Smart & Brock in latest Fretboard Journal

[SternART]

There is a very nice interview - article in the latest Fretboard Journal. It is titled "Sun Valley Serenade - Fletcher Brock and Lawrence Smart on making mandolins in the Sawtooths". Written by Eli West, it is filled with beautiful large full page photos, Both these fellas build great mandolin family instruments. I've collaborated with Lawrence Smart a few times over the years. I just got my copy of the magazine, Ry Cooder is on the cover.

Here is a mando / mandola pair I designed and had Lawrence build.

[Chip Booth]

Very nice! Eli plays a Brock OM and custom oversized J45-ish style guitar, his bandmate Cahalen plays a Brock mandolin, and Eli just took delivery a couple of months ago of a Smart A style mandolin with a lap point. I have played all of those instruments, and they are each great, especially in the hands of those players! We sure miss Fletcher around here.

[amowry]

Very cool! Two great guys and great builders.

[GKWilson]

Those guys deserve all the praise they get. The best mandolin I ever played was a Brock. Number 2 was a Smart.
I see Eli and Cahalan from time to time and their Brocks are sweet. Saw ELI play a duet with John Reischman a few
weeks ago on his new Smart. Eli's pretty much a guitar player and looked pretty nervous but he came through it OK.
And, the mandolin sounded 'nice'.
John also plays an A style Smart mandola.
Hope to catch Sarah J. in Portland Saturday. Her OM is sweet too.

[mandopete]

Idaho's finest! Have owned both a Smart and Brock mandolin, great instruments from two great builders.

[Mandobart]

More of our embarrassment of riches here in the NW; I've been fortunate to meet these guys (builders and author) up here, and of course the publication comes out of Seattle.

[GKWilson]

You're right Bart. I step on my porch and within a 200 mile radius there are more luthiers than you can count.
We're lucky there are still trees in the woods.
Gary

[DSDarr]

Looking forward to reading this issue -- I've had the pleasure of playing (and owning) a few Brocks over the years and one of the nicest mandos I've ever played was a Smart. Both great builders!

David