...Steve
Current Stable: Two Tenor Guitars (Martin 515, Blueridge BR-40T), a Tenor Banjo (Deering GoodTime 17-Fret), a Mandolin (Burgess #7). two Banjo-Ukes and five Ukuleles..
The inventory is always in some flux, but that's part of the fun.
Weber Aspen II 2006. Looks great. Plays even better.
Custom art applied after market.
Here is a Lyon and Healy inspired flat top I built for myself in 2010, it rings like a bell.
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
This is a Swedish Levin flat-top mandolin. The serial number stamped on the end of the peghead indicates it was made in 1938. The mandolin has had a tough life. When I got it, the top had a number of cracks inexpertly repaired with some kind of brown glue, the finish had been completely stripped off but the dark brown dye apparently used was still in the wood, and most of the top braces were loose. The label looks like someone dropped silver paint on part of it, but it's still recognizable as a Levin label. I pulled the top off (instead of the back because it was loose anyway), reglued the braces, and fixed yet another crack that had developed after the previous "repairs", and slapped some oil varnish on it just to seal the bare wood. The neck is slightly bowed (no truss rod), but still playable, although I had to lower the bridge to make it so. I levelled and dressed the frets and put extra-light gauge strings on it, and it sounds pretty good; not much bass butit has clear bright treble and midrange, a nice melody mandolin even though it looks like it's been run over by a truck. I suspect someone put heavy gauge strings on it at some point in its life which caused the problems previously noted. No idea why the finish was stripped off, though. It came with a nice old case in pretty good shape, too.
My two bandolims.
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
I don't mean to steal your thunder but this thread, Flatbacks of Note, has been going for awhile in the Classical section as a companion to Bowlbacks of Note.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Here's mine from Chris Baird (Arches Mandolin). This is early Arches, and was impressive enough that I got him to build me an F-4 also.
Fiddles
Arches F4 / Newson F5
Crump B1 / Old Wave GOM
Is FD talking about proper Flat-Tops here as a separate category from the Canted-Tops that usually wind up in the FBoN thread? I realize they probably aren't dead flat....
I've got a flat-top from Michoacán which is my 'prop up the axle when fixing a flat' mandolin. Intonation is perfect and 17 hippies sanding--randomly or not--couldn't get through that finish.
Nice photo, FD. I didn't know the Shenandoah Mountains got so craggy.
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
______________________
'05 Cuisinart Toaster
'93 Chuck Taylor lowtops
'12 Stetson Open Road
'06 Bialetti expresso maker
'14 Irish Linen Ramon Puig
Every once and awhile I go out west to see some real mountains. Maybe you'll notice Half-Dome in the background?
Regarding the earlier flat-backs of note thread. . . I know nothing about that! Oh well, I don't much play classical music and don't frequent that forum. My bad. I just love my flat-top Flatiron and wanted to share my photo and was thinking others may want to play too. I'm still looking for my KM-11 photo. I'll find it. . .
I think some of the flat-top mandolins that are in this thread are quite cool too!
f-d
¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
I've got a KM11 which is around my workstation at home that gets a lot of play. The neck is just great. I don't really think of it as a flat top, though. More of a Dish-Top or Bowl-Top. I have a bridge from a pal of mine's Big Muddy on it. With a shim or two added for good measure.
I don't play much classical either, pero masticamos la grasa allí tambien. I mean in a metaphorical sense, FD....
Mick
Ever tried, ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again. Fail better.--Samuel Beckett
______________________
'05 Cuisinart Toaster
'93 Chuck Taylor lowtops
'12 Stetson Open Road
'06 Bialetti expresso maker
'14 Irish Linen Ramon Puig
I honestly don't know if there is such a thing as a true flattop mandolin. Don't all of them have some sort of induced arch to them or wouldn't they just cave in?
Here is my bandolim by Manoel Andrade. Most bandolims are flattops.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
The French makers like flattops as well. This is a Euterpe I believe made by JTL workshop mostly known for violins.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
This is a Vega Amati mandolin. I have no clue when this was made, say, in relation to the cylinder backs. I have only seen one other of these. It is on my list for restoration. Ah, one of these days. The back, esp., has seen much better days.
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
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