Last night for the first time I got feedback from the best mandolin player I know, and it was off the charts good. His mandolin is a Pava, which has always been a favorite of mine. It has a lovely warm tonal pallet, but just disappears in the upper registers.
It's owner picked up my Arches and was floored at how loud it was. Punchy and articulate were his words. As a gigging musician, traits he values. Not nearly as pretty sounding as a Pava, certainly not as well put together, but loud enough to go head to head with a banjo. He said he'd take it over most any mandolin he's played. Gratifying for sure. Valued the punch over all else for band play.
I'm feeling pretty good right now, except he wanted me to build him another, and Chris Baird is out of the kit business or I'd be ordering another one.
Want to make clear, he wants a mandolin like mine in addition to, not instead of his Pava. Much like I wanted an addition to my Silverangel.
I also got to hear a good player play it out front of the mandolin, and it sounds way better facing it from six or eight feet. Loud and articulate, with prospects for the low end, which seems to be developing as it gets played. So one guy I respect likes it and that's good enough for me to go on for a long while.
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