Show Off Your Silverangels

[Scott Rucker]

Here is a more recent one with 157, the 2001 F5. I'm not much of an ITM player, I just dabble in it about this time of year every year so forgive my playing.

I was at Ken's place yesterday to drop the one in the video off for some frets. I was like a child in a candy store. He had several mandolins on hand and there wasn't a dud in the lot. I was especially impressed with a recent distressed F5 just off the bench. Someone will get a great F5 soon.

[Br1ck]

That is very representative of the SA sound.

[Em Tee]

I am pretty close to pulling the trigger on an SA. It's between the SA and a collings MT. Do y'all find your redwood SAs are good and loud?

At this point I'd like an redwood, curly maple, tortoise binding, A style with that blue/grey burst he uses on the el toro model. Have y'all seen any with this combo?

Also, what kinda bridges do y'all have on your sa? Do you know what comes stock?

[Br1ck]

My SA is plenty loud. It has a redwood top. The Collings tone also appeals to me the more I play them. They are crisper and will cut through in a jam better. Just two flavors of good. If you want to try an SA, I'd buy one used with a redwood top. They have been coming up a lot lately.mif you like it and want one made for you, Ken seems to take them in trade for a new one.

They have a unique, well designed bridge. I e mailed Ken and asked about it. The saddle angles back toward the tailpiece a bit to compensate for string pull.

One thing to be aware of, SAs have a more pronounced arch than most. Mine came with a travelight case, and with a tone guard, which I had to bend some to clear the back, it barely fits. Limits the case selection some.

I'm sure by now you've watched the You Tube videos. If you like what you hear, go for it.

[Em Tee]

When I get a "professional quality" mandolin my first will prob be my last. I work at a non-profit so my income is beyond tight. I love the sound of redwood SAs. Just wish i could hear em in person. Or any of these mandos for that matter. Lol

How do you think Collings are in comparison to eastman? I know they are vastly superior, just curious if they have a similar sound profile.

[Caleb]

When I get a "professional quality" mandolin my first will prob be my last. I work at a non-profit so my income is beyond tight. I love the sound of redwood SAs. Just wish i could hear em in person. Or any of these mandos for that matter. Lol

How do you think Collings are in comparison to eastman? I know they are vastly superior, just curious if they have a similar sound profile.

I can relate to money being tight. I went from an Eastman 505 to my Collings MT. Sound, feel, build quality are like night and day. The Eastman was a good mandolin, but the Collings is a great one. Keep socking money away. The wait will be worth it.

[Br1ck]

If you buy used, there is no reason you can't get it and sell it for what you paid.nthen try something else later.

[almeriastrings]

How do you think Collings are in comparison to eastman? I know they are vastly superior, just curious if they have a similar sound profile.

Night and day, and yes - they really are vastly superior. They sound very different indeed.

[CES]

My Eastman 315’s tone is in the “modern” Collings camp and is a well built, very good sounding instrument. But, the Collings MT is definitely a step (or 2, or maybe 3) above. Meticulous build quality, more responsive dynamically, and more complex tone. I was impressed with how good the 315 was compared to the MT, particularly at that price point, but I never played the Eastman while I had the Collings. You really can’t go wrong with them, and, resale values hold if you buy used. I ultimately chose to keep my SA Econo instead of the MT because I preferred its tone. Purely personal preference. If I can get this to work, here’s a very amateurish iPhone photos of the 2009 Econo:

[Em Tee]

Your econo is gorgeous, Chuck. Hard to tell what makes it an "econo" at all!

[kyken]

Your econo is gorgeous, Chuck. Hard to tell what makes it an "econo" at all!

PM me and I will give you details on these.

[CES]

Your econo is gorgeous, Chuck. Hard to tell what makes it an "econo" at all!

On my version the tailpieces were the traditional stamped variety, and the neck is an integrated 12 fret join (like an A Jr, and, on mine, which doesn’t negatively effect tone or volume as it theoretically can). I believe his newer versions have different specs now, so would reach out to Ken regarding those and his current pricing. I’m the second owner of this one and emailed him a few questions about it when I bought it. He was amazingly responsive and helpful. I remember sending the email around 9:30 pm after playing it a couple hours, and didn’t expect to hear back for a few days. He responded within a half hour with answers from memory, then went and checked his logs and emailed confirmation later that night...

Yes, that one piece back is a beauty, thanks!

[Em Tee]

Hey, br1ck, what kinda wood is the top of your mando?

[Em Tee]

Do y'all know if the mandolin David Mold uses has a redwood top or spruce?

[Br1ck]

Mine is a redwood top.

[CES]

Don't know about David's. Mine is spruce topped.

[noah finn]

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...one-of-our-own

Davids is a cedar top

[Em Tee]

I pulled the trigger on an el toro from the classifieds. Not my favourite body style but the price was too good to pass up and that back was beautiful. Thanks for the inspiration. Y'all should collect commission! Lol

[Br1ck]

That is a beautiful mandolin. I'm betting you are going to really like it.

[KoalaBear]

>>>>Em Tee :When I get a "professional quality" mandolin my first will prob be my last. I work at a non-profit so my income is beyond tight. I love the sound of redwood SAs. Just wish i could hear em in person. Or any of these mandos for that matter. Lol

How do you think Collings are in comparison to eastman? I know they are vastly superior, just curious if they have a similar sound profile.


>>>Caleb:I can relate to money being tight. I went from an Eastman 505 to my Collings MT. Sound, feel, build quality are like night and day. The Eastman was a good mandolin, but the Collings is a great one. Keep socking money away. The wait will be worth it.



>>>>Koala:I`ll second the motion here.By attending the Guitar Factory at Gladesville, Sydney I tried both the Eastman 515 and the Collins.The Eastman is well made, has an appealing sound, and the design and craftsmanship is impeccable.The sound is glorious.The Collins is a mandolin out of reach, as far as money is the factor, when considering upper brands and has exquisite sound.If this is a major concern go for the Eastman.If money is no drawback the Collins is the better buy.It is absolutely stunning.The sound is superior to the Eastman,louder,more sustain,wider range and absolutely overpowers the Eastman in all registers bass, mids and treble.If budget is no problem have both.These offer the best of the best in sound,design,and are model winners, as benchmark in opposition to other brands.You won't need anything else in a long time.Your selection both?The SA is also my benchmark when shopping.

Tani.

[ChazMeatball]

Em Tee - I believe I made an offer on that very El Toro because the price was very favorable. I’m glad you were able to get it. Now that you’ve owned it for 5 months, what are your thoughts.

I own El Toro #2 (pic below) which has a hybrid top - Redwood on the bass side, Italian Spruce on the treble side. The sound is certainly unique and never harsh even when played loud. Playability is decent and you can definitely tell that it is hand crafted.

Enjoy!

[Em Tee]

Em Tee - I believe I made an offer on that very El Toro because the price was very favorable. I’m glad you were able to get it. Now that you’ve owned it for 5 months, what are your thoughts.

Unfortunately I received the el toro with a sunken top. After some arranging, I sent it back and Ken gave me a full refund. I ended up going with a Pava, which I am very pleased with.

[soliver]

Hello all, at the recommendation of Marty Jacobson, I met up with David (aka OldSausage) at his home yesterday afternoon to give his SA a try. I too like Koala work at a nonprofit and have been putting together the funds for about 8 months now and am close. I wanted to be certain that I would like what I was getting after all of that hard work to pay for it.

I had a really great visit with David and he was very hospitable and kind. He had 4 mandolins and he let me try them all out to really hear the difference. There was the SA, a Flatiron A (Junior I think... no binding), a Kentucky KM 900, and a Jacobson Pseudo-oval hole A. Let me just tell you that his Silverangel was absolutely outstanding. The tone was SO rich and deep; I would almost call it throaty and beautiful. Kind of the way the Tibetan monks singing you can just tell channels through their entire body. However, as others have said, it left nothing out in the highs. The tone was just lovely and vastly different than any of the others. It did oh so much more than chop,... it WOOF'd. Whatever the wood combination is, that is what I'm going to go for. The other mandolins were all great of course, but for me that SA was just the bees knees and I'm even more excited now to get one on order. The Flatiron was particularly nice as well, but to my ears the SA was the bomb.

waiting with baited breath.

[rowka]

Wonderful!
Ken just sent me an email that my El Fantasma has shipped and will arrive tomorrow.

[Br1ck]

After hardly toughing my SA for a month, hey, been playing my Arches kit, I started playing it again. My Arches was starting to get grungy from having no finish, so I bit the bullet and stripped the Arches of all hardware and prepped it for finish.

Missed that SA tone. Nothing I have played can match the low end tone of a SA. If you look, it's a pretty different take on a mandolin. The arch front and back is radical. My Arches has punch and a bright in a pleasing way voice. I'm glad to have both. I have a friend with a Pava. Each have their strengths. I'm going to take both the SA and Arches to one of his gigs when I have the Arches back up and running. We are eager to test them. He thinks the Arches will win out because it is loud, and comes alive up the neck. His Pava kind of disappears way up the neck.

The Arches right now doesn't have the low end, but is improving in that regard so we'll have to retest in a year or two.

Too many mandolins, too little money.