Custom Rigel G95

[Ted Eschliman]

http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95garden2.jpg
Fresh out of the Rigel Cottage; the G95!

[Ted Eschliman]

Similar to the G-110, this, however, has an ivory bound Oval hole (vs. F hole).
http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95Oval.jpg

[Ted Eschliman]

http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95Front2.jpg
Special custom finish Blackface

[Ted Eschliman]

http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95Back.jpg
Burgundyburst back & sides

[Ted Eschliman]

http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95Shelties.jpg
Definitely, (A) Man's Best Friend...

[johnwalser]

Ted,
It certainly is pretty!!!! Two questions.

1. How does it sound?

2. Where are you keeping it so your wife doesn't find out?

John

[potatoe]

the neil diamond model perhaps....

very nice, and something fresh.

[Walter]

Wow. I hope your not getting dog hair on that beautiful mandolin.

-very, very nice!! Great photos.

[mandofiddle]

So how's that couch treating you at night Mandohack?

[John Flynn]

Ted:

I am having the same reaction you had to the Jethrine: "For the love of God, someone hide my Visa cards!" Can you do a picture of the sides in a way that shows the transition from blacktop top to the subburst back. I have always wondered how they would do that without binding. Also, to reiterate the earlier question: How does it sound? How does it compare to say, a high-end A-4 or F-4?

[JGWoods]

I'm with jflynn- how does it sound?
I love my G110, but oval holes tickle my ears,( maybe they wouldn't if I stop sticking my head in there?) so tell us what you think.

[Ted Eschliman]

This might give you a sense of Black to Burgundy graduation.
Mmmm. Magic...
http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95BalcBurg.jpg

[Ted Eschliman]

http://www.members.aol.com/mandohack/images/G95Burst.jpg
This is the one thing that strikes me about almost every 'burst Rigel I've seen--how vivid the flame and burst are, even on the sides. This one melts butter...

[Ted Eschliman]

Okay, confession time guys. This isn't mine, although Peter Mix made this for me to show off a bit. I've been given special dispensation by Scott to post pics here, even though it's eventually going up for sale. I need to give it a good thorough testing, first though. (How about 35 years, Peter?...) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I've only had it for a day, and I just got it back from my tech after he lowered it to my wimpy low-action preference.
Initial impression though, this tone is VERY rich and complex, even for being less than a week old.
Playing my F-hole CT-110, it's like the sound sort of focuses about 5-8 feet away from me. This one, virtually at arms length, like you could just reach out and (literally) touch the tone. (Like my Lewis oval hole, arch-top 'Django', sound just gushes out the hole...)
Oval vs F is like warm water vs cold water. Cold you want to splash, invigorate, & refresh. Warm you just want to soak and relax.
I'll keep you posted. Don't worry, Mrs. Mandohack hasn't put my suitcase on the porch yet, although my Visa card is officially on probation...

[mad dawg]

Beautiful axe Ted, and nice looking Shelties. (I've got two Aussies myself; aren't herding dogs a blast to live with?)

[WireBoy]

to hear the G 95, check out http://www.rigelmandolin.com/listen.html
they have the g-95 prototype as one of the selectable listens. #It really does have a unique sound.

[Ted Eschliman]

Since the intent of the discussion board is not to hawk equipment (that's for the Classifieds...), I'm kind of walking over protocol to bring this up, but after three weeks of scrutiny, I have a review summary on my website:
Rigel G-95 (http://members.aol.com/mandohack/RigelG95.html)
Since it is for sale, I should probably limit discussion here to aspects of the model rather than this individual instrument, but I'm happy to give any one intersted in this series more information offline.
(If I can put it down long enough to type an answer...)
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Rob Powell]

Hmmm...

Is that fretboard just a tad wider than Rigel's standard or is it just my depth perception gettin bad in my old age?

[Ted Eschliman]

New:
Amateur recording, digital audio software newbie, morning chops, cheap microphone, <insert lame excuse>...
G95 Sound Clip (http://www.tannah.net/ted/jazzmandomp3/AmericaG95.mp3)
Now you'll know why I'm called a mando hack...

[jasona]

Nice bass response in that.

Well played Ted!