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Here is the Ebony back of Nick's mandolin. It is actually African Ebony.

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Thank you. The tailpiece cover has been a long time coming but I like the result. It took hours and hours of laborious work to get it right, but now I can make them fairly easily. I was going to...

Yes they do have an induced arch. Top and Back both have a 15ft arch.

A couple of things I failed to mention that you can't get from the sound clips. My 4th generation flat tops are really loud. This mandolin has a big dynamic range, but the Ebony one has a...

This is my latest 4th generation flat top mandolin. This is the culmination of 12 years of work improving the sound of the flat top mandolin. It all started from the fact that it is possible to...

I have the same issue. Thomastics seem to be the only viable option. Those other brands might be ok if you live in Europe, but for the rest of us Thomastics are the only ones readily available. I...

(1) Poor setup. That includes nut too high or too low, bridge too high or too low, bridge in wrong position, bridge on backwards, intonation of saddle incorrect, truss rod needs adjustment, poorly...

You probably won't get any answer. I have only made 8 so far, and nearly all have been sold to classical players who are not on this forum. As far as I know, all are happy. PM me if you want any...

CarlM is absolutely correct. To cut the slots with a router or spindle requires a very small bit. Very small bits tend to break, and you can't push the speed or they will break more often,...

I doubt a virzi would solve the problem. With flat topped instruments you can get that "banjo" effect to the sound if the edges of the top are too thin relative to the thickness in the center. It...

Cheap CNC router = slow. Expensive CNC router usually means faster and more robust so more accurate and can run continuously for long periods. Spindles are far quieter and have a much longer life...

Ha ha ha.

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Dare I say, here we go again.

Rick, you should read my two articles which are almost entirely based on oval hole mandolins so is highly relevant. They are not with a transverse bar brace but X...

Yep, he uses the same pick I use.

Oval sound hole, Thomasic strings.

I make them for my flat top mandolins. The cover is glued to the metal with a marine grade black epoxy that is manufactured here in Australia. The wooden cover and the engraving is cut on my CNC...

I started making the first mandolin in 1993, and finished it on new years day 1994. By 1996 after having made around 25 mandolins I wanted to understand why certain mandolins sounded better than...

My approach has been to measure the modal frequencies of the free plates using chladni patterns and correlate that with the sound of the finished instrument. More recently, after reading the...

You are assuming that most of the sound comes from the sound hole. That is not true. Most of the sound comes from the top. The main air mode does contribute to the sound, and it is important not...

Once again confusion between CITES and the Lacey Act. CITES is an international treaty that covers endangered species of plants and animals. The Lacey act is a USA law that has nothing to do with...

I have just measured the bridge height of the first Army Navy style of mandolin I made and it comes to 16mm, and that is the height I aim for. That mandolin is a direct copy of an original, so that...

All maple is not the same species of tree, and although it is thought there is some environmental influence, figuring is most likely to be genetic. If you cut a tree with figured wood, usually the...

What John said.

Just to illustrate what Dave Cohan has said about tapping free plates, read my article I wrote way back in 2004 on free plate modes of mandolins. There is a diagram of the lowest 4 modes and it is...

Mostly true but I think that statement is an over simplification. Making a mandolin top stiffer usually involves making the top thicker, or increasing the height of braces. That adds mass which...