Custom Weber Yellowstone H+T [Archive]

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kirksdad

Dec-03-2009, 5:25pm

Well Folks;

It arrived today......needless to say, it was well worth the wait.
First, thanks to the good people at Sound to Earth. To Tony and Brett, and Mr. Weber himself, thanks for all of the extra effort you made to keep me aware of the various stages of the build. Tony, I know you were very busy, but to get the updates, and accompanying pictures was a Godsend. I'm humbled and grateful for your excellent customer service. To Brett Byers, particularly: you are the man....the finish on the H+T is beautiful, my pictures really don't do it justice. Its deep rich color is astonishing......, the flame maple jumps out. To everyone at STE; my eternal thanks for building me the mandolin of my dreams......
Second, to the great people at My Favorite Guitars. Sharon and Jon, I knew you guys had a great reputation in the guitar world, well you should have the same here in Mando Land; every question answered, every detail met, and a price that was outstanding....I'll be back for my custom Martin order

My hunches in upgrades paid off. I love the ebony tuners, gold hardware, flame maple, and the fern inlay. Again, the pictures don't do it
justice. The red spruce top was the right choice too...crisp and loud (I just put a crack in the foundation of my house playing chop chords)
Well, let me get back to playin' it ...........

KD

JEStanek

Dec-03-2009, 5:47pm

Excellent! Congratulations.

Jamie

Randy Smith

Dec-03-2009, 6:06pm

KD,

Beautiful! Sounds like you can literally play and tear down the house tonight,

Randy

Jill McAuley

Dec-03-2009, 11:56pm

What a looker! Congratulations!

Cheers,
Jill

leroyspuds

Dec-04-2009, 10:44am

Beautiful! Congratulations.

Skip Kelley

Dec-04-2009, 2:44pm

KD, looks great! I love that amber color!

Rob Powell

Dec-04-2009, 8:16pm

That's a beaut for sure!!

Ivan Kelsall

Dec-05-2009, 2:55am

Another cracker from the folks at Weber !!. A very beautiful Mandolin indeed & i love those Ebony tuner buttons. Were the tuners a special order ?,they don't look like the 'standard' Weber tuners,
Ivan

kirksdad

Dec-05-2009, 8:00am

Hello Ivan;

Yep the ebony tuners are an option on STE custom build page. I added them after someone suggested it. I have heard that you can buy the ebony buttons from Weber if you call. (Hope I'm Right)

tburcham

Dec-05-2009, 9:32am

KD,

Congrats! As I have a sister to this mandolin (red spruce and all)....I can tell you that these are absolutely exceptional mandolins...beautiful, refined tone, loud, punchy...chops that as you say "shake the foundation."

kirksdad

Dec-05-2009, 12:10pm

Thanks Tim;

I decided to also to have the nut made 1 3/16ths, that's worked out perfectly.

The ebony tuner idea came from someone on the board, I have the pearls ones as well in case I want to change

tburcham

Dec-05-2009, 3:35pm

kirksdad

Dec-12-2009, 9:09am

Thanks Tim;

The wider nut has really helped me out. Although the neck profile is more C shaped than V shaped, I find it more comfortable.

I'm thinking about adding an armrest: either one of Vern's combo tailpiece, or something from Doug Edwards; I've used his armrest before and they are great.

KD

Mark Walker

Dec-12-2009, 9:41am

That is one purty mandolin! Enjoy! :)

Bob Andress

Dec-12-2009, 10:34am

KD

Great to see another satisfied Weber owner and another gorgeous custom Weber. I LOVE the Honey Tortoise. And that flame is just great. It was just last week that I came across your message asking me (Slim_Pickins) about my Weber build experience (with ebony buttons ;) Glad you went through with it and and it sounds like you had the same amazing experience that I did. Have fun pickin it and knowing that it's not just yours, but your creation.

Enjoy that beautiful thing!

kirksdad

Dec-12-2009, 11:54am

That's Right Slim ......I mean Bob;

I think after reading your post about your custom build, i decided to go for a custom build too. I can an A string away from building the same model as you. Its seems a popular combo, as TMS has sold a few very similar to the buckskin / tortoise combo........I borroweded your idea about the ebony buttons, and I'm glad I did. I think one of the things that dissapoints me is, that often the pictures of the mandos we have don't look nearly as good as the do in person.

Martin

Dec-12-2009, 12:09pm

kirksdad,
that thing is absolutely beautiful!

I really like the inlay on the peghead

hank

Dec-12-2009, 12:47pm

Congratulations and merry Christmas.

Kevin Briggs

Dec-13-2009, 11:28pm

Awesome mando there.

Sound clips?

kirksdad

Dec-14-2009, 6:27pm

Thanks Mr. Briggs;

I'm working on getting some clips up. It still sounds a little tight, I changed the stock GHS strings to J75's and it seems like I lost a little volume. I do notice that after I play it for a bout a 1/2 hour it seems much smoother and somewhat louder, if that makes sense.

KD

Kevin Briggs

Dec-14-2009, 7:46pm

That makes perfect sense. In fact, the nut and bridge slots may not be cut to even accommodate the J75s. You may want to try EXP 74s. They are the same guage as the GHS strings Weber uses, and they are more crisp.

The HS strings are seriously dark and bassy on my Weber mandolin. It was a very intense tone, and I wanted something brighter, which EXP74s gave me. I tried EXP75s and they made my mandolin quiter, which is a paradox, because if set up properly EXP75s should definitely be louder due to the higher string gauge.

Anyway, you may want to give EXP74s a shot.

kirksdad

Dec-14-2009, 11:05pm

Thanks Kevin, the Exp 74 are next up, I've heard very good things about them.

tburcham

Dec-14-2009, 11:56pm

That's what I use...EXP J74's They work great on the
Webers

Ken Olmstead

Dec-15-2009, 12:46am

That is a beauty!! Congradulations!

Chris Biorkman

Dec-15-2009, 12:55am

That is a beautiful Weber. It seems to me like they have really upped their game here recently.

Ivan Kelsall

Dec-15-2009, 3:32am

Kirksdad - Many thanks for the info on the tuners - very elegant !. Re.the J75's - i had some on a Weber Beartooth that i used to own.They needed a heck of a whack to get them moving & they felt far too tight under my fingers. As i'd never use them on a Mandolin at all,i removed them & put on J74's which were far better in all respects. I think that for J75's to work well,you need a very responsive instrument to begin with,& as the heavier strings have more 'mass' you need to pick harder to make them move,
Ivan

kirksdad

Dec-15-2009, 7:58am

Ivan;

After reading many suggestions, I think I'm going to give the J74's a shot.
I mainly tried the 75 after reading that Ronnie McCoury uses them. I had believed they were partially responsible for his very percussive technique, which I absolutely love. I have to understand though, I'm not Ronnie McCoury, just someone who was inspired to play because of him.

KD

Ken Olmstead

Dec-15-2009, 10:34am

I mainly tried the 75 after reading that Ronnie McCoury uses them. I had believed they were partially responsible for his very percussive technique, which I absolutely love. I have to understand though, I'm not Ronnie McCoury, just someone who was inspired to play because of him.

KD

May be the wisest statement ever posted on the cafe!!