Has anyone played a Ellis

[Iron]

2 point ? Your opinion please, playability/tone and volume for Bluegrass.
Im satisfied with the look.
Thanks

[yankees1]

Ellis ??? Never heard of him ! I own an Ellis A5 and a F5 ! Play ability, tone, and volume of an Ellis mandolin will meet or exceed all your expectations for Bluegrass music !! Fantastic instruments, great service from the Ellis shop and Tom Ellis is a true gentleman and person !

[DataNick]

Ring a ling ding...overtones galore, fantastic tone, a little too much sustain for my mandolin application of bluegrass, but nonetheless the one I played was a fantastic F5...would love to own one!

[almeriastrings]

Not played a 2-point, but I have played A-styles and (obviously) my own F-5....

Awesome mandolins. Jaw-droppingly great sounding instruments. Loads of volume.

As Nick says, they are not your classic 'dry' voicing, though. They are 'richer' sounding (at least all those I've played have been), more overtones than you'd get from say, a dusty old Loar

Can they 'do' bluegrass?

[John Soper]

Dear Iron:

Please buy the 2-point Ellis that appears on the Classified section & keeps me awake at night. I'd resisted the original 2-point that was listed at Fret & Fiddle for about a month & they sold it before MAS dragged my finger onto the Reply button... a day too late to purchase that one. I played it at the IBMA in Raleigh, NC last autumn & it was a keeper. I have tried my hardest to resist buying the one that is up in our classified ad section... I have an Ellis A - exceptional tone and playability... and a work of art... so I don't question the quality of the build.... based on my short time (30 minutes at the loud IBMA exhibit hall) the original 2-point Ellis really floated my boat with a lot of responsiveness, even volume across the strings, and more sustain than the average. I play mostly swing & would have thought it would have had a lot of overtones, but it picked up the snarl quotient when properly spanked and had a great chop. And the overall aesthetics of the design and craftsmanship were unequaled.

Please purchase the Ellis 2 point from the Music Emporium that is listed in our ad section!

Save me from myself... please!

[Caleb]

I got to play Ben's Ellis as Fiddler's Green a few years ago (2010, I believe). A friend and I drove down from DFW to tour Collings and stop at FG. That mandolin was an absolute work of art in every way.

[yankees1]

Not played a 2-point, but I have played A-styles and (obviously) my own F-5....

Awesome mandolins. Jaw-droppingly great sounding instruments. Loads of volume.

As Nick says, they are not your classic 'dry' voicing, though. They are 'richer' sounding (at least all those I've played have been), more overtones than you'd get from say, a dusty old Loar

Can they 'do' bluegrass?

My Ellis mandolins sound great but-------------how come the Ellis played by Ricky Skaggs sounds better than mine ?

[almeriastrings]

My Ellis mandolins sound great but-------------how come the Ellis played by Ricky Skaggs sounds better than mine ?

Ask Ricky... I'm sure he would be delighted to explain. At length

[Phil Goodson]

I played the 2 point at IBMA and totally agree with John's assessment in post #5.
I've also been very tempted!!

[Billy Packard]

Just for the record, the two points are almost certainly small blocks of wood and cosmetic only.
I've played two Ellis' at Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz and both were very fine mandolins.

[John Soper]

Billy-

I'm aware of the construction of the two point design. Similar to an F5 with fancy strap-holder & thigh-gouger... but still the original Ellis 2-point was an exceptional mandolin (to my ears) and the aesthetics are stunning. That's why I hope the one currently for sale gets purchased soon, so it doesn't continue to call out to me at night...

[Benski]

My Ellis F5 comes with me to bluegrass jams. It plays well with others and fears no banjo!!

Short answer: its a perfectly fine bluegrass mandolin.

Cheers.

[Mark Wilson]

That two-point at TME is stunning imo. My Ellis A5 has just the right amount of cut and a bell like E. I might trade it for the 2-pt tho.

[mburkes]

My main Mandolin is an Ellis F5 2012. My back up mandolin is an Ellis F5 2008. I love them both. I get a lot of comments about the tone of these instruments from other musicians at jams. Small groups are great. Large scale jams with 15-20 people, nothing really sounds good. Then it is always about loud. I think these are great instruments!!

[Daily Bills]

I just picked up a used Ellis A and Tom, who I consider a good friend, is making me a two point blacktop, with a shark inlay. I love the A and I have 3 Nuggets, 2 Collings, 3 John Sullivan’s and the A Ellis can hold it’s own with any of the others!

[DataNick]

I just picked up a used Ellis A and Tom, who I consider a good friend, is making me a two point blacktop, with a shark inlay. I love the A and I have 3 Nuggets, 2 Collings, 3 John Sullivan’s and the A Ellis can hold it’s own with any of the others!

If you're trying to get grown men green with envy and coveteousnes, you've suceeded...

[yankees1]

I just picked up a used Ellis A and Tom, who I consider a good friend, is making me a two point blacktop, with a shark inlay. I love the A and I have 3 Nuggets, 2 Collings, 3 John Sullivan’s and the A Ellis can hold it’s own with any of the others!

You must be an old school Mormon !

[Iron]

Thanks men for your opinion, im going to call Ellis and see if i can get one.

[Charles E.]

I just picked up a used Ellis A and Tom, who I consider a good friend, is making me a two point blacktop, with a shark inlay.

You will have to post photo's of that when it is finished. I bet it will be killer!

[CES]

If you're trying to get grown men green with envy and coveteousnes, you've suceeded...

Amen to that!!

Seriously, very nice stable of instruments!

[desertnight]

Amen to that!!

Seriously, very nice stable of instruments!

Hi Friends,
I started using an Ellis F-5 in January 2008 and have not looked back since. I am now fortunate enough to have two of them. Since that time I have not used my '24 Loar in studio or stage. That's not as much about protecting my '24, which is one of the great ones, but simply put I like my Ellis mandolins better! Tone, clarity, intonation, and quality of build. They work with every kind of music I've been able to throw at it!

I'd love to play one of the Two-Points and hope to run into one out there in the future to check out.