Silverangel distressed MAX!

[kyken]

some of you may not like this, but here it is anyway, I had full freedom.:disbelief:

[kyken]

here's more......:)

[kyken]

:grin:the rest.........

[swinginmandolins]

That looks great Ken! Some serious mojo!

[Jessbusenitz]

That's what I call distressed!

[JEStanek]

That looks pretty cool.

Jamie

[wildpikr]

Cool! This new mandolin looks older than my new mandolin looked old a few years ago!~o)

[B. T. Walker]

Really looks used and abused. Nice work.

[Skip Kelley]

Ken, That's a great looking mandolin! There's some really good looking wood in that one; like all your mandolins!!

[Denny Gies]

Beautiful, how does it sound?

[kyken]

This is one fine sounding instrument. It's got all the goodies, highs, mids, and most importantly, the lows. Don't have much without the bass. Plays easy too, 1 1/8th nut, radius, and the old top is already sounding it's age.

[Steve-o]

It definately has the look Ken. How do you get the yellowing and crazing like that? Or is it a trade secret. ;)

[Jake Wildwood]

Pretty good job with the distressing on that fellow. Looks like all of my instruments with the real stuff on 'em! (most c.1920s)

[billkilpatrick]

you've got me rubbing my scroll ...

[Jason Kindall]

you've got me rubbing my scroll ...

:))

Hey Ken - beautiful work. Your mandos always have such a unique vibe.. :cool:

[lenf12]

you've got me rubbing my scroll ...

Hey Bill, this is a family friendly web site ;)

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Tomm Truckenmueller]

Seems to be a very unhealthy instrument -
at least, it reactivated another attack of severe MAS already at first sight.
:crying:

I hope, I will manage to get through it without lasting damages -although the chance to do so does not seem to high.
:(

[Jim Garber]

nice... I esp like the wear around the soundholes ... as if the music was so intense those many years back that it ,melted some of the4 finish. I don;t know if it happens in real life but it looks right anyway. I also like the moody photography.

[Chuck Naill]

What is not to like. You are an artist...period!!!

[Jim Kirkland]

Superb. I pick up a few old violins that look like that and I love to rebuild them and have them look rough. I always say, I sure wish you could talk and pass along some of those memories.

[Tomm Truckenmueller]

I was afraid, something would happen, since there is something magic coming from this machine. Something like a little trans-atlantic vodoo, always telling me: YES, YOU DO WANT ME!

And now, I will have to wait about 2 weeks (needed for payment and shipping) and then I will have to edit my signature. That's the way it will look then:

_________________
MAS-Herd: :whistling:

Silverangel F #312 + NEWELL A Custom
(+ STACY F5 lent to a friend as his second mandolin) - All others for sale now

..that's what you need to be happy.. :mandosmiley:

2 weeks waiting can be a hard time - but I'm pretty sure it will be worth waiting!

[300win]

Very, very nice. And I agree, if a mandolin ain't got the low end, there's not much to it.

[Ron McMillan]

From all the positive comments, there is clearly a market for the reproduction distressed look. But it doesn't do a thing for me, I'm afraid, simply because it is 'fake' (sorry, but can't think of a less offensive word in translation of reproduction). I have precisely the same reaction to modern Fender electric guitars made to look like some guitar hero's axe from the seventies. Yawn.

I bet it sounds like a dream, though, and I take my hat off to the skill and artistry that went into giving it an 'authentic' reproduction appearance.

br

[bjc]

Not only is that beautiful, the pictures are amazing!

[kyken]

As a matter of fact, most all of the old violinmakers from the centuries past, made their violins look old. Seems nobody wanted those new shiny things when it comes to instruments, cars maybe, but fiddles and mandolins another story. There's something about those models that is appealing to most, more artistic or something. Everybody's entitled to my opinion, just kidding, I'm glad we're all different.............

[Chuck Naill]

As a matter of fact, most all of the old violinmakers from the centuries past, made their violins look old. Seems nobody wanted those new shiny things when it comes to instruments, cars maybe, but fiddles and mandolins another story. There's something about those models that is appealing to most, more artistic or something. Everybody's entitled to my opinion, just kidding, I'm glad we're all different.............

Some of us think the Earth is not as old has some scientist think, having an "apparent age". You are just following a divine and ancient tradition....LOL!!

[Tomm Truckenmueller]

All's well that ends well, folks!

MAXX now lives here:
48 20 0 North / 8 55 60 East
(Southern Germany)
:)

Let me tell you it's not hard to enjoy this machine.
:mandosmiley:

[Kevin K]

Cool

[Tomm Truckenmueller]

As it seems, this fine instrumet is a little rover and intends after 1 year to move to another european area.
If you have been born as a nomad, you will stay it by heart for the rest of your life. May I say I loved its stay, but there is somebody else who is looking forward to its arrival some way down south.

Andy, take over - with my best wishes for a happy picking time!

[almeriastrings]

I wanted to wait a while before posting my impressions on this instrument. I've had it here now for around 6 weeks. I've had the chance to play it alongside several others, both at home, and at gigs. My overall impression - this is one heck of a fine mandolin.

But first, the detail...

I was not too sure what to expect of the "distressed" aspect, but it does not look at all "fake". Not in the slightest. It looks (and feels) very well worn in. Absolutely no-one I showed it to guessed it was less than a couple of years old.... I have seen a fair few "distressed" guitars and even mandolins that really did not look anything like this convincing. That includes some way, way up there in $$$. What really struck me was that the darned thing even FEELS old! It has that light, dry "thing" going on, like you normally only find in instruments decades old. This is the first time I've ever seen/felt that in a new mandolin. Heck, I have been "accumulating" vintage instruments since I was in my late teens (I am now in my late 50's), and the way Ken has handled the distressing on this is as good as it gets. It looks right. It feels right. Above all, it sounds right.

It has a really dry, but rich and highly resonant depth to it that often only appears after an awful lot of playing time. I'm fortunate to own another of Ken's mandolins, a lovely "A" model, and there is a definite "family relationship" there tone-wise, but this has it on overdrive. It feels very "alive" in your hands. A lot of mandos have volume, clarity and cut, but fall down in the lower registers. This doesn't. It has it right across the spectrum. I will try and post a few sound clips before long. It really does sound as good as it looks.

Thanks, Ken, for a really wonderful mandolin. As they say in the "D-18 Song", "I'm mighty grateful to you, you know how to make 'em right"!!

[JLeather]

I really like this. I haven't liked many of the 'distressed' instruments I've seen before. They were too overdone. This is very nice, though. Out of curiosity, what's the going rate for a mando like this? Does the distressing cost extra?

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Does the distressing cost extra?

Usually extra. But if you send it to me instead I'll distress it for you at no charge :)

Congrats also to almeriastrings for getting this wonderful mandolin. I've been a fan of Ken's work for a while and when this thread got started I was definitely impressed by the instrument. I'm glad it found a new good home.

[almeriastrings]

Out of curiosity, what's the going rate for a mando like this? Does the distressing cost extra?

According to Ken's website, he quotes $4k, inclusive.

http://www.silverangelmandolins.com/pricing.html

That's excellent value, in my opinion, because it comfortably and easily stands alongside others I have here from $7.5K to $13K.......it is rapidly becoming my favorite "go to" mandolin. I let go of a $9K mandolin from a very well respected maker only last year that sounded quite lifeless and sterile by comparison. It really is a very good mandolin indeed. The A model is also very, very nice, though that is not "distressed".

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=75282&d=1313045720

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=75281&d=1313045711

Now comfortably in her new home, safe in a Hiscox case!

[mandobassman]

Ken, that is excellent distressing. I've only seen a few mandolins that could pass for a genuine old instrument. I've posted a couple of comments in the past about my general thoughts on distressing and they have been received with negative replies. I feel if you are going to distress a mandolin, make it look genuine. Every time I see a photo of a Weber "distressed" mandolin it immediately looks like a new mandolin made to look old, like some cheap distressed furniture. You know, nice clean satin finish with a section near the front point that is worn through the wood. A section near where the arm rests that is worn away right next to pearly white, brand new looking binding. Nice shiny hardware.

Yours on the other hand, looks real. Nice work.

[Bernie Daniel]

As long as everyone is giving opinions...
This subject has always left me conflicted. I love a vintage instrument with the cracked and worn finish that all dings gathered through playing over decades. I also love a beautiful new instrument, without dings -- gleaming and perfect in every way with all the various woods contrasting and complementing each other.

I have also decided that I am not overly enthused about the concept of "distressing" a new instrument through some process that speeds up time JUST to get it to "look old". Never have really warmed up to that.

BUT if that aging process ALSO happens to impart better tone and performance to the instrument (e.g., in Gibson talk: a DMM sounds better than an MM) well that is a whole different story. The sound, after all, is what it is all about so if that is the case I'm all for it.

That said, if you DO like the idea of accelerated aging to give it that "vintage look" I never seen a better job of distressing an instrument that that new Silverangel above. Its a beauty and looks at least 100 years old! Whatever process Ken has come up with it is amazing and genius without a doubt.