Gail Hester Visit - Girl's got skills!

[Ken Olmstead]

I was in Seattle last week on business and the one thing that I knew I had to do was try and get together with Gail and her husband Chuck and play some of her mandolins! What a fabulous time I had! They were fantastic hosts and I want to thank them for a great evening!!

I sat in her living room and played every instrument showed in the photos below. They were ALL superb mandolins. I even played #1 which will blow you away to find out it was someones first attempt at building!!

My favorite? The one she is holding in the picture below is her latest and it may be the most authentic sounding F5 I have heard to date! The attention to detail is impressive. It is going to a lucky slob in Oregon I believe, man he should be thrilled beyond belief! My second favoite was the A5. It has the dimensions of an A4 but built with F holes. She explained that this was the way the famous Lloyd A5 was constructed.

Here sound is very consistant from instrument to instrument with small variations. The super F5 I mentioned above is at a whole other level for Gail (and many other builders.) I have no problem whatsoever placing Gail in the category of top builders!

Here are a couple snap shots that I took. I have some more to post later but I am on my way to work and a Halloween party tonight. Also a couple pictures of the ferry ride on the way to Bainbridge Island where they picked me up and drove me to Shangrala! We were having so much fun that I found myself in Pioneer Square at 10:30pm...SCARY!!

[Mark Walker]

Ken - wow! Congrats on the opportunity to visit with Gail. I fly through Minneapolis on occasion, and ONE of these trips I've got to leave the airport and go visit Hans Brentrup!

I've always admired Gail's work; she's certainly among the top shelf builders we get to enjoy within this forum!

All the best, and thanks for sharing.

[woodwizard]

You lucky @#$t! Sounds like a wonderful time Ken.

[Skip Kelley]

Ken, It sounds like you had a great visit. I have spoken with Gail on the phone and she is a first class lady!

[Steevarino]

Gail, I don't remember... were you wearing shoes when you visited my shop...?

[Darren Bailey]

ANOTHER reason to envy you US folk! But we do have some very good builders over here in the UK, but the sheer number of quality "craftspeople" out there reflects the size of your country.

[Gail Hester]

It was a blast having Ken over for the evening, we had a great time. I handed him a lot of mandolins including some vintage mandolins not pictured and he made them all sound wonderful. Thanks Ken.

Steve, I don't wear shoes any more than I have to but I'm sure I had on my new Nikes that I got at the outlet store next to the Gibson Showcase when we came to see you.:))

[sunburst]

Gail! You have 5 mandolins all at once?! How do you manage to keep them?

[Gail Hester]

Well...the one I'm holding is sold and being shipped and the other four are my first builds of those models, F5, A5, F4 and H5. My husband has latched on to those.

[JEStanek]

Lucky man, in many ways.

Jamie

[jim_n_virginia]

the other four are my first builds of those models, F5, A5, F4 and H5. My husband has latched on to those.

GOOD LORD married to a woman who can build mandolins! LOL! Thats like a mandolins players ultimate fantasy! LOL! :grin:

[mandolirius]

Gail, you have really got the sunburst down! Beautiful finishes.

[mandopete]

...and just to give you an idea of how these mandolins sound, here's master mandolin player Alan Bibey at the tasting event in Shelton, WA last Summer.

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[Peter LaMorte]

Happiness is sitting on a sofa with FIVE killer mandolins, I can only dream........:)
Peter

[Bill Van Liere]

Thanks for the U-tubes Pete.

Gail, your snakehead oval just rocks! Compares really nice to the 24. You should be proud and have any shoes you want.

Great work.

[Gail Hester]

Thank you everyone.

Bill, here are a couple pictures of the A4 in the You Tube. I built that A4 as a Christmas present for our oldest Son a couple years ago and he let us borrow it for that festival. I most often use Red Spruce but this mandolin has a nice wide grained piece of Sitka for the top.

[Gail Hester]

Here's are some pictures of the last A4 I sent out, Birch back, Red Spruce top. I hope to get a sound clip back from West Virginia someday. My husband had a particular hard time seeing this one go.:))

[Bill Van Liere]

Wow, you have really done your homework well Gail.

Wonderful focused tone like the great sounding Snakeheads. Your son is lucky, so is your husband.

[Stephen Lind]

The only problem with working with Gail is...






What to order!
I've only got another month or two to make up what's left of my mind and every Hester that I've played is a mandolin I'd love to own.

Let's see
A4 with Fern neck (!!!)
F4
F5

life during the renaissance can really be rough

[Ivan Kelsall]

Gail - Those "A" styles look wonderful. I love the wide grain on the Sitka Spruce top especially.You have good taste in Tailpieces as well,
Ivan