As a way to avoid doing anything productive, I just went through a bunch of old threads about Stivers. It was pretty interesting to me that literally nobody said anything bad about them. Maybe a few less than gushing comments about tone, but really nothing bad. They have a very consistently good reputation. I guess it just reinforced what I know about the one I got a while ago. I love playing it, love the tone, and everyone can hear it; even the guy who griped at me for years because he couldn't hear my '20 Gibson A (I'm not assertive enough to ever have told him to play quieter I guess). I showed it around at our local festival (www.bighornmountainfestival.com) this summer and it got played around some high end Gibsons, a bunch of Flatirons and Webers, and a really nice Nugget. There was no reason at all for my little A to be embarassed in that group. It definitely belonged. I feel really lucky to have gotten it, as I live in a place where there just are not that many mandolins around to try out. I'd been curious about them for quite a while so took a chance on one from Elderly. In retrospect, I'm really glad I didn't pull the trigger on the Daley. Ok, enough. Happy picking. Bill
Know what you mean, Bill, I just got a Stiver about a month ago (thanks, LA Mike!) and couldn't be happier. The tone is just remarkable, a true cannon, especially considering that I was switching from a Washburn as my primary axe (with all apologies to Washburn, a pretty nice tone in itself but NO match for the Stiver)...all thumbs up!
By the way: am I breaking any laws by responding to a thread more than a year old?!
just bought a used stiver from elderly about three weeks ago,number 96#built in 1982,have played alot of mandolin in my years but none like this.I spent more money then i should have for it,but would do it again in a heart beat.love it
Just read your post, jcause...congrats on the new baby!
congratulations to all who have posted on recent purchase of a Stiver mandolin...I bought mine new in 2003 after comparing and researching many higher end mandolins...due to recomendation from Elderly and simply lower cost than Gipsons at the time I went with Stiver--had never seen one before so I was very apprehensive but wow as soon as I received it (after waiting more than six months) Simply a beauty. I would put it up against most high-end mandolins that cost twice as much. Definitely a keeper!
