Monteleone Mambolino [Archive] - Mandolin Cafe Forum

SternART

Jul-21-2009, 2:34pm

John calls it black on black.......the maple is dyed black & he says it is inky blue-black. I'm pretty sure it looks like Maccassar Ebony with the brown streaks, and then flamed maple for the binding.

John says the sound is extremely clear, and woody. Here are a few more:

Keith Erickson

Jul-21-2009, 2:40pm

:disbelief:

...besides the color scheme.........those are some truly unique sound holes :cool:

Gary Hedrick

Jul-21-2009, 2:41pm

Some lutheirs are makers of musical instruments......their focus is that....some make musical instruments that are works of art.......

SternART

Jul-21-2009, 2:50pm

I "love" the wood binding!!! I was thinking possibly a black & tan (mahogany back) Baby Grand, which is a 2 point with symmetric headstock when my turn on John's list comes around.

Fretboard Journal did a great job on their Monteleone article...... it featured both his guitars and mandolins. John's recent work really is "art" luthiery.....I liken it to playing a sculpture, that works perfectly as a tool for making music. Just like an exotic Ferrari or Aston Martin, gets you down the road like a Chevy.......the experience is different.......I'm glad there are people out there pushing the envelope. The Fretboard Journal article was in the issue with Bill Frisell interviewing Jim Hall.

sgarrity

Jul-21-2009, 2:50pm

I agree with Gary....that is truly a work of art. I'd love to play one of his more current mandolins. I did get to play one of his F5s from the late 70s and it was a spectacular instrument!

squirrelabama

Jul-21-2009, 3:11pm

The word "stunning" would be an undertatement! Anyone know what kind of tuning machines those are? Modified Waverleys? A creation of JM's?

JEStanek

Jul-21-2009, 3:25pm

Fantastic. Thanks for sharing these, Art and congratulations to Massimo and John!

Jamie

Mike Black

Jul-21-2009, 4:33pm

The word "stunning" would be an undertatement! Anyone know what kind of tuning machines those are? Modified Waverleys? A creation of JM's?

I don't know, but they look like they could be a set of Alessi mandolin tuning machines (http://www.alessituningmachines.it/MANDOLINO.htm).

Talked about in this thread Alessi mandolin tuning machines (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44954&highlight=tuning+machines).

Gary Hedrick

Jul-21-2009, 5:08pm

His early works were very nicely done F5's and then he went to the Grand Artist and from there it seems that the works have become more and more artistic statements....sure they sound great and play great.....the first three iterations played and sounded great but these are in another world in terms of fluid lines etc. Like the pieces that Arthur had commisioned from Smart......and some of models of mandolins that Michael Lewis makes....Brentrup instruments......(and I'm sure there are others I'm leaving out).....they flow with another world sort of grace.....

Elliot Luber

Jul-21-2009, 5:31pm

Mr. Gatti's a lucky man.

Tom C

Jul-21-2009, 6:01pm

For a luthier who used to build traditional looking mandos (assuming we went for traditional tone), How to these newage mandos sound including radio flyer and this new beast? (Yeah, I know they sound great-they better for 25K.) Does he voice them like the F5s?

Chris Biorkman

Jul-21-2009, 6:35pm

I heard someone say that the Radio Flyer was more like $40,000.

fredfrank

Jul-21-2009, 6:54pm

One of the best sounding mandolins I ever had was a Monteleone A-style, which I believe he called a style B. Man, I wish still had that thing.

SternART

Jul-21-2009, 7:16pm

Not that many Style B's were ever made......just a handful.....I know Paul Glasse plays on one.

mandopete

Jul-21-2009, 7:26pm

Any chance of a sound clip for this beauty?

mandopete

Jul-21-2009, 7:28pm

Man, I wish still had that thing.

Fred - you say that about every mandolin!

:)

Hey, I missed running into you at Darrington. Looks like you were playing the banjer

:disbelief:

Michael Gowell

Jul-21-2009, 10:24pm

That mandolin stops me dead. The combination of woods + dyes + binding would stop anyone dead, and to us mando-geeks those things and details like tailpiece/pickguard/peghead shaping, mutiple soundholes, etc etc ring many bells simultaneously. That A outshines any F I've ever seen...it leaves me babbling...

Glassweb

Jul-21-2009, 10:44pm

rather clunky and ungainly looking methinks... a whole bunch of disparate, "stylish" parts does not a great design make... not for me anyway. ah well... a chacun son gout! here's hopin' it sounds good...

Jill McAuley

Jul-21-2009, 10:44pm

Someone has already said it but it's worth saying again - that is absolutely STUNNING!!!

Cheers,
Jill

pjlama

Jul-21-2009, 11:03pm

...

SternART

Jul-21-2009, 11:33pm

I think I favor the looks of the Radio Flyer A model.......hmmmmmm.......... a black one with the striped maple binding would be the cats meow!

Ivan Kelsall

Jul-22-2009, 12:02am

I like everything about it except the headstock shape - for me there's just too much of it. Apart from that it's an incredible piece of work. Several years ago there was a guy at a Bluegrass festival over here with a Monteleone F-5 style Mandolin which apart from the exquisite workmanship,also sounded wonderful. John Monteleone is still out in front when it comes to 'radical'
ideas in his building - i think Herr Brentrup is catching up though,although maybe not quite as 'off the wall' (in the very nicest way),
Ivan ;)

Duc Vu

Jul-22-2009, 1:45am

Great minds think alike: http://www.condino.com/ebony.html
Check out the headstock and the maple binding.
Thank you Arthur for the pics.

trevor

Jul-22-2009, 2:04am

SternART,
My thoughts exactly, I had be thinking of contacting him about the possibility of a black top radio flyer A...

Glassweb

Jul-22-2009, 10:44am

Brentrup's Stealth and Eclipse mandolins are the nicest "new" mandolin designs to my eye... no easy task when you're workin' with wood!

SternART

Jul-22-2009, 10:47am

Here is a black & tan Radio Flyer ...........mahogany back, and sides, with the maple binding. ohhh-la-la!!!

trevor

Jul-22-2009, 10:49am

Not quite the same as Condino, but similar.

Glassweb

Jul-22-2009, 10:56am

Here is a black & tan Radio Flyer ...........mahogany back, and sides, with the maple binding. ohhh-la-la!!!

to my eye the headstock seems pretty out of character with the rest of the lines...

Skip Kelley

Jul-22-2009, 11:09am

That's a shame anyone would have to play a mandolin like that! I would be a gentleman and be glad to suffer for him and play it:))

That is one sweet work of art!!!!

jefflester

Jul-22-2009, 12:04pm

Is the tailpeice floating?

SternART

Jul-22-2009, 12:34pm

Yes, these tailpieces illustrated so far in this thread are suspended by a wire. there is a photo in my 2nd post taken from the Mambolino instrument's bottom, that illustrates this detail. And I'll add a photo here that also shows it, but on a Grand Artist Delux. John started these on his Radio Flyers, but there are also Grand Artist Delux models that share the detailing. The one of a kind Radio City mandolin also sports a more Deco version of the floating tailpiece. John is shown holding that mandolin in the Fretboard Journal article. Other Grand Artist Delux models use his cast metal tailpiece, that has filtered down & most of us are familiar with, as many luthiers have used them. Here are two, one with each tailpiece. I personally think the suspended ones make the tone different, where each note of a chord rings out like a choir. To my ear the metal tailpiece is also more percussive.

John pioneered or was an early adapter of many details, abbreviated pickguards, arched boards, etc. I believe the suspended tailpieces are inspired by archtop guitar detailing.

Maybe Glassweb will prefer these more symmetric headstocks.

Glassweb

Jul-22-2009, 1:41pm

Hi Arthur! Yes, I prefer this headstock shape for the GA design. Just for the record, I have nothing against "radical" design for the mandolin... it's just that I (like all of us do) have specific ideas as to what constitutes a successful design.

SternART

Jul-22-2009, 1:46pm

I'm with you there Steve.........that is why I'm thinking about maybe a Baby Grand 2 pount, or possibly John would be interested in building me a Radio City A model........both have symmetric headstocks on a more simple body shape. But I really like them ALL!!! I ordered an instrument right after John taught the luthiery class at the Mandolin Symposium, a coupla years back.

Glassweb

Jul-22-2009, 3:46pm

Arthur... last year I did something that I swore I'd NEVER do again... order an instrument from a living builder! And so, I have on order from Will Kimble a 2-point, f-hole mandola. After playing several of his mandolas (I'm currently borrowing one) it was an easy decision to make. The best sounding mandolas I've played to date...
Actually, one of my all time fave mandolas was an orange-ish oval hole model that Monteleone made... were it not for the scale length I might have pulled the trigger on that one. By the way, I love those Baby Grands... shame there aren't more of them around.

SternART

Jul-22-2009, 5:50pm

John just sent me this link to a web site with an article featuring a Monteleone Teardrop guitar.
Man...take a look at this piece of musical instrument art. And this guitar will be featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York for their special exhibition in 2010.There are numerous photos documenting the build...fascinating to see it in stages.

A mando-ish scroll guitar, sound holes similar to the Mambolino mandolin, sliding open/close side port so the player has some options for hearing themselves.......incredible teardrop inlay, and thin striped bands of layered wood binding.

There is also an interview with Monteleone, don't miss the continuation on page 2.

Almost makes me wish I played guitar:

http://www.tgpwebzine.com/?page_id=1138

Glassweb

Jul-22-2009, 6:20pm

OK, now THAT works for me! Ungleepin'-real...

man dough nollij

Jul-22-2009, 9:35pm

It's a sin that one's not a mandocello. That'd be even cooler than Mike's.

http://www.tgpwebzine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/mont1-1.jpg

Chris Biorkman

Jul-22-2009, 9:39pm

Wow, what a work of art. Do people actually play these things?

SternART

Jul-23-2009, 1:08am

Thanks for nabbin' that teardrop guitar image & adding it to the thread man dough nollij.
Indeed it would make a lovely Mandocello! Seeing it really does make me wish I played guitar!

Ivan Kelsall

Jul-23-2009, 3:15am

That looks to be a 'sort of ' homage to the 'original D'Angelico Teardrop Guitar. That one i believe was sold for something over $250,000 US a few years back & once formed part of Scott Chinery's awesome collection of instruments - along with the incredible collection of 'Blue' Guitars.If you haven't got the 'Chinery Collection' book,if you can still get it,it's well worth the price,
Ivan ;)

SternART

Jul-23-2009, 10:09am

Ivan, check out the article mentioned above for complete information regarding the D'Angelico & D'Aquisto teardrops that inspired the Monteleone.......more on Chinery, photos of the building process, interview with John discussing these other guitars, etc.

http://www.tgpwebzine.com/?page_id=1138

SternART

Jul-23-2009, 10:28am

Massimo Gatti, just contacted me from Italy & wanted to share these photos of the building process
of his Monteleone Mambolino, lots of close up detail shots are included. It is on Massimo's web page and you can also check out his bio, bands, music, etc:

http://www.mandolin.it/Mandolins.html

Ivan Kelsall

Jul-24-2009, 12:26am

I've stated my admiration for all luthiers on here so many times before,but when i see 'works of art' such as this & recognise the incredible craftsmanship & skill involved - my mind simply boggles.
Years ago,well before i ever held a Mandolin,i saw for sale at a Bluegrass festival over here,a Mandolin by Mike Vanden from Scotland. It was such an incredibly beautiful instrument,that if i could have afforded the luxury,i would have bought it simply as a work of art,to look at every day.
I'll refer here,back to the Chinery Collection of 'Blue Guitars',where Scott Chinery comissioned 22 luthiers to produce their 'ultimate' arch-top Jazz Guitar,with one proviso - that it should be finished in the blue stain that he provided. I'd feel privileged simply to be in the same room as any one of them,let alone actually own one,the mere thought of that absolutely blows me away,
Ivan:cool:
PS - Going back around 8 years or so,at a Guitar show in Manchester,UK,an exhibitor had for sale,a genuine D'Angelico "New Yorker" for sale at an incredible cost.It was so costly i didn't even commit the price to memory. He asked me if i wanted to play it,i said yes.He took it down,handed it to me & i was so in awe of the thing,i couldn't do anything but look at it.:disbelief:

John McGann

Jul-24-2009, 7:35am

Fantastic, just incredible. John's designs are great; his sunbursts are beyond belief. I saw a few archtops of his at a guitar show a few years back, and the sunbursts were so amazing...great sounding and feeling instruments, too.

Folks, we live in wonderful times for the art of lutherie.