View Full Version : V6
Just strung up the V6 in the white...
Italian spruce and sugar maple.
Peghead with tortoise T/R cover...
Sugar maple back...wet with water to show grain...
Gutbucket
Aug-20-2008, 4:47pm
Now that there is COOL! That back wood is awesome.
amowry
Aug-20-2008, 5:05pm
Cool! Looks like a sharp bend on the scroll-- I'd break that one, for sure ;)
Do you find moving the soundholes forward affects the sound much?
JEStanek
Aug-20-2008, 5:08pm
SSSSSsssssllleeeek! I really like how everything you do from very traditional to very modern looks so darned neat, clean and right.
Jamie
NoNickel
Aug-20-2008, 5:16pm
Very very very very very very very very very very very cool!! Sound clips soon I hope.
sgarrity
Aug-20-2008, 5:17pm
Very inventive. I like it!!
Jim Nollman
Aug-20-2008, 5:35pm
gorgeous original design. Bravo. truly. reminds me a bit of a jaguar sports car. if you attend wintergrass again, please bring one, as I'd love to hear it played.
Jim Garber
Aug-20-2008, 5:39pm
Hans.... tested in a wind tunnel? Very nice, indeed!!
Jake Wildwood
Aug-20-2008, 5:44pm
Hubba, hubba! Yeow! I like!
Col. Suggs
Aug-20-2008, 6:24pm
Looks fantastic!
But can I get it with a V8? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif
Sean
Magnus Geijer
Aug-20-2008, 7:27pm
Looks like it's doing 100mph when standing still.
Very nice.
/Magnus
mandopluker
Aug-20-2008, 8:15pm
Hans,
WOW!!! 10 / 10 Very creative work you do.... Hope to see you soon.
Bill Snyder
Aug-20-2008, 9:27pm
Strung up in the white with no frets?
Hans you are quite the designer. Definitely one to point to the next time a thread pops up lamenting the fact that everybody keeps on doing the same old thing.
nashvillebill
Aug-20-2008, 9:55pm
WOW! That is so cool! I generally don't like non-traditional instruments of any kind- but that is the exception! Wish I could...
Danny Roberts
Aug-20-2008, 10:13pm
Hans,
IMHO that is the best looking new style mandolin I have seen!!!
Beautiful work!!
Danny
45ACP-GDLF5
Aug-20-2008, 10:34pm
That's massive cool, mon!!!
Well HEY!!! Danny!!! Good to see you!!! Ya'll sounded great as usual in Cherokee!!! The mandolin playin' was right on, as usual!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
jasona
Aug-20-2008, 10:55pm
That is creative design. Congrats!
Chris Biorkman
Aug-20-2008, 11:02pm
Wild, Hans. Very nice.
frankenstein
Aug-21-2008, 12:04am
do ya do a 3 point !! with ebony frets ? just kidding, that's wonderful..
JeffD
Aug-21-2008, 12:43am
Looks amazing.
Acoustical question - in most F hole mandolins the bridge is on the (imaginary) line drawn from the mid point of one F hole to the mid point of the other. In this one, the bridge is considerably aft of that line. How does this impact the sound - volume, projection, tone etc.
Funny, I also thought of a sportscar when I saw this mandolin. Ferrari, I thought. That is quite impressive Hans! Nice soundholes too!
grassrootphilosopher
Aug-21-2008, 3:58am
Quite extraordinary Hans.
IŽd like to see that one finished in an extraordinary color scheme.
My suggestions:
* rainbow colored back (for the understatement)
* natural sides
* two color wide sunburst top with blue in the center and red on the outside
And IŽd like to hear a soundclip of that spaceship.
Thanks folks! There's a couple more surprises in the instrument. I'll get pix of one of them later today or tomorrow.
Andrew, I think Dave Cohen once told me that the position of the ff holes had nothing to do with the tonal qualities and I believe he told me to imagine they were not there as far as the vibratory qualities of the top were concerned. Seems to be borne out as I've had the ff, ss, and dolphin holes just about everywhere on the Eclipse and Stealth versions. You do have to carve the top differently for this placement though. This pix of the rim explains why I don't break ribs bending those sharp curves! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif
I have to say that all your comments inspire me to carry on and try to think out of the box. I was quite hesitant to post this instrument as it is a stretch. Jonas, quite right, Ferrari...Olaf, it's going to be F4 red just like the last one.
Jeff, as I said in the last post, doesn't seem to matter where you put the ff holes (within reason)...doesn't seem to bother this instrument at all. Tone is just like the last one...very Italian and very loud (sugar).
Bill, I string 'em up without frets so that I can straighten out the fingerboard before pounding in the frets. Figure that one out! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Sound and tone is pretty much the same as the Eclipse clip on the website, possibly louder.
Thanks Danny, hope to see you at IBMA! Trying to get this one done in time...
Ivan Kelsall
Aug-21-2008, 5:39am
Hans,you're astounding !!. I'm close to running out of superlatives for your instruments.
I think that all the comments above cover it. I thought ( & still do),that your "Stealth"
is a stunning instrument,but i think that you've reached yet another level of design excellence in this one. A 'black-face'/blonde back & sides with no fingerborad markers (but side markers) & i think that would be the ultimate in 'Mando-ellegance' for me - utterly classy,
Very well done Hans - Saska
Mark Walker
Aug-21-2008, 7:26am
Hans - once again, very cool and innovative.
I like the way that mandolin is sitting amongst the 'clutter' on the workbench. #That picture in and of itself is a work of art! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
PS #- Is that a electronic control for a security system toward the lower left? #LOL
Ken Olmstead
Aug-21-2008, 8:47pm
Hans, I am simply speechless! What a wonderful mandolin and I love the direction you are heading with the Stealth and the Eclipse. I have no words to describe how fabulous that mandolin is!! Thanks! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif
labraid
Aug-21-2008, 9:48pm
I would be scared if I were a luthier doing "abstract" designs.... Your eye for design is becoming very sharp. I can see many sleepless nights in that upgrade.... Congrats, man.
Chris Biorkman
Aug-21-2008, 9:58pm
Hans, do you build these experimental designs and then find a buyer once the work is completed, or do you have people on your list making requests?
Keith Erickson
Aug-21-2008, 11:31pm
Hans,
That mandolin is absolutely gorgeous!!!
...and that scroll #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif # I, for one, do not get scroll envy but I have to say, after seeing your V6, I'm going to have to maybe re-think my postion on scrolls in general.
Thank you for sharing those pictures #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif
Once again, I appreciate the encouragement! Brian, it is a little frightening to think about stretching parameters...hard to say when you've gone too far, what it will do to the tonal qualities of the instrument, and whether there will be any appeal. As you probably well know, what looks good on paper may not be quite right in 3D.
Since starting this design, I've slowly discovered just how much more difficult it is to design a good looking stretched scroll...frankly it's terrible. I bet I've drawn more, made bound samples, ripped off binding, recut the scroll slightly and rebound and even destroyed tops that just didn't work out. I can see why John Monteleone left the button out!
Chris, while I've built some Stealths and Eclipses for customers, and also sold a few that I've built for myself, Any radical departures are not #built for customers for the reasons above. When I can't accurately predict where an instrument will go tonally, I'm building it for myself...er, and the wife. #
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
I should have a few pix of some of the other innovations up today. It's fretted, and a new bridge and nut is cut, so I should have some opinions on tone in a day or two when the bridge sets in.
Mark, that's an old Sony short wave radio...
Fretbear
Aug-22-2008, 6:49am
That's what mandolins look like in "Cool World".....
Very nice, Hans....
Austin Clark
Aug-22-2008, 9:06am
totally cool Hans! I really respect how you are willing to push the limits of design and help to further the growth and development of mandolins for now and the future. Thanks!
mandopete
Aug-22-2008, 9:24am
Hans,
You are definately stretching the boundries of "traditonal" mandolin styling, but always with a sense of craftsmanship that speaks volumes for your skills as a luthier.
Flowerpot
Aug-22-2008, 10:38am
Hans, if I had that mandolin, I wouldn't be able to play anything slow again.
Looks like a sorcerer took an F5 and started stretching space-time... Did you take the digitize some Loar prints and inadvertently divide by zero?
That's too cool. What an eye-opener, and a breath of fresh air.
Timbofood
Aug-22-2008, 10:41am
The word "Testarosa" comes to mind, Ultra, ne plus ultra also. Very ingenious concept. Begs the thought/question..."What would Lloyd think?"
Tony Sz
Aug-22-2008, 11:11am
Incredible! That is an absolutely beautiful design. Finally something that competes with the F-5 for the most aesthetically beautiful acoustic instrument design (at least in my mind). Hans, your work is amazing!
Tony
PhilGE
Aug-22-2008, 11:53am
Hans,
Ever consider the possibility of using black frets if a suitable material could be found? That fretless look is so sleek...
-Phil
Mario Proulx
Aug-22-2008, 11:58am
Neat-O!
If they'd had mandolins in Star Trek, it'd would have surely looked just like this one!
Bill James
Aug-22-2008, 12:20pm
Hans stopped by this morning and had the V6 with him. It really is ultra cool and everything about the design just seems to flow and work wonderfully. As usual, he's put a huge effort into this beauty and it's really paying off nicely.
I test drove it a bit (I'm supposed to be working) and the tone is, as Hans stated, "very Italian and very loud (sugar)". No matter the attack, it's very powerful and responsive, especially without the finish and there are no flat spots in it's powerband. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
If you know Hans, you know that he's never content which (I feel) is one of the keys to his success. As we discussed the V6, he almost slipped and displayed a hint of satisfaction http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I'm very impressed!
Wesley
Aug-22-2008, 12:49pm
Has it got a Hemi in it?
Flowerpot
Aug-22-2008, 1:17pm
A Hemi in place of a Virzi.
Sean Greer
Aug-22-2008, 1:19pm
Absolutely stunning. I'm having that feeling...this changes everything. I do wonder how the headstock would look with a scroll that had been through Hans' transmogrifier. Keep up the great work, Hans!
tango_grass
Aug-22-2008, 1:28pm
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif
Oh my! Thats one beautiful piece of wood! Nice work!
acmwallace
Aug-22-2008, 1:46pm
Truly gorgeous. I mean, unbelievable.
Gutbucket
Aug-22-2008, 2:03pm
Monroe was an inovator, no matter what he himself said. I could see him picking one of these. That mando is every part of sumpthin!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
toddjoles
Aug-22-2008, 2:30pm
Excellent....Simpson....stop by Minneapolis and pick up my lambourrari fasterossa, ahh err v6 on your way home tonight!
Sean, I tried a lot of scrolls on the P/H and couldn't get it to work.
Here's the instrument fretted with .040" SS frets and ready to sand.
I've finally figured out how to make a scalloped tortoise pickguard. Took 3-4 tries, but I'm happy with the result. Also decided to spray the back of the pickguard white to highlight the tortoise.
Finally, as a lark, I made the rib depth 1-7/16". After I glued the back on I decided to change that, so I pried it off, got out the D/A, and sanded a taper to the ribs. There is about 1/4" difference front to back.
Stained it yesterday and have the first coat of varnish on.