Northfield Tone: NF-F5S vs Big Mon

[CWRoyds]

The problem is that there is nowhere near that ever has a group of different models of Northfields to try out.
Actually there are very few that have any.
In LA I don't think I have seen one.
I had to go to San Francisco to find a Northfield.

I would love to play them next to each other and pick what is best for me, but that is not really possible.
I guess I could make a trip to an event where they have a booth, but that adds many hundreds to the cost of procuring a mandolin.
Oh well, I guess I just gotta get the cash lined up and be ready to pounce on the one that shows up.

I think after this discussion, the right one for me might be a regular Master Model with an engelmann top.
That would give me the nice bound neck and body, with a slightly more airy tone.
The Northfield F5s models I have played were awesome, but VERY dry.
I wouldn't mind having a super dry mandolin in the stable, but for my only good mandolin I think I need a little air in the tone.

Maybe the day I get the cash together, there will be the exact one in the classifieds.
We shall see.

[darylcrisp]

The problem is that there is nowhere near that ever has a group of different models of Northfields to try out.
Actually there are very few that have any.
In LA I don't think I have seen one.
I had to go to San Francisco to find a Northfield.

I would love to play them next to each other and pick what is best for me, but that is not really possible.
I guess I could make a trip to an event where they have a booth, but that adds many hundreds to the cost of procuring a mandolin.
Oh well, I guess I just gotta get the cash lined up and be ready to pounce on the one that shows up.

I think after this discussion, the right one for me might be a regular Master Model with an engelmann top.
That would give me the nice bound neck and body, with a slightly more airy tone.
The Northfield F5s models I have played were awesome, but VERY dry.
I wouldn't mind having a super dry mandolin in the stable, but for my only good mandolin I think I need a little air in the tone.

Maybe the day I get the cash together, there will be the exact one in the classifieds.
We shall see.

check out Tejonstreetmusic. John and Sean(father and son) own/run the shop and I've nothing but excellent deals with the two. They are Northfield dealers, and both are real happy with the mandolins they have been getting from NF. They will send you a soundclip of the mandos you are interested in-its not like being there, but at least you will be able to hear the differences.

John Ramsey used to build mandolins, and the folks who have them are quite fond of them. So he knows about how a mando should look.feel, sound.




good luck to you

[raycan2]

Thin street music I think is Colorado Springs,,,Pretty far from LA..

[darylcrisp]

Thin street music I think is Colorado Springs,,,Pretty far from LA..

I am not familiar with Thin Street.

the purpose of my reply regarding TejonStreetMusic was in the event he was going to be near the shops location in the future, he would know they have possibility of having a few in stock.
likewise as I mentioned in my reply, if he can't get there, they are willing to do nice soundclips of the different mandolins.

I live in Virginia-also pretty far from Colorado, and I never could find a shop within 6 hours that carried more than one or two models at once because they were usually already sold before they arrived.

TejonStreet has provided service to me with regards to nice clear soundclips in the past, and I have been able to determine which mandolin or guitar appealed to me.

Those soundclips have resulted in the purchase of 3 mandolins(Collings and Northfield) and one Collings guitar. All instruments arrived and were as good or better than expected.



d

[raycan2]

I am not familiar with Thin Street.

the purpose of my reply regarding TejonStreetMusic was in the event he was going to be near the shops location in the future, he would know they have possibility of having a few in stock.
likewise as I mentioned in my reply, if he can't get there, they are willing to do nice soundclips of the different mandolins.

I live in Virginia-also pretty far from Colorado, and I never could find a shop within 6 hours that carried more than one or two models at once because they were usually already sold before they arrived.

TejonStreet has provided service to me with regards to nice clear soundclips in the past, and I have been able to determine which mandolin or guitar appealed to me.

Those soundclips have resulted in the purchase of 3 mandolins(Collings and Northfield) and one Collings guitar. All instruments arrived and were as good or better than expected.



d

I am sorry I miss read the forum, but I also did mean Tejon music in Colorado Springs.....but you are right they are helpful, I just talked to Shawn I believe his name is,,,,I am looking into a Northfield and he was very very helpful with all the questions I had for him...
That is our problem here in Wyoming nothing around the state that has any good music stuff,,,,You have to drive 5 hrs. Away in any direction...I wish I had the business mind to open a store in Jackson with nothing but high end acoustic instruments...lots of & floating around Jackson Hole Wyoming....again Iam sorry I'm miss reading the post you wrote...

[CWRoyds]

I think that after watching videos and reading, I have the specs for the one that would be perfect for me.

F5M Master Model (Standard).
Wide Nut
Modern setup
Engelmann top
James Tailpiece

I ended up liking the overall sound of the third mandolin Emory plays in the video of the three models.
It is as described above and seems to be the one I should look for, or have made.
Now I need to get to work saving up for the damn thing.

[jimmy powells]

Myself and my mate both have 2016 Big Mon but just unsure as to why they are not identical. My neck is a little chunkier (which I very much prefer) and my one has very noticeable cream binding on fingerboard and head stock. My mate's one has no fingerboard binding and head stock has very thin binding of different colour.

I feel I have the best F5 I've owned in 48 years of playing mandolin and owning literally hundreds of mandolins.
I'm full of positives for it. Intonation-100%. Colour-Love it. Tone--Love it. Nice chunky Bridge sitting PERFECTLY on top and not falling back or forward which pleases me no end.

If I had one slight negative it would be the top Es are a bit thin. Interestingly I read the the Master series seems to have addressed that and reports say the Es and As have a fuller sound.

I am now using D'Addario covered As and just love the tone. This mandolin cost a lot but I get it back every day.

[CWRoyds]

Myself and my mate both have 2016 Big Mon but just unsure as to why they are not identical. My neck is a little chunkier (which I very much prefer) and my one has very noticeable cream binding on fingerboard and head stock. My mate's one has no fingerboard binding and head stock has very thin binding of different colour.

I feel I have the best F5 I've owned in 48 years of playing mandolin and owning literally hundreds of mandolins.
I'm full of positives for it. Intonation-100%. Colour-Love it. Tone--Love it. Nice chunky Bridge sitting PERFECTLY on top and not falling back or forward which pleases me no end.

If I had one slight negative it would be the top Es are a bit thin. Interestingly I read the the Master series seems to have addressed that and reports say the Es and As have a fuller sound.

I am now using D'Addario covered As and just love the tone. This mandolin cost a lot but I get it back every day.

Hey Jimmy,

It sounds like you guys have one Big Mon and one F5s.
I believe the master models (big mon) have full binding on body and neck.
The F5s just has a bound top, no neck binding, and a thin line around the headstock.
It think when you mention Master Models, you are talking about the Artist Series.
I recently got an Artist Series, and it is an amazing instrument.

As for the thin E string, I have not played a Northfield with a thin E.
Maybe try a thicker string?
I use the EXP74CMs which have the g and d from the 74s, and thicker a and e from the J75s
I love the slightly thicker a and e.

You might also try cranking the action a little bit on the treble side, just to see if it make the tone a bit more bold.
Jody Stecher played my Northfield and really liked it, but suggested cranking my action up a bit.
He was correct, in that it made my mandolin louder, with more power, and a fuller chop.
Just a thought.

[almeriastrings]

Yes. AFAIK, the 'Big Mon' always had fingerboard binding and is fully bound top and back, with black/white purfling, including the sides.



As for the top string, bridge and gauge/brand worth experimenting with...

[Denman John]

I played a Northfield Big Mon for the first time at Dusty Strings in Seattle last week, and it was a pleasure to try. I preferred it over the Collings and Weber mandolins they had there hanging on the wall that day. It was a very attractive mandolin and the neck felt good in the hands. I can see why they are popular here on the cafe.

[Br1ck]

I have been an admirer of the F5s slnce I've played one, and it's oval hole sibling too. TMS had one when I visited and I came away thinking it was worth the extra thousand dollars over the better Kentuckys.

Gryphon often has both the F5S and the Big Mon. One day I broke my rule about playing mandolins I can not afford and picked up the Big Mon. Bigger, rounder, more resonant tone, and all the bling the F5S lacks. Yes , another $1500 or so, and that opens up a lot of used competition.

Reminds me of when I was chasing the Gibson banner J 45 sound on a retired budget. Played all the new ones I could find and didn't hear what I wanted until the J 45 vintage, but that upped the cost significantly. So I took that new figure and played 60s Gibsons and finally found my Epiphone Texan. So it goes. One you switch the budget, new possibilities open up.

But really the F5S hits it out of the ballpark for value. If someone just said here, you can have one, it would be the Big Mon.

[John Lloyd]

I'm getting an Artist series, which in many ways blends the best of both, and reduces overly-resonant frequencies you might otherwise want to EQ out of a recording.

Ooh, nice! I'm burning some vacation time in a month or so to go up to Marshall and have a look at an Artist series. Itchy fingers ...

[Bill Drellow]

I realize this thread has been dormant for five+ years, but in case the following observation might prove helpful to some future explorer who stumbles across it ... I think there's a middle ground between the sound of the NSF-F5 and the Big Mon, which is an NSF-F5 with the Northfield/Gilchrist tailpiece substituted. I recently swapped out the cast OEM tailpiece for a Gilchrist -- as much to facilitate string changing as any other potential benefit -- only to find that the Gilchrist does what Northfield's website says it does, which is to all but eliminate the jingly overtones in the trebles. It doesn't address volume or enhance the bass courses as the Big Mon reportedly does, but it does contribute to what I think is described herein as 'note separation,' or some such.

I will add that I have changed out several Eastman tailpieces for Allens in the past to no perceptible benefit except that I really don't like the highly polished Eastman TPs nor the necessity of fishing string ends out from under them when threading new strings in. I wasn't expecting much from the Gilchrist tonally and was very pleasantly surprised.