Steve' Kentucky KM756S Workup - newer model

**Stephen Perry** · Mar-07-2017, 9:16pm

http://imgur.com/gallery/T9iBL
has the pics.

Here's the Saga writeup: http://www.sagamusic.com/products/pr...px?item=KM-756

This is a nice mandolin so far. What really struck my eye right away was the crisp workmanship, all over. It's of a piece. The only slightly jarring aspect is the rosewood bridge.

So. Wood is really nice, sounds great. Workmanship on the binding is surprisingly good. Arching looks typical for the Kentucky top-end line generally, which is a nice surprise. The truss rod adjustment really is an adjustment! Tuners are basic, but work fine.

On to the real stuff. The top wood is VERY nice. Good tap sound. Bars are a bit thick, but not too high and are well shaped.

Oh, and the pickguard is nice! I don't really like them, but this is the real thing, done right.

So far the only issue is the frets, which were not level. My image gallery shows the issue. Not unplayable, but wanted some help. As I expected, they leveled up fine and are now shiny level polished, the nut is polished, and I'm ready to start on the acoustic workup.

Stay tuned! I think this will be giving the Eastman MD515 a run for its money.

**darylcrisp** · Mar-08-2017, 5:23pm

excellent pictures, definitely keep us updated with pics ,and words, on the work you are doing on it-I love stuff like this, I always learn something from your posts.

I love the color of this mando. Let us know about the tone once you are finished and your overall thoughts of it. Looks like a winner so far.

thank you
d

**Stephen Perry** · Mar-08-2017, 9:59pm

http://imgur.com/gallery/V20SC

This is part 2: Bridge fitting with scraper and carbon paper, under pressure. Bridge trimming and shaping in the mandovoodoo process. Would be easier if you could hear it - that's how the cuts get guided. F hole workup with knives, files and paper, including my incredible sand the inside edge tool, only $500 post paid. Or make one with a clothes hanger wire! Initial interior work with scrapers on bendable wires, including showing some starting points.

The mando immediately started singing better once I hit the high points on the inside. This is very nicely graduated, the bars were good. Really took much less work than usual to get the foundational mandovoodoo work done. I'm looking forward to stringing and tuning it up!

Have fun! Recommendations for improving my technique very welcome.

**Ron McMillan** · Mar-08-2017, 11:40pm

Thanks for the educational sequence of photos and captions, Stephen. Fascinating.

**Stephen Perry** · Mar-09-2017, 9:31am

The mandolin is together. Without any additional work:

1. Very easy playing, next is nice, frets easily, feels good Better than many inexpensive mandolins by far. Neck is right, frets are right.

2. Response is very even, that is the first thing I noticed. Responds to a pick pretty much uniformly. No course with a sudden bang next to one with a soft attack, an issue that is more common than one would think.

3. Tone (subjective) is surprisingly sweet, almost delicate, exceptionally clear and noise free. Balance in character, volume, and tone is remarkable for an inexpensive instrument.

4. Volume, projection, and dynamic range are not tremendous, but started to improve rapidly with just a little gentle playing. Not an un-amplified rise over the banjo volume, but clearly fine for small jams and for solo at home. Actually very pleasant to walk around playing!

5. Spectrum. Sort of rolls off on the high end. I imagine a CA bridge or equivalent will help. I can't play in every mandolin, but I certainly expect rapid improvement from this one as it gets used.

Will continue to update. Less to show, but I might use the tape markers or pieces of string or something to describe what I'm doing.

**Stephen Perry** · Mar-10-2017, 1:59pm

And here is Part 3 http://imgur.com/gallery/JqCib This mandolin turned out very well, easy to play, and really sounds very nice, especially for an inexpensive instrument! Now on to the A model that came in, and then a KM-1050 and KM-950!

**Br1ck** · Mar-10-2017, 4:18pm

It seems to me from reading your various posts, that most mandolins can improve with your Mandovoodoo treatment, but higher end instruments less so because more care is taken in the build. Conversely, while cheaper instruments can be improved too, only to the extent that their build limitations allow. Seems like there is a bang for the buck sweet spot among the higher levels of the import market. Is this a fair assessment?

I bring up the subject because while not a bluegrass player, yet, I'd like a brighter instrument to compliment my Silverangel, and an F style import in the $800-1000 range might fit the bill, plus a mandovoodo treatment. That Kentucky or possibly one the Master models would probably fit my needs.

**Stephen Perry** · Mar-10-2017, 9:00pm

Brick, I've worked on Loar period Gibsons with great results. The better the mando, the more subtle cool stuff I can get out of it. The best results I've had are on violins where I can work with the arching and linings and everything from the first saw cut on. That is really nifty. This system isn't about the construction or design, it's about making the construction and design do all it can. Fun stuff. I'm already doing another Kentucky, the new A model, and it is SWEET.

**Ron McMillan** · Mar-11-2017, 2:07am

Originally Posted by Stephen Perry

And here is Part 3 http://imgur.com/gallery/JqCib This mandolin turned out very well, easy to play, and really sounds very nice, especially for an inexpensive instrument! Now on to the A model that came in, and then a KM-1050 and KM-950!

I'll be very interested to read how you get on with the KM950

**Mainer73** · Jun-20-2023, 4:19pm

I know this is an old thread, but I just stumbled on it and since I've been the owner of this mandolin since I purchased it from Steve in March 2019, I thought it was worth updating for trivia purposes. I had Steve upgrade to a Cumberland Acoustic bridge, which he also "mandovoodooed". I actually haven't played it with the original bridge that he worked on but should try it at some point as I have it as well. The mandolin has really opened up nicely and definitely can hang in a large loud jam. The tone is great no matter how hard I drive it and it projects nicely. The balance is exceptional. I've played some higher end F5 models and found this one to check the boxes just as well. A couple of pro players have played it and were quite impressed. I'm not sure if Steve is still working with mandolins but I can recommend his work. I purchased my first mandolin from him in 2005, as well as a couple of fiddles in the years before that. I've since added an A5 to my herd that is really good, but this 756 is still my go-to road warrior. It's great for Bluegrass of course but also does quite well for Jazz and even sounds good playing Irish tunes. Though I typically don't play Irish or old-time much on mando. The non-standard dark cherry finish is also quite nice.