If you could only have one...

[astein2006]

If you could only have one flat top mandolin what would it be made of? What would the top be? What would the back and sides be? Neck and fingerboard? Let's keep the woods to common varieties and not crazy expensive or hard to find varieties. And the all important why!
The only condition would be that this mandolin would be for playing Old Time music and classical, no blue grass.

Fire away!

[pheffernan]

Since you're asking . . .

The top would be a piece of red spruce that is really wide grained with lots of bearclaw figure.



The back would be a piece of 500 year old sinker birch pulled from Moosehead Lake in Maine.



And the neck would be traditional Spanish cedar.



Why would I choose those materials, you might ask? Hopefully, they would help capture the essence of the flattops that Gibson was building a century ago.

[JEStanek]

My flat top (cant top actually) was made in Australia so the timbers there aren't super rare but here: Engleman top, Western Australian Sheoak (similar denisity to rosewood so choose rosewood) back and sides. Mahogany neck with ebony board. This mandolin was designed for a warmer darker sound than your usual spruce over maple mandolin. The voice is my favorite. It never fails to impress for looks and for sound. I attribute that to the skill of my builder, Jack Spira.

You can read and see more here. This is my main instrument. I also really love the sound of the all mahogany (top and back) Mid Missouri / Big Muddy mandolins, the cocobolo backed Martins, and the walnut backed Mid Mo / Big Muddy.

Jamie

[astein2006]

My flat top (cant top actually) was made in Australia so the timbers there aren't super rare but here: Engleman top, Western Australian Sheoak (similar denisity to rosewood so choose rosewood) back and sides. Mahogany neck with ebony board. This mandolin was designed for a warmer darker sound than your usual spruce over maple mandolin. The voice is my favorite. It never fails to impress for looks and for sound. I attribute that to the skill of my builder, Jack Spira.

You can read and see more here. This is my main instrument. I also really love the sound of the all mahogany (top and back) Mid Missouri / Big Muddy mandolins, the cocobolo backed Martins, and the walnut backed Mid Mo / Big Muddy.

Jamie

Funny you should bring up Big Muddy. I'm having a hard time deciding on a few of their models. Right now I have it narrowed down to Spruce top w/ rosewood back and sides, Spruce top w/ walnut back and sides(rosewood neck) or the all mahogany model(blackwood neck). I see your Spira is essentially spruce w/rosewood b&s. Currently I have only a Kentucky KM-150 when I first started. I like it but I really want a flat top. Something that I can play Old Time and classical on. The Kentucky is fine but I really want the flat top for Old Time and classical. If starting over and you could only have one flat top which of the above combinations I just listed would you take from Big Muddy and why?

[astein2006]

Since you're asking . . .

The top would be a piece of red spruce that is really wide grained with lots of bearclaw figure.



The back would be a piece of 500 year old sinker birch pulled from Moosehead Lake in Maine.



And the neck would be traditional Spanish cedar.



Why would I choose those materials, you might ask? Hopefully, they would help capture the essence of the flattops that Gibson was building a century ago.

What is sinker compared to the more common woods used to make back and sides? Rosewood,maple,mahogany, walnut etc etc. Which does it compare most to?

[pops1]

While not a flattop per say, I have an old Martin and have played several others that would be great for old time. Classic spruce and mahogany. Warm with depth and good volume. Light strings with a light touch brings a nice sound and volume.

[pheffernan]

What is sinker compared to the more common woods used to make back and sides? Rosewood,maple,mahogany, walnut etc etc. Which does it compare most to?

Birch is sort of the economy version of maple, used on flattops as well as a number of less ornate archtops by Gibson. The "sinker" moniker merely suggests that the old log was gently preserved at the bottom of a lake for hundreds of years.

[fatt-dad]

I'd use spruce and maple.

f-d

[lflngpicker]

I would want an all mahogany top, sides and back! It would say this combination would create the most warm, mid-range projection, without being too shrill, for vocal accompaniment.

[astein2006]

I would want an all mahogany top, sides and back! It would say this combination would create the most warm, mid-range projection, without being too shrill, for vocal accompaniment.

Trying to decide here between all mahogany and mahogany back and sides with spruce top....hmm

[pheffernan]

Trying to decide here between all mahogany and mahogany back and sides with spruce top....hmm

Dan (and I for that matter) has experience with one of those, too!

[lflngpicker]

Dan (and I for that matter) has experience with one of those, too!

Touché, dear friend!

[Charlie Bernstein]

Funny you should bring up Big Muddy. I'm having a hard time deciding on a few of their models. Right now I have it narrowed down to Spruce top w/ rosewood back and sides, Spruce top w/ walnut back and sides(rosewood neck) or the all mahogany model(blackwood neck). I see your Spira is essentially spruce w/rosewood b&s. Currently I have only a Kentucky KM-150 when I first started. I like it but I really want a flat top. Something that I can play Old Time and classical on. The Kentucky is fine but I really want the flat top for Old Time and classical. If starting over and you could only have one flat top which of the above combinations I just listed would you take from Big Muddy and why?

My Big Muddy (actually, a pre-Big Muddy Mid-Missouri) is spruce and rosewood, like the one you're talking about. Loud, fat bottom, glassy highs, throaty, lots of tone character, looks that kill, and it'll double as a paddle if the crick rises. Love it. And Mike seems like a good guy dedicated to making good instruments.

The short-scale neck probably won't do for way-up-the-neck players, but for me it's very comfortable, and mando notes are high enough without traveling all the way to the Florida keys. I mean frets. I mean . . . uh . . . .

If you want to spend twice the money, my friend Joel Eckhaus at Earnest Instruments makes some good-as-they-get flattops. Barry Mitterhoff of Hot Tuna and Skyline fame plays one.

[astein2006]

Dan (and I for that matter) has experience with one of those, too!

Experience with trying to make that decision or with one of the wood combos I listed?

[JEStanek]

This is all conjecture based on soundbites I heard. I don't have much experience with a wide range of Big Muddy/Mid Mos in hand.

I wanted a warmer sound so, I would most likely choose the All Mahog, then the Walnut, then the Rosewood based on my recollections The latter two were close and would flip flop.

As an FYI, the Gibson F5 was developed by Loar specifically for classical music to provide cut that bowl back mandolins didn't provide. The nice thing about old time is folks really don't care what kind of mandolin you bring into the mix, the music, vibe, and flow are more important.

You may find using different strings on your KM150 will give you a very different sound. Flatwound strings will be warmer than Phosphor Bronze, for example. Silk and Steel as well. Try varying strings and picks before you commit to a whole new instrument. That's the least expensive way to change your sound. Picks of varying thickness and materials (I'm not even talking about the fancy designer picks) really have different tones.

Jamie

[pheffernan]

Experience with trying to make that decision or with one of the wood combos I listed?

Experience with the wood combos. I started on a Mid-Missouri M-0, the unbound version of the M-1 featuring spruce over mahogany, that I later sold to my buddy Dan.

[astein2006]

My Big Muddy (actually, a pre-Big Muddy Mid-Missouri) is spruce and rosewood, like the one you're talking about. Loud, fat bottom, glassy highs, throaty, lots of tone character, looks that kill, and it'll double as a paddle if the crick rises. Love it. And Mike seems like a good guy dedicated to making good instruments.

The short-scale neck probably won't do for way-up-the-neck players, but for me it's very comfortable, and mando notes are high enough without traveling all the way to the Florida keys. I mean frets. I mean . . . uh . . . .

If you want to spend twice the money, my friend Joel Eckhaus at Earnest Instruments makes some good-as-they-get flattops. Barry Mitterhoff of Hot Tuna and Skyline fame plays one.

What made you choose the model with rosewood and spruce? Still considering this option here. Also thanks for the heads up on Earnest. I'll check it out and keep it in mind if I decide to save longer.

[astein2006]

Experience with the wood combos. I started on a Mid-Missouri M-0, the unbound version of the M-1 featuring spruce over mahogany, that I later sold to my buddy Dan.

What were you experienced with the spruce mahogany combo? I’d think at this point I’d like to have a spruce top just deciding what back and sides. I’d like to find a middle ground between say rosewood and mahogany.

[pheffernan]

What were you experienced with the spruce mahogany combo? I’d think at this point I’d like to have a spruce top just deciding what back and sides. I’d like to find a middle ground between say rosewood and mahogany.

The M-0 always struck me as the most lutish of my mandolins, the kind that I would choose were I to attend a Medieval Festival or Renaissance Faire. I've never had the chance to play other Dulak creations in order to determine the extent to which different wood selections would affect the tone.