Pulled the Trigger On a Red Valley AMW (Case Recommendations?)

[Cliff Seruntine]

Flat body mandolins are very traditional for Celtic music and I love the tone of my flat bodied Garrison OM. I also love the look of the flat bodies with round holes, and the warmth and sustain. After reading tons here on TMC, I narrowed my choices down to Big Muddy and Red Valley.

I looked long and hard at Big Muddy and I have the highest respect for the luthier, but I opted against it because I wanted the largest, deepest sound body within my price range.

Red Valley mandolins are made by former Dusty Strings luthier, James Wilson. I have played and sold Dusty String folk harps and have tremendous respect for their quality of craftsmanship. RV mandolins are also fitted with one piece tailpieces and Rubner tuners. But the real clincher, for me, was the noteworthily wide and deep sound body of the AMW mandolin. I have commissioned one with a bubinga body, black binding, a mahogany neck and Sitka spruce soundboard and black-and-brass Rubner tuners. I am very excited, but it will about 3 months til it's ready.

It comes with a gig bag but I want to get a hard case. The unusually large body won't fit in a regular mandolin case. I am thinking the hard case for the Gold Tone mandola might well work, or perhaps a case for a short scale (tenor?) banjo. But if anyone knows of a good case, please let me know. It has to be about 11.5 inches wide at the sound body and 3 inches deep to accommodate the instrument plus a Tone-Gard.

[Mark Wilson]

Does James recommend a particular hard case for it? Might give a clue to other similar sized cases.

Congrats on the Red Valley! Looks like a really good build to me

[bruce.b]

There are a lot of mandolins made in Europe, plus bandolims, that look to be about the same size and shape, so you should have choices.

I ordered a standard Red Valley, mahogany and sitka spruce, just like the one in the first video on his site, except it will have less fancy mahogany since he didn’t have exactly the same stuff.

[Zach Wilson]

Congrats!!!!