Melvin Tucker Influence

[Jerry Haynes]

I was just looking over in the classifieds and there is a Tucker F5 for sale. These do not come up very often. Back in the late 80s I had the opportunity to hear and play a Tucker. One of the Reno boys had it at a bluegrass festival. I was totally blown away by everything about it. What a cannon that one was!
I called Melvin and had a long discussion about his mandolins.
After telling him that I had been really thinking about building one he more than opened up to me on the "how to" and "how not to". Because of his willingness to share info, I decided to give it a try. It took me about a year, with a few calls to Melvin. (yes, I did make a few mistakes!) It turned out OK, looked pretty good, sounded pretty good, and played pretty good....but it was not a Tucker.
I still have it sittin over here, while #37 is coming together out in the shop.
I guess what I'm really trying to say is.. Thank you Melvin Tucker, you changed my life. What a wonderful 20 year labor of love you helped create for me. Building was fun then and is fun today, and I still fall in love with each one I build. Jerry

[D C Blood]

Right about that Tucker...Dale had it, don't know if he still does, but it was fantastic sounding and played, as the much over-used but descriptive term says, "like butter" (and I love butter) Dale used to go to the same church I do and I got to pick on it a few times. I've played one one or two others but they didn't sound like Dale's.

[Big Joe]

Dale played his more and harder than most play theirs. That goes a LONG way toward developing tone. His was not in the case often. I played it several times years ago and it was a very nice mandolin. I too talked to Melvin several times about mandolins and construction. He was always a gentleman and a joy to talk to. He was very gracious and seemed unfazed by his celebrity. At the time he was building he was one of the preeminent builders on the market. I've played and worked on several of his instruments and they were all very nice. I have never had one, but it certainly would not be an instrument I would walk away from!