Yes, that is a Halsey mandolin. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but I know Andrew Small and Ashlee Watkins and they told me about their visit with Bill Halsey and buying this mandolin. I don’t know...
Type: Posts; User: Ward Elliott
Yes, that is a Halsey mandolin. I haven’t seen it in person yet, but I know Andrew Small and Ashlee Watkins and they told me about their visit with Bill Halsey and buying this mandolin. I don’t know...
Over the past 10 years or so I’ve gotten a dozen or so custom slotted fretboards from LMI and I am sorely missing them already. So although I won’t predict whether you can make enough to be worth...
I never got the chance to meet him or even talk to him on the phone, but I’ve visited FRETS.com many times and learned some invaluable lessons from Frank Ford. He was an inspiration, thank you Frank!
If you like the narrow fret wire, you have the option of stainless steel, which will last a very long time. It’s only .040” wide so it feels tiny to some people, and not many players find it...
I used this approach on a mandocello neck not long ago. It was an arch top to mandocello conversion and the new neck was pretty slim but it was a laminated neck.I didn’t want to take any chances even...
No, I set the rods in vertically. I wrote “ flush with the face of the neck” , but I actually set them slightly below the surface so I can true up the face without having to sand carbon fiber. I’ve...
I’ve had very good luck using carbon fiber in conjunction with a traditional compression rod in several octave length necks as well as bouzouki length necks. My first attempt failed, but I attributed...
I checked the Jescar website today and there is no indication that they are discontinuing production of EVO. You might want to get in touch with them directly and find out for sure.
That’s great to know, thanks Charley! I’ll try them out next time.
Next time I need a custom fretboard for an old parlor guitar I’m going to be in trouble. I get other things from them, but I don’t know of anyplace else in the world that offers a custom slotting...
I never had any contact with him other than his postings here, but he always had a unique perspective. I love the fact that he built world -class mandolins but didn’t take himself too seriously....
Wow! I love that look! As long as there’s enough contrast between the body color and the binding I think it’s a great look. A friend tried using tortoise binding, no purfling, on a mando very...
Sorry if I sent this thread sideways! Back to the original issue! I have never put wood binding on a mandolin, although I did bind my first few guitars with wood way back in the 70’s. Almost all my...
It’s been my experience that many builders, well known and not so well known, simply don’t want to do repairs on any instruments, even their own. Once they are out the door they really don’t want to...
I had the good fortune to know Herschel for the last 15 years or so, and he was a class guy, a great mandolin player, and a great storyteller. He seemed to know every bluegrass musician who ever...
Now THAT is a guitar repair!!! Awesome work John! I have done a couple versions of that repair after seeing other photos and a description of your method, and I have been extremely pleased with the...
I learned this lesson recently too. I ordered the 174 Light gauge set and when I went to install them, found they were WAY too heavy and way too long for a Martin bent-top mandola I had just rebuilt....
I’ve made bridge saddles out of black Tusq material and have been very happy with them, especially for livening up overbuilt and heavily lacquered import mandolins. Drawback is that the only place to...
Very nice sounding, and I love the checkerboard fretboard!
I agree, a lucky kid for sure! Sounds great, and looks awesome!
It can be very frustrating trying to satisfy players who insist on playing that hard. Some guys can get fret buzz and other distortion no matter how high the action is.
This sounds like a situation where the thicker tanged EVO fret wire can really help. It’s mandolin sized wire (.053”) with a tang thickness of .230”. It allows you to do a compression refret on a...
I’m really sorry to hear about this. I was in touch with Keith years ago about a mandolin of his that came through my shop for minor repair. He was helpful and very excited about building mandolins....
If I understand you correctly, the harmonic on the “e” strings occurs at the 13th fret instead of at the 12th fret like the other strings. To me, that indicates that the “e” strings are probably...
Very sad to hear of Phil’s passing. He would come to my shop for adjustments and fretwork on his mandolins and he would tell me about his family while I worked. He was one of the kindest and gentlest...