Introducing… my custom Holst F4 mandolin

[jmagill]

This mandolin was built to my design by Stephen Holst of Creswell, Oregon, and first strung up on March 1, 2013. You can find the build thread for it here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?87764-Holst-F4-custom-build). I will soon be posting my player's review of this instrument on the Instrument Reviews (http://www.magills.net/GtrReviews.html) page at my website.

This instrument was meant to be an update and homage to my two favorite mandolins, a 1915 F4 I owned in the late 70s, and an oval-holed Grand Artist model I bought from John Monteleone on a visit to his shop in the early 80s.

As a 'design guy' and Photoshop jockey, I took existing photos of mandolins and created a mockup for Steve to use as a model. I gave my imagination free reign and dreamed up my own ultimate F4. As the build progressed, we tweaked earlier mockups to produce the final version. Here's what we came up with. This is only the mockup; not a real mandolin:

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And here is a photo of the actual finished instrument. The scroll turned out a little sleeker and the tailpiece a bit wider than in the mockup, but otherwise it's pretty close, wouldn't you say?

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There are LOTS more pictures with clickable hi-res versions on this instrument's review page on my website here (http://www.magills.net/HolstF4.html), and my review will be coming soon.

Specs:
general: custom body shape; 15-fret neck; oval hole; proprietary headstock profile
top: red spruce
back: one-piece quilted maple
sides: quilted maple
neck: three-piece ribbon-curl maple w/ebony center strip, rounded-V profile
fingerboard: ebony, 6" radius, 19 gold EVO frets, scooped cocobolo extension
position markers: cocobolo
head plate: ebony/cocobolo, w/metalflake logo; ebony truss rod cover
backplate: ebony
binding: black plastic w/white purling on top, back, sides, fingerboard & headstock
soundhole & rosette: b/w binding on soundhole, b/w/b purfling rosette
pickguard & tailpiece: ebony/cocobolo
nut: bone
bridge: ebony, w/custom ebony saddle interchangeable with my Monteleone bone saddle
nut width: 1 3/16"
finish: oil varnish
pickup: K&K internal

(Don't know why there's a stretched version of the mockup attached as a thumbnail... Ah, computers...)

[SternART]

Beautiful!!! Congratulations!

[woodwizard]

Love the look! Very nice! I bet you're a happy camper

[JeffD]

Beautiful. Very tastefully modern looking.

[Skip Kelley]

Jim, it is great to see you that have that wonderful instrument in your hands! Congratulations!!!

[Tom Cherubini]

What a knockout axe! Beautiful! Love the oval hole too.

[rb3868]

that almost has a sorta Deco-like sleekness

[Bob Clark]

I really like those toned-down points. This is a beauty. Congratulations!

[jmagill]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Here's a few more photos:

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[Pete Jenner]

It's been fun watching it come together Jim ...but what does it sound like?

[Rush Burkhardt]

Great design, Jim! Great execution, Stephen!:popcorn:

[usqebach]

Jim,

Beautiful!

I'm hoping you'll have that out during fiddle/mando week at Swannanoa. I'd love to hear it!

Jim

[jmagill]

It's been fun watching it come together Jim ...but what does it sound like?

Sounds good.














But seriously, my detailed review will be uploaded to my website in a week or so... :-)

[bernabe]

Love it!

[Jim Garber]

Congratulations, Jim. It looks wonderful and I hope it plays and sounds as wonderful as it looks. Here's to many many years of beautiful music coming out of that mandolin. I feel I have been involved, at least as an observer, in its creation.

[Perry Babasin]

Very Beautiful!! That wood is astounding!

[jmagill]

Jim,

Beautiful!

I'm hoping you'll have that out during fiddle/mando week at Swannanoa. I'd love to hear it!

Jim

I'll have it there and you're welcome to come by my office to give it a test drive...

[jmagill]

Jim, it is great to see you that have that wonderful instrument in your hands! Congratulations!!!

Thanks, Skip. Drop by sometime; I'd love to see one of yours!

[Brad Weiss]

oooh, can't wait for Swannanoa too!

[CJ_inMN]

Jim, when are you going to put that thing down long enough to write a review?!? ;)

[jmagill]

Jim, when are you going to put that thing down long enough to write a review?!? ;)

Well, actually my detailed review was posted today at my website here (http://www.magills.net/HolstF4.html).

I try to give a new instrument ample time to wake-up, and myself ample time to make a fair and objective evaluation of it.

I played it a lot over the last few weeks, on three different sets of strings, made neck adjustments and raised the action. I played it loud and soft, amplified and not, and had friends play it while I listened to it at different distances. I just recently felt like I as ready to give it a detailed review.

Let me know what you think.

[Keith Witty]

Dang... that looks sweet. I want to hear it for sure.

[Jake Wildwood]

Wow, sexy mando!!!

[Levi]

Well, actually my detailed review was posted today at my website here (http://www.magills.net/HolstF4.html).

I try to give a new instrument ample time to wake-up, and myself ample time to make a fair and objective evaluation of it.

I played it a lot over the last few weeks, on three different sets of strings, made neck adjustments and raised the action. I played it loud and soft, amplified and not, and had friends play it while I listened to it at different distances. I just recently felt like I as ready to give it a detailed review.

Let me know what you think.

That review was really something else. Astounding detail. It's almost as if you need to have played every mandolin in the world to understand it :))

[Marty Jacobson]

Very interesting review. One thing you don't talk about much in the review is the scale length. Is it really 16"? I would consider that a mandola scale, and would make a quite a big impact on the tone. What made you choose that, and how does it effect the playability?

[jmagill]

Very interesting review. One thing you don't talk about much in the review is the scale length. Is it really 16"? I would consider that a mandola scale, and would make a quite a big impact on the tone. What made you choose that, and how does it effect the playability?

Whoops.

It's 14" not 16".

As they say,"Measure twice and cut once." Good thing I don't build 'em.

[jasona]

Gorgeous!