My Pava

I've had my A5 for a couple weeks now. I haven't much said anything about it. Those that own one can articulate it's sound/tone much better than I, so I'd be speaking to the choir there.

I can't hardly lay it down, it took me a little bit to get use to the way it sounds, my previous mandolin was so loud and had so much bite and bright. I tolled over what to buy and I thought about several instruments and I'm sure I'd love any one of those. But my Pava has quickly turned out to be my best lover and I'm loving everything about it, the feel, tone is just so much what I was looking for and didn't even know it.

I started off thinking I needed the loudest and brightest and I researched alot of them but I kept coming back to the Pava and now I'm so very glad I did. And no it's not a canon and no it doesn't have a biting bright tone but it has everything else and then some. Every note up to the 17 fret is so clean and it resonates so well and is so comfortable to play, well you get the picture, I'm 110% elated that I went with Pava...

Congratulations! Sounds like you made the perfect choice for you, glad you love it!

awesome! :mandosmiley:

Congratulations ! Any instrument out of the Ellis Shop should be great !

A friend has a Pava, and I remember how impressed I was when I first played it. Very nice tone and it plays well. Enjoy.

I'm about a month away from delivery of my 2nd Pava Pro A, this one an oval. What a great shop! Can't say enough good things about the group of people Tom has assembled. Everything about the process has been a delight. I even got to visit the shop and select my wood. What great people! Tom, Pava, Cathy, Christian and Mary are some of the nicest and most talented people I've ever met. Love the Ellis shop!

I think the one I ordered might be in that batch as well. It’s gonna be an A satin model, blonde, torrified gloss adi top, one piece back, with a pickguard and headstock inlay. Cathy over there has been really great keeping me updated on the build, as well as sending me some beautiful progress pictures. I am really pleased they were able to accommodate all the specific features I asked for. So far I have but good things to say about the experience, they certainly are a first rate shop.

Tks for the replies folks, I've got a long ways to go but steady practicing, I've only been trying to learn a month or so. Besides working on a bunch of tunes trying to learn most chords in about three places. I worked on this yesterday, first a slower version and then a bit faster version today. Both recorded on my iphone so it is what it is, besides my limited playing ability, not much you can tell from a phone recording. It does sound a lot better than phone recording but I don't.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17L0...ew?usp=sharing



https://drive.google.com/file/d/13W1...ew?usp=sharing

My music buddy and I go down to Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz every so often and pay a welfare check on all of their mandolins. We tune up and play a bunch, and the Sylvan guys understand why we do it. In June, I returned from River of the West mando camp and was ready for the next level instrument. Once I let go of insisting on an F. the choice became obvious. The two Pava's at Sylvan were both excellent, but after a blind test, I knew which one was mine. I bought #262, a blonde A, a couple of months ago. I'm very impressed with its fit and finish and tone. It has a cutting tone all over the neck, and a strong chop. Plenty loud too. My feeling was that whatever came out of the Ellis shop was top quality. I think I have as good a value, very high quality axe. Money well spent.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Toycona

My music buddy and I go down to Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz every so often and pay a welfare check on all of their mandolins. We tune up and play a bunch, and the Sylvan guys understand why we do it. In June, I returned from River of the West mando camp and was ready for the next level instrument. Once I let go of insisting on an F. the choice became obvious. The two Pava's at Sylvan were both excellent, but after a blind test, I knew which one was mine. I bought #262, a blonde A, a couple of months ago. I'm very impressed with its fit and finish and tone. It has a cutting tone all over the neck, and a strong chop. Plenty loud too. My feeling was that whatever came out of the Ellis shop was top quality. I think I have as good a value, very high quality axe. Money well spent.

---

You are correct, anything out of the Ellis shop will be high quality !

Beginners take note. Something like a Pava will make you a better player in half the time. You will play it twice as much.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Beginners take note. Something like a Pava will make you a better player in half the time. You will play it twice as much.

---

I don't know about half the time, possibly! What helps me stay interested and practice more is having four different mandolins, two oval and two F's. Mandopolygamy ! When my practicing gets a little stale I switch to another mandolin and I become instantly reinvigorated ! Just me and everyone is different !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Br1ck

Beginners take note. Something like a Pava will make you a better player in half the time. You will play it twice as much.

---

I really liked my Eastman 305 and wish I had it back. A nice playing instrument does encourage you to play more and go further. I'm retired 68 and been playing guitar since I was 10. Home mostly by myself in the sticks with my puppy, ain't like I got alot to do...puppy play, yardwork and practice a lot on guitar and now mandolin, everyone has a different load. Plus I had to think hard as to why or should I get a higher end mandolin since I'm now just a couch player, did I really need to spend 5 times what my other mandolin cost. I finally decided to move up simply for my needs and I wouldn't know the difference 100 years from now anyway, plus now my kids can either keep it, play it or sell it.

Your life sounds like mine, except I'm in a large metropolitan area and have a few fine shops to tempt me. The most I've ever paid for a mandolin is $1600. My kit build cost me $1200, of witch $150 was the case. The CA bridge was used too. I went overboard with guitars and tube Audio gear for a while. I could sell four acoustic guitars and three or four nice stereo amps and not miss them. I'd then buy a $5000 or so mandolin.

But I'm building another mandolin now instead, and I've got a line on a cheap open back banjo in need of repair.

Congrats! I have a Pava A that I love. At one point in the past I owned an Ellis F5 deluxe, but that was just too much and too fancy for either my budget or ability. Every once in a while I think about upgrading to an Ellis A or a two-point, but the Pava just doesn't leave me wanting anything for tone.

Quote:

---

I went overboard with guitars and tube Audio gear for a while. I could sell four acoustic guitars and three or four nice stereo amps and not miss them. I'd then buy a $5000 or so mandolin.

---

I tend to have stickier fingers when it comes to guitars than I do for mandolins. I don't know why that is. I keep looking for my "Excalibur" mandolin, and frankly I've never found anything better than a Collings MT I owned early on in my mandolin journey, do I keep going through them looking for "the One". I prefer understated to fancy, so the MT suited me well, as does my Pava now. Maybe this time around I'll be smart enough to learn from that experience.

The truth is, an MT gets you most of anything anyone really needs in a mandolin. Wants is another matter entirely. I've held MAS at bay by starting another build.

I don't know enough about mandolins for comparisons nor am I a professional player, a seasoned player or a jam player but simply a sitting on the couch or patio trying to learn a little something player. I don't live anywhere near a music store to be able to go in and play various instruments to determine what I like better. So like many I'm left to reading reviews in forums like this. As with anything you have to take online reviews with a grain of salt. What one person may rave about another may think meh...so in the end I went with the Pava, I figured I could do worse or maybe better it was a roll of the dice.

I don't even know Brian at the Mandolin Store or if he's a seasoned player or not but I knew he was a lot more knowledgeable than me, so after an hour conversation with him on various brands that he has played, general price range and his opinion from actually playing the Pava I went ahead and bought it on his recommendation. So all I can say and not knowing anything is that it sounds and plays great to me and that's what I was after so I'm well pleased.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CBFrench

Tks for the replies folks, I've got a long ways to go but steady practicing, I've only been trying to learn a month or so. Besides working on a bunch of tunes trying to learn most chords in about three places. I worked on this yesterday, first a slower version and then a bit faster version today. Both recorded on my iphone so it is what it is, besides my limited playing ability, not much you can tell from a phone recording. It does sound a lot better than phone recording but I don't.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17L0...ew?usp=sharing



https://drive.google.com/file/d/13W1...ew?usp=sharing

---

That instrument sounds fantastic, and I like the tunes you are picking, but I didn't recognize them. I notice you are mostly using pick downstrokes. Was that intentional to get the particular sound you want?

When I bought my first good mandolin, my Silverangel, it was mainly a financial decision, the used SA vs a new MT. Saved over a thousand dollars. Later, I was able to play these side by side and realized it was a pure subjective judgement. I've played three or four other known brands, Pava among them, and have found them all to be very good.

I doubt you'd be disappointed with your Pava if you put it head to head with anything in the same price range. A friend owns Pave #1. They were good from the start.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CBFrench

I don't know enough about mandolins for comparisons nor am I a professional player, a seasoned player or a jam player but simply a sitting on the couch or patio trying to learn a little something player. I don't live anywhere near a music store to be able to go in and play various instruments to determine what I like better. So like many I'm left to reading reviews in forums like this. As with anything you have to take online reviews with a grain of salt. What one person may rave about another may think meh...so in the end I went with the Pava, I figured I could do worse or maybe better it was a roll of the dice.

I don't even know Brian at the Mandolin Store or if he's a seasoned player or not but I knew he was a lot more knowledgeable than me, so after an hour conversation with him on various brands that he has played, general price range and his opinion from actually playing the Pava I went ahead and bought it on his recommendation. So all I can say and not knowing anything is that it sounds and plays great to me and that's what I was after so I'm well pleased.

---

Glad you like your Pava. I have been checking on many lately and I do see that the Pava has a good radius on the fret board just like the Eastman mandolins. All I can say is if you paid a price like I saw on a search at $3K for one it better play effortlessly. The sky is the limit with these things. I will end up I am sure with an Eastman since their quality is also excellent but their prices are much more affordable to me. Enjoy playing and try to get with some jam sessions. I am sure you would love the experience.