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almeriastrings
Mar-28-2013, 4:53am
Jim Triggs F-5

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That is 'Pete - the best old hound in the State of Almeria' looking on in the top RH corner, by the way). Named after Jimmy Martin's dog!

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Quite a wide-grain red spruce on this one. Nice 'burst.

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Back/Sides have what I'd call fairly modest figure - but it works.

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The neck is very playable, comfortable, close to a Loar I tried recently in profile/feel (a Mr Lloyd Loar signed mandolin, that is). Sound: Really dry and woody, lots of volume. The two Ferns I have are both a bit 'warmer' sounding with more overtones. So is the Northfield Big Mon. All very fine mandolins... each a bit different in various ways.

f5loar
Mar-28-2013, 9:09am
I've known Triggs since his first days at Gibson,Inc. He is one heck of a nice luthier and IMO makes a really great F5 copy. He learned from the best and was able to refine his craft, paying attention to details others seem to overlook. His prices have always been more than fair. I know he makes archtop guitars and I assume still making mandolins. If you are looking for a handmade mandolin don't overlook the Triggs mandolins, new or used.

houseworker
Mar-28-2013, 9:22am
That's one lovely looking mandolin. Any chance you might get your recorder out so we can hear her?

stevedenver
Mar-28-2013, 3:40pm
thanks for the post,
was curious as i was discussing a possible Triggs F
he cant do flowerpots anymore, which oddly, was important to me

i have an L5C he made which i really really love

of the few posts i have heard, i agree they sound very very dry

as you mention, he is great value in custom build
and
is really a very good guy from my contacts

almeriastrings
Mar-28-2013, 5:20pm
I need a new set of strings on it, then I'll grab a recording. This particular F-5 is from late 2008, when he was still able to the flowerpot (before the Big G took exception, apparently). In fact, I believe it is one of the very last done like that. Price on them currently is stated at $7.5K. His archtop guitars are indeed also outstanding. Very high quality work.

It is a strange thing with mandolins, but you can take two totally, completely different instruments, both of the general 'F-5' model, such as the Triggs and a Silverangel, each of which has a near polar-opposite tonal response and both can be great in their own right. The Triggs is dry, punchy, with a very tight bottom end while the Silverangel is resonant, with extended low end with a lot of overtones. Very, very different sounding mandolins indeed.

Ivan Kelsall
Mar-29-2013, 3:02am
There's this beautiful Triggs mandolin on sale at TAMCO in the UK. (photo courtesy of TAMCO Brighton - UK),
Ivan
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houseworker
Mar-29-2013, 3:16am
That looks wonderful. What a shame it's been scooped.

almeriastrings
Mar-29-2013, 3:38am
So has mine, only difference is you can't tell :grin:

I did it about a year ago. I can play unscooped just as well, but my wife was using this at the time, and she gets some 'pick click' on regular extensions so I scooped it. Those are 'faux frets' you see on there.

houseworker
Mar-29-2013, 3:47am
It's the "can't tell" that makes all the difference. :)

almeriastrings
Mar-29-2013, 4:09am
I prefer them too over the plain black... this is a closeup of how they do them at the Northfield workshop. Different shape, but same method:

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From a distance, it is hard to tell.

Tavy
Mar-29-2013, 8:24am
That is one mighty fine mandolin you have there, +1 on the sound clip request too!

AlanN
Mar-29-2013, 11:04am
That headstock scroll looks too open, to me. I played one Bobby Clark had some years ago, played very nice and had good tone.

almeriastrings
Mar-29-2013, 11:14am
Yes, it is very open... compare:

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shortymack
Mar-29-2013, 12:58pm
Totally different dimensions/angles on those headstocks. But that stuff doesnt really matter does it?

stevedenver
Mar-29-2013, 1:03pm
and probably a lot easier to work on, cut, binding, etc
it makes me think gibson must have special jig or something to get such a close cut-
certainly can be done by hand, but i could also see issues....
or could be unique to your particular model
i know jim, by his own account, never makes two instruments the same way,


but i guess you have plenty of rom to stuff a cigarette butt, or hang a small lantern...LOL

thanks again for this interesting thread
we need to find a link to the red mando he built for a country star recently-pretty cool instrument imho

f5loar
Mar-29-2013, 2:46pm
If Bill Monroe were alive today and saw the way picker's are mutaliting their mandolins he would say "why that there scooping ain't no part of nothin'" Did you ever hear a Monroe or Apollon recording on an F5 with the dreaded "pick click"? Let me know which one it is!

almeriastrings
Mar-30-2013, 1:11am
True, but I heard a lot of Ricky's with it! ~:>

Ivan Kelsall
Mar-30-2013, 2:02am
For those 'in the know', what's the general consensus on Triggs mandolins ?. I've read that he builds very close to Loar specs. & that he's widely regarded as a very good builder. The Triggs mandolin on sale at TAMCO isn't going for a huge amount by current price standards & i've wondered why it's not been sold yet if they are so good. As an aside,Trevor at TAMCO had a Gibson F5-L in the shop which sold within 3 days - who says that the Gibson name doesn't sell ?,
Ivan

trevor
Mar-30-2013, 3:10am
Hi Ivan,

The last Gibson F5-L was here for two and a half months. I would say the Triggs sound is quite dry with great clarity and a punchy chop as preferred by many bluegrassers.

Ivan Kelsall
Mar-30-2013, 3:42am
Hi Trevor - Thanks for chipping in. I check the TAMCO site almost every day,so i mustn't have looked hard enough. I saw the Gibson for sale & it sold only 3 days after i saw it. I spotted the Triggs as soon as it came up for sale as i know of his reputation as a builder. If the Triggs is as good as you say ( & why shouldn't it be ?), then somebody's missing a great mandolin. The 2 Fletcher Brock mandolins look to be top notch as well & a bargain at your asking price.
Almeria - I must say that looking at the 2 headstocks in your last pics.,the Gibson shape looks tubby by comparison.I've never thought that about any other Gibson i've seen. Maybe my observational abilities are begining to fail !.:(
Ivan;)

almeriastrings
Mar-30-2013, 3:45am
Like fine wines (or good beers) there is a lot of good stuff out there. Which you prefer is entirely down to personal taste... you might like dry with one meal, and a slightly sweeter taste with another...

Ivan, the Triggs is quite different from the typical Lebeda or Weber. It is also quite different from a typical Gibson Fern. Much 'drier' than any of the above. This seems to be a consistent trait with the Triggs F-5's. It is clearly the sound he's aiming at. Obviously, these are all very good mandolins we're talking about here, but also, very different 'voicings'. Build quality on all these is very good indeed, but there are many detail points of difference. The only way to know if they suit your 'palate' is to taste them, preferably in a different context or two, solo, and vs. a banjo, for example.

Ivan Kelsall
Mar-30-2013, 3:57am
Thanks Almeria - I have to agree that most mandolins that i've played have all had their 'own voices' as one would expect. My Weber is very open & clear & quite resonant in the bass,what i tend to refer to in my own mind,as a 'modern' sound. My Lebeda,is much drier,but still as clear as a bell in the treble & with an almost atomic punch when chopping. I have to admit,that overall,i've imagined that i've come to prefer the tone of my Lebeda,as it's got the 'old' sound with it.Then when i pick up my Weber,i like that one as well. So much for my thoughts on a preferred tone,:confused:
Ivan:mandosmiley: