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Thread: A visit to the Music Emporium

  1. #1

    Default A visit to the Music Emporium

    I visit the Music Emporium a lot. I live about 20 minutes away, and I've come to the conclusion that they are the best shop for mandolins in the northeast now that the Mandolin Brothers is out of the picture. I went in today because they had recently added a couple of really attractive instruments to their lineup: a 2007 Red Diamond Vintage A, a 2001 Gilchrist 3A, and a 1992 Givens A6. (I think that after acquiring my new Smart A5, I've become a bit of an A-style junkie.) Lots of stuff impressed me, but here's what I really loved. Warning: videos of my amateur playing at unflattering angles ahead!

    The Red Diamond. For anyone who hasn't tried one of these babies... do it! This instrument was ten years old and was just fantastic. I kinda love the right-angle headstock, and the inlay on the headstock is great too. $7000 is an amazing price for this instrument. Check it out:




    The Gilchrist. I think it was the second priciest mandolin in the shop at $15.5k (I think the Dudenbostel F5 in the shop is $20k+), and while I'm pretty sure I'll never own a mandolin of that caliber, it sure is a beautiful thing to behold. I'll let it speak for itself:




    The 2013 Pava Pro. Amazing value at $2300. Nice thin finish with a bright sunburst, very lightweight, and with gorgeous one-piece back to boot. Best value in the shop for a professional mandolin! Not up on their website yet, so here are some pics:

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    The Phoenix. I'm a huge fan of Phoenix mandolins... if I had found this one before I saw my Smart on the classifieds, I might have bought it instead. Light as a feather, big beefy neck, and heaping helping of hoss:




    The Collings MT2 in cream and merlot. I almost bought this one before I found my Smart. This one is the best of the three MT2 models in the shop, and one of the prettiest Collings instruments. I could look at those back and sides all day. Here it is with its sibling:

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    Go check them out!

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    ~David Chernack

    2003 Lawrence Smart A5 #145
    2011 Kentucky KM-1000
    2010 Kentucky KM-150
    1961 Silvertone 3/4 octave mandolin conversion
    2015 Eastman E20D

  2. The following members say thank you to dchernack for this post:

    Jenny 

  3. #2

    Default Re: A visit to the Music Emporium

    Nice review! Thanks for the videos and description. That Phoenix Bluegrass model seems like a beast.

  4. The following members say thank you to Josh Levine for this post:

    Jenny 

  5. #3
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    Default Re: A visit to the Music Emporium

    Just a little bump to a 6 year old thread:

    I was visiting my daughter in Boston last weekend and took a ride out to TME. I was primarily interested in trying out the Campanella F-5 and the Heiden A-5, just because I'd never played either before. For the record, both are spectacular mandolins! I've heard enough Campanellas through TME's video demos to have an idea of how it would sound, and this one didn't disappoint. It wasn't as loud as my Kelley A-5 but was very nuanced, responsive, and sounded great. Very consistent tone all the way up the fretboard. And, of course, it was set up well and looked gorgeous.

    The Heiden was also of spectacular build quality/refinement, was a bit louder than the Campanella, but still not quite as loud as my Kelley. But, it had plenty of volume, and the complexity of tone was amazing, from gently picking/strumming to full out wailing on it (respectfully and without any top contact, of course). Also very well balanced tone all over the neck. I can see why these are lauded for their versatility/excellence regardless of the genre played.

    It was a great experience and very educational for me, and I left happy to have my Kelley, which is more of a bluegrass voiced instrument, but which definitely holds its own with some heavy hitters. I also played most of the other mandolins they had out in the showroom but they were busy, so I didn't ask to play the Duff (which I've played before) or the Northfield Artist models they have in stock. But, I was very impressed with the NFS-5 that was out in the show room. Great mandolin, regardless of the price, but the price makes it even better, lol.

    I ended up leaving with a Rivolta Combinata VII electric guitar, which is a really nice double humbucker addition to my Tele. We were pretty exhausted after the weekend and trip home last night, but I had to plug it in and ended up playing it for over an hour. If you're looking for beefy double humbucker tone with excellent build quality and a nice price, check these out! (South Korean imports but designed by Dennis Fano and with final set up and inspection at their US Novo Guitars shop). NFI, etc, etc.

    Much thanks to Dan and the rest of the crew for their hospitality and assistance this weekend. What a great shop!
    Chuck

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