NUMD: 2005 Weber Aspen 2........uh.....oh my

[darylcrisp]

dropped off last Thursday. having never had one of these in hand, I had no idea what to expect. very few videos on utube, this is the 2nd one I've seen for sale. Elderlys had it-they had it in the classifieds here-that's where I saw it. Immediately thought, "i should buy that".

here are a few specs:
2 lbs
1 3/16" nut width
1 9/16" string spacing at saddle
12 fret neck/body join
14" scale
1 11/16" side depth
10 1/8" at most wide aspect
flat fretboard

upon receipt, the action was extremely high(fixed bridge), a lot of relief, and med gauge strings. it was a bear to just fret and not buzz on the 2nd fret-felt like bridge cables.
removed string tension, checked TR-worked fine. neck reacted immediately to TR adjustments, neck was able to adjust to a dead flat fretboard(notched ruler check). no fretwear(as it was, i doubt anyone could truly play it). very nice condition, a few players marks here and there, a binding ding, but overall a 9. case showed a little use on the outside, clean and well built-typical Weber grey hardshell.
so i get to work-remove strings, check frets-find 3 that need a fine level/dress, nut slots are perfect-very low action upon restringing at the first fret. string courses equally spaced. i had a used Weber brekke bridge from a few years ago(was for a F model). i took it out, laid it beside the original bridge and saw, "yep, it will work". Used my extremely dandy Stewmac Nut/Saddle sander and within about 15 minutes had the Brekke bridge sanded deadflat and down to the smaller specs i wanted. removed the internals(2 ebony wedges, and the saddle) and removed some on all of those using this amazing tool. What would have taken me probably 2 hours by hand/vice/belt sander, and ending up with some not dead flat bottom/top edges, took maybe 15 minutes with this tool.
https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tool...le_Sander.html

for years i made bone saddles/nuts with prehistoric methods-no longer. I love this tool. used it for some other things around the house as well.

new bridge/saddle in place, TR adjusted, i replaced the original strings, tuned, played it and was amazed. such a jewel. feels like a very old, well made, pocket watch-i know that's a crazy way to put it, but its solid in hand, plays like a charm, has this very pleasing tone, is loud-as loud as my Yellowstone F. Surprising to me, the 1 3/16" nut width and flat fretboard is not even a thought. In fact, I've grown to really like this combination. Its very efficient, and with the Weber neck profile which fits me great, it just works out. I figured this would be a neck heavy instrument, having a very light body. I was wrong. The body feels dead solid-not heavy, but it has a heft to it. balances very easy while seated-probably the shape of the body helps to a degree also.

I'm not into hardshell cases as my use does not need that type of protection. I had this very cool Mono M80 tenor Uke case hanging out sleeping, tried it, fit like a charm. total carry package, mandolin/tools/xtra strings, 5.2lbs. The Mono bags are not thin "gigbags" but firm padding and well built, they encapsulate the instrument. i would have no worry to toss this down a 20 flight of stairs. I use a shoulder strap and carry with my hands free-its what works for me.

theres always something very pleasing about buying used, bonding immediately with what you purchased, and having no surprises.

some pics-i still have the TR cover off taking a few days to tweak things. i love the adjustable nature of the reshaped Brekke.

[darylcrisp]

[MissingString]

Cool review thanks. Interesting about the Mono uke bag. Have one made for an electric guitar and LOVE it.

[Grimm]

Wow that's a really neat piece. Do you have any videos yet? I'd like to hear what it sounds like.

[multidon]

Hey Daryl, remember I told you I was tempted by that one too? Now I’m glad I didn’t go for it. I would not have wanted to put that much work into it. In fact I’m really disappointed with Elderly. I’m surprised they would sell something that needed that much work without marking it “as is”. I have done a lot of business with them, including having them sell a good number of instruments on consignment for me, and when I’ve done that they always have charged me a set up fee, ranging from 25 to 100 dollars per instrument depending on what needed to be done. Their reason, as they explained it to me, was that they guarantee all their instruments to be expertly set up and playing their best out of the box. Which was certainly not the case for you.

Fortunately you were willing to put the work into it. I guess it must have gone where it was supposed to go! Like I said previously, with that color it was surely a custom order, they were usually natural. Enjoy it, sounds like you got a good one!

[fatt-dad]

good morning read, Daryl! Interesting bridge tool too!

I've never owned a Weber - close with my Flatiron, perhaps? No doubt they know what they're doing; however.

f-d

[Dogrich]

Very nice mandolin, Daryl! Glad you are enjoying it! I'm in the same boat as Multidon in that I was pretty interested in that mandolin. Also like him, I would have been pretty upset w/ its set-up (or lack thereof). I wouldn't have wanted to put that kind of time and work into the instrument thinking that it was already well set-up from Elderly.

Anyway, very nice looking instrument, and I am glad you had the tools/skills/time to get it set-up to your liking. I very much enjoyed your pictures and description of the work you did.

[darylcrisp]

this Aspen arrived with the highest action I have ever received with an instrument. The bridge that came with it was only adjustable if one removed material from the bottom of the saddle, or the bottom of the bridge. I did not want to do that because I did not know if I was going to keep it. So I found the used Brekke in my spare parts drawer and figured I would Frankenstein that to fit. I checked the spec at the 12th fret before I changed anything and it was 3/16", neck had a lot of bow.
in the end the neck is almost dead straight, there is very little relief(and I mean very very little), and the spec at the 12th is just barely over 1/32" and it plays with no buzz anywhere, and very easy fretting along pretty much the entire fretboard. course, once past the 15th fret everything is so small, but it still rings clear and loud even there in that higher area.
its a very pleasing instrument, feels weightless in the hand, and really does have a lot of projection.
I'm surprised how easy it plays, and the nut width isn't tight feeling to me at all, which is very surprising yet again. I think all the parts about it just fell into play and it works for me really well. has me thinking-would a flat fretboard Weber F suit me better than this hotrod Yellowstone I have with all the bells and whistles(we are always searching, are we not..........)
I know Mass Street did have an older Yellowstone with a flat FB.

d

[darylcrisp]

correction on the nut width, it is 1 3/32" nut width.

I'm really liking how this neck works so well for me, its very efficient, comfortable and easy to play.

I've started a build of an A style, and I had planned to put a radius fretboard and 1 5/32" nut width on it, but I'm thinking more every day I will model the whole neck on this Aspen and its specs(flat fretboard, 1 3/32" nut width, same soft v as the Aspen).