That's a true beauty!
Just got the word from Sonny that the mando is in the mail! I'm amazed at the fast turnaround - I contacted him on August 31st and it's in the mail on September 27th! Specs: Morris F4 Mandolin (#277): DOB: September 2013 Soundboard: Western Red Cedar Back & Sides: Big Leaf Maple Fretboard: Cocobola Rosewood, Radiused Armrest Nut Material: bone Neck Width at the Nut: 1 1/8” String spacing at Nut (outside G to outside E): 1” Neck Shape: Slight V profile Neck Reinforcement: Non-adjustable steel truss rod Tuners & Tailpiece: Grover Bridge: Custom Ebony adjustable Bracing: Transverse tone bars Finish: Honey Amber, nitrocellulose lacquer Strings: Fitted by Sonny with Martin Bluegrass Strings (M450: 80/20 Bronze Wound 11-14-24W-38W) Pickup: K&K Mandolin Twin, installed by Sonny I've uploaded Sonny's photos to the Photos section. I'll give my impressions when it arrives next week. Thanks for putting these pages up, Ed! Dealing with Sonny has been a wonderful experience! Nathan Craver (Martinez, CA)
Received F4 #277 on Monday, tuned it up and played all evening! What a joy to play - bright but full sound, easy action, comfortable neck and body (it was even easy to play standing up without a strap)! Sonny was out of D'Addarios so he strung it up with Martins. They sound great, but I'll eventually try some different strings to see how they compare. My previous mandolins were a 1916 Gibson A (oval hole) and a Michael Kelly Legacy FS-E (f holes), both of which I had to sell earlier this year. This is much easier to play than either of them and sounds much better, too! Similar sound and feel to the Gibson, but much brighter. I suppose that could be the new strings or just because it's a new instrument, but it's also much louder. The Grover tuners are real nice, also, although I think one may need a little tightening. It was shipped in the soft case shown in the photos, wrapped in bubble wrap, and in a small cardboard box. Came through the USPS fine, shipped on Friday and arrived Monday afternoon (from Oregon to California). I had Sonny install a K&K Mandolin Twin pickup as he was building it (I ordered it from Amazon and had it sent directly to him). I haven't tried plugging it in yet, other than to connect to a tuner. I'm taking it over to the local music store to get a hard case and strap and will give it a try through an amp there. I didn't want the effect of having the white insides show through the soundhole (especially in flash photos), so I asked Sonny to darken the inside of the back. Unfortunately, the stain bled through to one side of the back, but he was able to fix it so it doesn't show after he finished it. If anyone else has that bright idea, have him seal the inside first! I will be playing it at a bluegrass jam tonight and at an open mic tomorrow night, so we'll see how it does 'live', but I'm sure it will be the hit of both events! I had not heard of Howard Morris, until I came across some comments here at the Cafe and did a bit more searching. The favorable comments here and on the Facebook page, along with a few videos (especially Olga's!) convinced me to give Sonny a call - and I'm sure glad I did! This is a fantastic instrument and definitely the best I could do with my budget!! I really wanted to by something made in Northern America and this worked out great! My wife and I recently got new Breedlove guitars, so we're all Oregon-made so far! (I tried a Breedlove mandolin, but wasn't that impressed - nice, but the neck felt kind of tight.) Happy to be a satisfied Morris owner, Nathan
#277 sounded great both acoustically at the bluegrass jam and plugged in at the open mic. I'm very happy! Now I just need to practice!!
I just ordered my custom Morris mandolin. It is an A style, Oval hole. It will have a cedar top, cocobolo radiused fretboard, large frets, 1-3/16" nut width, maple back and sides, square peghead, and a K & K mandolin pickup with strap pin input installed by Howard. It will be 5-6 weeks. I am very excited about the opportunity to have a mandolin made just for me. Wow!
The first pics came from Howard today. I posted in the Morris Mandolin group photo page. Beautiful carving on amazing woods!
A quick note from a brand new member. Old HonketyHank just drove over 300 miles today to look at Howard's available inventory. Inevitably, one followed me home. Honest. I couldn't make it go away. Luckily, Mrs. Hank likes it. Brand new Morris F-5.
