The dumbest thing I've ever done was sell my OM/D. They are amazing guitars!!

[Rick Banuelos]

Headstock Detail

[Rick Banuelos]

Binding Detail

[Rick Banuelos]

Shaun- Your instruments are no slouch, either. I love my Proulx; between that and this, I am GAS and MAS cured.

I should have this mando everywhere I go; I look forward to sharing it with all of you.

[Michael Gowell]

Rick - beautiful instrument! #Congratulations. #How would you describe the binding? #To me it seems that it could be called "sidebound, w-b-w-b-w", but that seems clumsy - is there a more elegant term?

[Kevin Briggs]

Rick, you glutton!

Your three searches:
1. Perfect guitar = done
2. Perect mandolin = done
3. Perfect beer = Yeungling Lager... pending.

[Rick Banuelos]

Rick - beautiful instrument! #Congratulations. #How would you describe the binding? #To me it seems that it could be called "sidebound, w-b-w-b-w", but that seems clumsy - is there a more elegant term?
Triple-Bound, Ivory-Black-White.

[JEStanek]

Very nice, Rick. I particularly like the headstock veneer and the stripe in the ebony down the fingerboard. What made you choose Engleman? I like the complexity of Engleman but as I understand it, it's not a good performer when pushed really hard. Lovely details all over that instrument.

Jamie

[Rick Banuelos]

Rick, you glutton!

Your three searches:
1. Perfect guitar = done
2. Perect mandolin = done
3. Perfect beer = Yeungling Lager... pending.
Best beer so far:

Flossmoor Station: "Todd & Jeff's Excellent IPA".

High ladder to climb, and after carefully picking through my journal, I have to date tasted 2,848 separate beers from all over the world.

Yeungling has not been one of them... yet.

[markishandsome]

Neck detail

How'd you do that? Very sharp!

[mdlorenz]

holy schnikes!

[Rick Banuelos]

Very nice, Rick. #I particularly like the headstock veneer and the stripe in the ebony down the fingerboard. #What made you choose Engleman? I like the complexity of Engleman but as I understand it, it's not a good performer when pushed really hard. #Lovely details all over that instrument.

Jamie
Jamie-

I didn't necessarily choose Engelmann right off the bat. I had three tops (after poring through our wood stock (http://soundtoearth.com/updates_wood.htm)) to choose from:

-Port Orford Cedar
-Adirondack Spruce
-This top.

The Port Orford top tapped better than anything else in the shop, and the adirondack ran neck-and-neck when tapped with the Engelmann.

The deciding factor was this mandolin (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=46687;hl=3030), which was so absolutely perfect in tone and power that I (and my friend Phil) jumped on the last two Engelmann tops we had from the same batch, and with some differences, specified ours in the same vein.

The Adirondack top went into this instrument (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=51580;hl=distressed+el ite), and the Port Orford went into this one (http://gregboyd.com/instrument_detail.html?instrument_key=365). Both of those sounded remarkable, so imagine the torture...


Back to this one. I have three key ingredients to my aesthetic regarding musical instruments: tone, balance, and volume. This instrument meets all three, and is the most combative instrument I've ever played when I drive it. Not one note breaks up or loses complexity at any volume, and the guys here at the shop constantly accuse me of creating buzzes because I play too hard.

This mandolin is exactly what I have always wanted: the snap and volume of Adirondack, and the depth and complexity of aged cedar.

[Rick Banuelos]

Neck detail

How'd you do that? #Very sharp!
It was hand-painted by Brett. I'd seen some of his other work, and couldn't resist asking.

[Dan Voight]

Love the neck.

[Zako]

By the way, what kind of spruce is a Hyalite usually topped with?

[Glassweb]

Way over the top...

[Rick Banuelos]

By the way, what kind of spruce is a Hyalite usually topped with?
Sitka.

[Rick Banuelos]

Way over the top... what a mess!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[Chris Biorkman]

Way over the top... what a mess!
That's messed up. That's almost as bad as telling someone they have an ugly baby.

[Kevin Briggs]

Rick, you glutton!

Your three searches:
1. Perfect guitar = done
2. Perect mandolin = done
3. Perfect beer = Yeungling Lager... pending.
Best beer so far:

Flossmoor Station: "Todd & Jeff's Excellent IPA".

High ladder to climb, and after carefully picking through my journal, I have to date tasted 2,848 separate beers from all over the world.

Yuengling has not been one of them... yet.
I'm offended because you misspelled what my buddy from Ohio called the best thing about Pennsylvania:

YEungling Lager....

Long live Yeungling!

[Rick Banuelos]

Good grief. I'll still drink it!

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Rick Schmidlin]

Has anybody played the Cedar at Greg Boyds?

[Gutbucket]

I love that swirly-Q do hickey thing on the back of the neck. Very tasteful even in this hick's eyes. Very sharp looking instrument. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Ken Olmstead]

Thanks for posting it Rick! What a beauty!