https://reverb.com/item/26852968-rol...nslucent-green
Anyone familiar with this one?
Let me add that I am in no way affiliated with it.
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https://reverb.com/item/26852968-rol...nslucent-green
Anyone familiar with this one?
Let me add that I am in no way affiliated with it.
wow...there is no accounting for taste
Or should I say, I'm green with envy?
I'd make 'em clean all that algae off before buying it.
Not my cup of green tea, but Rolfe does make a nice mandolin.
It's actually pretty nice,I've seen this mandolin before ,I just can't remember where...
Well - that's . . . interesting . . . .
Actually, I kind of like it . . . I just don't $6,700 like it . . .
There was a string with uncommon mandolins and this (or another green one) may have been featured, iirc. that and a blue one.
You mean 'did' make nice mandolins. Unless he has changed his mind, he is now retired. Too bad for all of us. Glad I have one of his very late builds :grin:!Quote:
Originally Posted by pops1
Love it love it.
Woah! Green is my favorite color, but that is definitely not my style.
Amazing condition for being 43 years old!
A little flashy for my tastes, but looks like quality work.
In answer to a question posed in another thread, I can now say that I have one fewer mandolins than I really really gotta have.
I just got to hang out with Jeff Harrison last weekend. He's played bass in the San Antonio based band Tennessee Valley Authority for 30 or so years. My friend Marty Javors plays guitar.
Jeff's brother Hank plays an F-5 Jeff made. I knew he had worked with Rolfe in the past.
"It's not easy being green." - Kermit the Frog
Geico Mandolin. This reminds me of the crazy finishes Gibson was putting on Les Pauls a few years ago.
Pics for posterity?
Maybe someone can lift the pictures from reverb and post them here (I seem to be to lazy or dumb to do it).Quote:
Originally Posted by Deyoung
I find it interesting that very little is being said about the mandolin. I donīt know the mandolin but I am willing to put my 2 cent out there from what I can gather from what I know.
The mandolin was built in a period when Gibson didnīt make nice instruments. The Gibson F-5 revamp by Roger Siminov hadnīt really happened yet. At that time pickers often relied on F-5 copies by (good) luthiers.
Rolfe Gerhardt is a good luthier. He built mandolins under his own name and under the "Unicorn" as well as the "Phoenix" brand (donīt confuse it with the and "Unicorn and Mustang" brand by Taku Sakashta). I have played a Rolfe Gerhardt built mandolin at the great TAMCO (Brighton/UK) and was very pleased with the built and sound. I believe that Rolfe Gerhardt is a member here. Go and contact him. I also think that he has retired as a luthier. His brand "Phoenix" is continued by Jenny Warner (http://www.phoenixmandolins.com/phoenix/about-phoenix/). I think you can contact her as well for further information/insight.
The label indicates that the mandolin was built for Harry West. Harry West was a very well known instrument dealer. He passed on some years ago. He was very knowledgable when it came to instruments. For example, he once had the Pee Wee Lambert Lloyd Loar F-5 for sale, that Ricky Skaggs owns now. I would say that a person who was this involved with instruments and mandolins in particular does know who should build him a nice mandolin. (Example: See David Grismans involvment with Giacomel mandolins or Mike Comptonīs involvment with Gilchrist and Duff mandolins; I think this speeks for itself)
Now for some speculation. If my memory does not mislead me, Harry West had a Paganoni mandolin that John Paganoni especially made for Harry West finishing it in a green color. So it looks like Harry West had a soft spot for "green".
The mandolin screams "cool" and youīll certainly be at the center of atention when hammering out the Green Rolling Hills of West Virginia , Bitter Green, Green Light On the Southern, Green Green Grass of Home etc. It certainly is an interesting instrument.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to my eyes it is ugly ! Sorry !
Yep Harry did have a Green Paganoni for quite the healthy price-I doubt it ever sold? He had it for sale for many years. Now to this OP's mandolin he's interested in, I love the looks and think its gorgeous and know that these are very well thought of mandolins! I bet it sounds as great as it looks, I say make an offer, that never hurts and the most important thing is do you like it-that's all that matters as you'll be the one playing it! I'd play it, love the Green, the woods, the extensive inlay work, the Amati style F-holes, carving looks well done also. Yep I like her, I'm going to look at it again right now!
Thanks for the detailed and interesting information, Grassrootsphilosopher. Sadly, though, the Phoenix shop is closed. I know the web site is still up, but Jenny closed the shop a while ago. We had a really good discussion about it here on the Cafe at the time. Too bad, they had made some interesting and successful innovations, and Jenny, too, is a really good Luthier.Quote:
Originally Posted by grassrootphilosopher
I am proud to own a Phoenix, and am unlikely to ever part with it.
Quite a departure from the “norm” but, I actually kind of like it.
If anyone is wondering, practically the same color scheme used by Gibson circa early 2000’s on some Les Pauls was called “Gecko Burst”.
Yes, sorry to see him retire and sorry to see Jenny stop making mandolins too. Seems an era change as Hans Brentrup is retired also a few years ago, so you have two of the respected makers now retired that I can think of with less than my first cup of coffee.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Clark
I have one of Han's mandolins and a Unicorn from Rolfe. both different and very nice mandolins.
Beautiful wood! Interesting color and binding and other design choices, lol. If I were playing on stage while wearing lots of rhinestones, this mandolin might be just the thing. (Do any country performers dress that way anymore?)
Many years ago a mandolin built by a friend of mine was in the classifieds. It was basically a similar color with some other strange features. I sent him an e-mail regarding it and he answered something like "The customer ordered it and paid for it. Good taste never entered the equation."
Not my cup of tea but somebody liked it.