View Full Version : Newell Archtop oval hole
Keith Newell
Oct-31-2011, 8:57pm
This is one of two that were completed this week. Couldn't get daytime pictures of it but settled for the inside flash (yuck). The other one is going to a fellow cafe member and I was so stupid to box it up and not get any pictures of it. Maybe she'll take some when she gets it.
Keith
Ron McMillan
Oct-31-2011, 9:23pm
Beautifully understated. I love it Keith.
bernabe
Nov-01-2011, 4:25am
Nice, Kieth!
Marcelyn
Nov-02-2011, 4:42pm
It arrive today, Keith. I was sure to take a bunch of pictures. I absolutely love this mandolin! It sounds every bit as beautiful as it looks, and is exactly what I hoped for.
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Slideshow: https://picasaweb.google.com/104419883813301922308/NewellMandolin#slideshow/5670509832795082178
Clement Barrera-Ng
Nov-02-2011, 5:58pm
Oh my. Marcelyn that's really, really stunning. Does it have the standard scale or the longer scale on the Roger Landes model?
Ed Goist
Nov-02-2011, 6:04pm
Marcelyn; that is an absolutely gorgeous mandolin!
Congratulations!
I look forward to hearing you work your magic on it.
John Hill
Nov-02-2011, 6:22pm
Wow, looks great. Keith must have the "turn amber to chocolate" app for his camera?
Marcelyn
Nov-02-2011, 8:11pm
Thanks, Darrangatan. This is one of his standard scale models and so is my flat top from him.
Ed, you'll be seeing it quite a bit, and for years to come. This is the arch top I've been hunting for.
Keith certainly has an eye for asthetics, but the absolutely stunning thing is the mandolin's sound. I actually approached Keith about building this archtop because I was so taken with the flat top I received from him a year ago. His flat top was not only the loudest and most resonant mandolin I'd ever played, it was the easiest to play. That's saying a lot. Through the great classifieds here, I've had the pleasure of auditioning a number of awesome mandolins and luckily breaking even in the aftermath. Keith's flat top was originally going to be my beater, but earned the spot of my go-to mandolin. The idea came to me that if I could get the more complex arch top sound along with the amazing playability and resonance of the flat top, I'd have it all. And now, I really do feel like I have it all.
chasray
Nov-02-2011, 8:49pm
Marcelyn, its beautiful from top to bottom!
Loretta Callahan
Nov-02-2011, 9:03pm
Beautiful, Marcelyn! I'm hoping to get Keith to build me a mandolin too, one of these days. I'm lucky because he's just down the road from where I live.
Ron McMillan
Nov-02-2011, 11:05pm
Marcelyn's got a winner there - absolutely lovely.
Help a guy out here: does 'archtop' simply mean 'not flat top', or does it denote a special way in which the arch is created?
ron
Beautiful!
Hope to see some more of that one in your great videos soon ;)
Marcelyn
Nov-03-2011, 6:38am
Hey, Ron, maybe someone more knowledgable than I will jump in here, but this one is a carved arch top. There are some mandolins with induced arch tops too, but I'm not sure Keith makes these.
Loretta, when I was on a similar hunt for my fiddle about a decade ago, I was fortunate to find Jene Ivey who lives just down the road. I had tried a bunch of violins, but after I got his #103, I never picked up another. I think you'd have a similar experience with Keith, and it is fun to feel pride in a luthier from your neck of the woods.
Thanks Tavy, I've got to get working on that soon.
Bill Snyder
Nov-03-2011, 7:03am
Ron, fwiw almost all flat top instruments have a little bit of arch induced with the braces. They are still flat tops. Generally arch top instruments are carved or some factory instruments are pressed into an arch.
Ron McMillan
Nov-03-2011, 7:45am
Thanks for the information on arch tops. That is what I was thinking it meant, but it occurred to me I might be making an errant assumption. For once, I might have actually been right, which is a welcome change.
ron
Jim Garber
Nov-03-2011, 8:00am
Keith/Marcelyn: are these both hybrid As? It looks like the bridge is set further back. Also, what is the bracing like?
Marcelyn
Nov-03-2011, 8:29am
Jim, Keith would be better at the more technical answers to your questions. All I know about the bracing is that it is X bracing. I believe all of the mandolins he makes are all longer neck variety as opposed to the Gibson ovals. The only other carved top I own does happen to be a teens A3 and Keith's is similar in that it does have a very rich bass. His is not at all tubby. When I asked Keith to build it, I did tell him that bass and volume were important to me and that I loved the sound of the old Gibsons. I also have to think that a small part of the similarity in volume and tone is due to his use of varnish finish, even on his flat tops.
GKWilson
Nov-03-2011, 8:26pm
Holy C#%# [Moly] Marcelyn. That's one beauty of a mandolin.
Can't wait to see and HEAR more.
Keith. Another great build.
Gary
Keith Newell
Nov-05-2011, 12:28am
Thanks Marcy for the kind words. I'm so happy you are liking it. i'm gonna need to figure out how to post video to Song of the week club, how to get the song of the week and how to vote on song of the next week stuff. If anyone can help send me a private message please.
Dang new fangled digital web stuff!
keith
Wow, they look great - I especially love the colour of Marcelyn's!
Fliss