How Many Really Like BLACK Top and BLACK Mandolins??

[Nalapombu]

Hey all,

The last several days I have been nosing through mando stores and pics to see what kind of mandos are out there and popular and the prices they are going for. After seeing a lot of mandolins I realized that some of the prettiest mandos I had seen are the BLACK faced and all BLACK mandolins. The LOAR makes a really nice F and an A, I think. Eastman also makes a nice example.
I am noticing that even in the lower priced mandolins there are many more finish options available than what there used to be back when I got involved. Back then it was pretty much the standard burst style finish that was the overwhelming majority of mandolin finishes unless you got a custom finish. Now it seems that Black is just one of the choices we can have. So many mandolins are really beautiful. I also really like the violin type of finish.

I'd like to know what you all think of the BLACK finish on mandolins. Do you like it, hate it or are indifferent?

If you were going to get a BLACK finished mandolin, either just the face or the entire instrument, and you had say $700 to spend, what would you get? A or F doesn't matter in this one.

If you have a Black finished mando, how about posting some pics of it so the rest of us can enjoy it too..

Thanks all.

nalajr

[Joey Anchors]

I would love to see more colors used. Like candy apple red, or a gold top.

[Michael Bridges]

I'm a Big fan of a cool looking black-top! The Weber Black Ice is just striking in every way. A bit more in my price range, I really like the J Bovier black tops http://www.themandoshop.net/jbovier-...-BG-12414.html Jeff also does the A5T in a black topand it looks eqally nice.

[roysboy]

Ditto ...love the J Bovier blacktop A style

[bart mcneil]

I like a nice black mando but black tends to show its imperfections, scratches, wear and dirt more than any other color. That said, I would still like to own one. My butler can keep it clean and pretty, after he irons my underwear.

[Jonathan James]

I've always been a sucker for a black-topped mando. The Collings MT in that shade always look great to me, and remind me of a poor man's Tim O'Brien Nugget mandolin...You see some older Flatiron's in that stain as well.

[Jonathan James]

As an aside, you should avoid the term "black top" as it has negative connotations dating back to the minstrel shows that started in the South in the 1830's...

[LongBlackVeil]

As an aside, you should avoid the term "black top" as it has negative connotations dating back to the minstrel shows that started in the South in the 1830's...

disagreed, lots of words have old negative connotations that are irrelevant these days and we still use them.

Ive never heard about anyone who was offended by the term blacktop as it applies to old fender amps.

Lets not be silly here, its a color, nothing more.

I do like the old gibsons and i think it looks better on an a style, i especially like the a5s with blacktop and natural back and sides

[John Adrihan]

I do not care for black f5's - But I love black top A5's like MT2's and Tim O's. Nugget.

[Tobin]

I like a nice black mando but black tends to show its imperfections, scratches, wear and dirt more than any other color. That said, I would still like to own one. My butler can keep it clean and pretty, after he irons my underwear.

Yep, a black-faced (black-top) mandolin will indeed show scratches and dust/lint more easily than one with color variations. Also, tiny spots are obvious on the finish, such as sweat, spittle (that's a fun word), etc. Fortunately, a simple wipe-down every so often with a microfiber cloth will keep the dust at bay, as well as the little bits of dead skin and Lord-knows-what-else that tends to accumulate near the bridge and tailpiece. It's usually only obvious to the player, and a black-face mandolin still looks very good to others who are more than a couple of feet away, as long as it's kept clean and shiny.

IMHO, an armrest is a 'must-have' on a black-face mandolin unless you don't mind the wood color showing through over time at the edge. And I wouldn't advise a black-face mandolin for pinky-planters unless they use a pickguard/finger-rest. They really do require some extra care and attention to keep looking good. But they can be very striking in their simplicity, even if they don't get the same general attention as colored finishes/sunbursts.

I don't have a decent photo of my black-faced Pava by itself, but here it is lurking in the shadows with some of my others. Understated beauty, in my opinion, and the white binding really accentuates the outline of it.

[Bertram Henze]

IMHO, an armrest is a 'must-have' on a black-face mandolin unless you don't mind the wood color showing through over time at the edge.

You mean black isn't the color of the wood?

[Barry Wilson]

I have a few black instruments and they show the fingerprints and such the worst. I used to love the black instruments but moving back to seeing the wood grains is preferable now. Black also shows the scratches and dings easier

[Timbofood]

If I ever get enough gumption to build my "duck" I will make 2, one black with a solid mop bar at neck joint (Daffy) and one white with an abalone "bow tie" (Donald) then wait to see if anyone gets the joke.
Barry makes an extremely good point though, scratches, dings, those dreaded fingerprints!

[Cheryl Watson]

I prefer sunbursts, but if I can ever afford a nice Loar period snakehead Gibson, black would not deter me if the tone was exceptional.

[bratsche]

Black would be my color of choice, if I were in the market for a carbon fiber instrument. With wood, though, I have to be able to see the grain. Covering it up is masking its natural beauty (yes, in general, I've always loved to look at wood grain.) The exception would be for really ugly wood. But I wooden be interested in that, anyway. ;}

bratsche

[Tobin]

With wood, though, I have to be able to see the grain. Covering it up is masking its natural beauty (yes, in general, I've always loved to look at wood grain.)

I've gone back and forth on that issue. I do love the look of natural wood, and certain dye/stain techniques can be a true artform. But on the other hand, mandolin tops are generally spruce, which doesn't have much to look at in the way of beautiful wood grain. Spruce is actually pretty visibly boring, compared to the other woods typically used for sides and backs. So making a black-face mandolin isn't sacrificing too terribly much in that regard, especially if other figured woods are used on the sides and back.

That said, I certainly wouldn't want all my mandolins to have black tops. I'm a sucker for a well-done sunburst or even a plain color, like Sheraton brown. That's what makes the black-face mandolins kind of special in their simplicity: they're the exception, not the rule.

And too, a black top is a good use of wood that may be sonically great, but not so perfect visually. Discoloration, waviness in the grain, or other issues might not be the best choice for a blonde or lighter-finished top. But they can be well disguised on a black-face mandolin and still sound great. In fact, I would even venture to say that sound is more important on a black-face mandolin, since it doesn't benefit from "eye candy" status.

[Jim Garber]

The favorite of my Gibsons is my '23 black-faced A2 but I like it for the sound. Frankly, I believe that Gibson made black topped instruments in order to cover up problems with the wood. I went from a whitefaced Gibson A3 to this black topped one but the tone was the final decision-inducer.

[terzinator]

If you have a Black finished mando, how about posting some pics of it so the rest of us can enjoy it too..

I can comply with that.

[yankees1]

As they say, once you go black you will never go back ! But, black doesn't appeal to me. Marks and scratches will be seen easier . Just like a black car that is a daily driver.

[bratsche]

I've gone back and forth on that issue. I do love the look of natural wood, and certain dye/stain techniques can be a true artform. But on the other hand, mandolin tops are generally spruce, which doesn't have much to look at in the way of beautiful wood grain. Spruce is actually pretty visibly boring, compared to the other woods typically used for sides and backs. So making a black-face mandolin isn't sacrificing too terribly much in that regard, especially if other figured woods are used on the sides and back.

On several of my flat-top instruments that have very interesting spruce grains, filled with beautiful shimmering medullary rays, it would be a crime to cover them up. (One has a sunburst finish, the others have a natural and a slightly darker stain, which let the effect show evenly all over.) I don't think even the nice plain spruce grains are boring at all. But that's just me. Plus I don't tend to like it when a top is a darker color than the back and sides - that just seems somehow backwards, aesthetically.

bratsche

[lflngpicker]

I have admired these black top mandolins. Since I have three natural or sunburst tops, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a black top mandolin that had the sound I was looking for-- either the Kentucky KM-1500 black or an oval hole A style with the sound I was looking for would both be of interest.

Yes, I do like them!

[Eddie Sheehy]

I had an all black (top, back, sides) with white binding Gibson F5L. I used to joke that if Johnny Cash had had a mandolin this would have been it. When I was releasing it there wasn't a lot of interest in it - mainly because of the Black back - it seem that a Black top is OK. A week after I sold it the person who sold it to my tried to buy it back...

A friend half-jokingly said to me that 'it must have been the ugliest Spruce and Maple that Gibson had so they covered it up...

[Eddie Sheehy]

I currently have a Mike Black A4 Black-top...

[allenhopkins]

My three-point pre-1910 F-2 has a black top. That was pretty common for the model at the time, I understand.

The finish is a bit worn, which might be expected over a century's use, but I like the "different" look. Don't own a modern black-top.

[foldedpath]

Black would be my color of choice, if I were in the market for a carbon fiber instrument. With wood, though, I have to be able to see the grain. Covering it up is masking its natural beauty (yes, in general, I've always loved to look at wood grain.) The exception would be for really ugly wood. But I wooden be interested in that, anyway. ;}

One compromise between "grain vs. solid color" is a dark color that's semi-transparent, so at least a small amount of grain shows through. I don't know how successful that would be with a black top, but it works pretty well with a solid brown color. This is my Lebeda with a redwood top, chocolate brown stain:



The flash lighting in the photo makes it look lighter than it actually is. In normal room lighting it's a very dark brown top, but you can still see the grain lines and cells in the wood if you look real close, and the photo shows that if you zoom right in on it. Like a black top, it does show lint and finger smudges much more than a natural wood or sunburst, especially with a gloss finish like this. I still like it though... it's something different, and I've always been drawn to unusual instruments. The tuners now have black ebony buttons, which looks even better on a dark instrument like this (IMO).