View Full Version : Lawrence Smart spring '10 batch
Chip Booth
Jul-21-2010, 11:58am
Here is a picture a few months old, but still well worth seeing. Trevor in England has shown us really good pics of the comma hole mandolin from this batch, but the others have gone unseen as far as I know.
http://www.chuckmoose.com/images/stuff/SmartSpring10.jpg
I really loved the oval hole mandolin, which had a very crisp, clear sound and was completely gorgeous. I hope there are revealing pics of this one somewhere. But for me the real winner in this batch was the F style OM. I am generally not a fan of oversize F instruments but the proportions of this one are so perfectly appealing. And the sound was absolutely amazing. You could hear the "F hole sound" clear as a bell, something not all OMs do, and something hard to explain, but it was a real eye opener for me. I made several trips over to the shop to play this one before it was went off to it's new owner. Just doing my part to help break it in!
crazymandolinist
Jul-21-2010, 3:13pm
Um, can I have, like, all of them?????
Skip Kelley
Jul-21-2010, 3:18pm
Wiping drool!!!! Man, I love that F style OM!!
sgarrity
Jul-21-2010, 8:37pm
Stunning!
Chris Biorkman
Jul-21-2010, 8:46pm
That f-style OM is fantastic.
MandoNicity
Jul-21-2010, 9:11pm
Great picture! I have heard nothing but fantastic reviews for Smart instruments. I admire how he pushes the envelope with stuff like fanned frets. Thanks for posting the mando porn! ;)
JR
F-2 Dave
Jul-21-2010, 9:21pm
All beautiful, individually and as a group. Thanks for posting.
SternART
Jul-21-2010, 9:40pm
Lawrence is a great luthier to collaborate with too.
I've had three Smart instruments built!
Ivan Kelsall
Jul-22-2010, 10:21am
I've seen the pics.on Lawrence's site of your instruments Arthur - very beautiful & very uique in design,but this is the one that blew me away - awesome wood & the colour,WOW !!!!,
Ivan:disbelief:
Spruce
Jul-22-2010, 1:05pm
Where are all the fanned-fret 10-strings??
Just kidding...
Lovely batch of wood 'n wires...
Chip Booth
Jul-22-2010, 1:14pm
Don't worry Spruce, there are two of them under way right now! I'll likely be putting more pics of them in the under construction thread after I visit again soon.
Man, I haven't seen a neck like that since my wedding day!
Seriously, that F-5 is a 22-fretter, but it looks longer. Just gorgeous!
red7flag
Jul-22-2010, 2:37pm
I have never played a mando with one sound hole at the bottom, or one with a sound hole on the top for that matter. I am curious as to the effect both to the player and to the audience?
SternART
Jul-22-2010, 11:29pm
I have never played a mando with one sound hole at the bottom, or one with a sound hole on the top for that matter.
The one I saw....... as I recall, had a side port, facing the player, on the rim.........so there were kinda 2 holes, but only one in the top. And indeed Ivan the shading on that F5 is beautiful.......the way he finishes them sometimes they kind of look old already, when new. Lawrence does some interesting things with X bracing too. And he is known for using really beautiful boards.......that was the most fun I had in collaborating on some instruments, was visiting him in McCall with my drawings, before my builds to pick wood, getting to play music with Lawrence & the fellas in his band, and then looking through the wood stash, wetting some of the boards to bring out the figure, tapping them.......I would ask his opinion & usually go with his recommendation, or pick from a few finalists. I can see how someone like Spruce Bruce could get deep into tonewoods, I found it fascinating. Lawrence has a good stash. I enjoyed those trips Idaho trips!