Anybody the owner of this Ellis from Fiddler's Green?

[Josh Levine]

This thing is amazing.

[Ron McMillan]

Wonderful mandolin, beautifully shown off by the player.

[Dave Hanson]

wow

[Ivan Kelsall]

Just another demo of what most of us already know - Ellis mandolins are as good as they get !,
Ivan

[JAK]

At the You Tube site (not the one shown here) it indicates that this one is a 2012 model, but you'd need the serial number to track it down.

[Josh Levine]

They are all great, but this one really blows my hair back.

[Tobin]

I remember that video. It was one of the videos that convinced me I needed an Ellis. I want to say the serial number of that particular one was somewhere around #293-ish? That may have even been the mandolin that I went to Fiddler's Green to buy, only to find out that someone had walked out with it just a couple of hours earlier. I told Ben I wanted the next one that came in, and he called me one evening to say it was there, so I drove the 2-1/2 hours to the shop to get it when they opened the next morning.

Ben's a fantastic player. I asked him to wail on the one that I was about to purchase, and he got all sheepish and said that he hadn't played anything yet that morning and wasn't warmed up. But then he opened up on it and sounded much like the video above. Show-off!

[JeffD]

I don't know how you, anyone, can hold in your head all the other mandolins you have heard, live or on the internet, and compare with a video, and say that it is the best.

I can detect the extremes, and I can tell you that mandolin is darn good. But is it better than this or that other one I heard, better than that Stiver video, better than this Gilchrist video? That Dude? I could not tell you with out doing an extensive A-B comparison, and even then I would not trust the small computer speakers and recording chain, and microphone, to give me enough of a valid distinction between great mandolins.

That said I have always been impressed with every Ellis I have ever heard. They certainly are among the best.

[Josh Levine]

I'm simply saying that based on this video, this seems to be an incredible instrument. I own an Ellis and it is great. Obviously I would have to play them side by side to compare. The Ellis in this video looks top notch. I am not saying it is the best Ellis ever made or better than X. Just that it appears to be quite special.

[F-2 Dave]

I'll admit I suffer from Ellis envy. Almost pulled the trigger on a used A once. I agree with the OP. Based solely on what I saw and heard, that mandolin very special.

[Benski]

I'm thinking the F5 Special in the FG video above is #302. I got to play it during a visit to Austin, and while I didn't buy it, it won me over. I owned #304 for a while and now have #315 and #320. All are totally awesome beasts.

[Rheatown]

Hey, that's my mandolin. I think it's #288 from 2012. I just finished playin it ten minutes ago. I'll check the number in the morning.

That was my retirement present to myself. I had it set up and refretted by Danny Roberts at Gibson in Nashville last year. I was thinking of trading up to a Gilchrest at the time, and two Gil's were at Carter vintage then. Danny said one Gil sounded a little better, and the other was not even close to my Ellis, so I decided to keep the Ellis. I bought it because I could tell it was Loud and had extraordinary sustain. Sometimes on my better chops I have to check for blood because it feels like I've been shot or my teeth are loose.

I have an F-5G also that is pretty good, but the Ellis is easier to play.

Not interested in selling...

[Josh Levine]

That's awesome. Glad it lives up to the video in real life. I am not in the market for another Ellis (or mandolin), but that sure does seem like a keeper. Great present for yourself.

[Ivan Kelsall]

There is 'no' better or best,only those mandolin that have,to use my own term, ''a more pleasing difference'',one to another. We all have our own mental sound images that we want our instruments to sound like,& we chose the one that's the closest - if that's possible of course. I want my mandolins to sound like Bill Monroe's Loar = no way !!!.
I was very fortunate to have been made an offer that i couldn't refuse last year, which led to my buying my used Ellis "A" style. It's an amazing mandolin in every respect & incredibly responsive. Stroke it with a pick & it'll sing,really dig in & it'll peel plaster off your walls !,
Ivan

[Rheatown]

It's number 258-11 and I bought it on 7/17/2012. I bought it the next day about 4pm after the video was posted. I was like Leon Spinks on a Lavender Cadillac. I knew if it sounded that good on a video camera recording it would be pretty good. A friend of mine who plays professionally had bought an Ellis F-5 "Deluxe" a few months earlier and spoke very highly of his, though I never heard him play his. I think the designation "Special" came right after he got his and before I got mine.



I was just comparing how this mandolin sounds now to how it sounded when Ben played it, and it sounds pretty close even though I need to put some new strings on it. I tried recording it through my Sony HD video camera with surround sound and it sounds tinney. I played the video back through my upgraded computer speakers and through my DAW, and what is in the video is pretty much what I get, though I am not nearly so good a player as Ben.

The reason I know this is my mandolin is that I saved off the video in 2012 when I bought it. I called Ben to ask him the name of the first song he played, and it was "New Five Cent", a fiddle tune.

[Tobin]

Wow, #258? Much earlier than I thought. I remember a while back I had checked the serial number progression of his new mandolins, and came to the conclusion that he was only building about 25 per year (if memory serves). Mine is #298, and I bought it in August 2013, right about a year after yours was sold. I know exactly when it was finished, because I bought it the day after Tom delivered it to Fiddler's Green, having just done its final stringing/setup. It never even got a chance to go on the wall.

[JAK]

Someone should host an "Ellis Fest" to compare all those Ellis mandos out there?

[Tailgate]

Anyone know the name of the first tune he's playing?

[FLATROCK HILL]

Anyone know the name of the first tune he's playing?

I think I read somewhere that it is called 'New Five Cent', a fiddle tune. (See post #15.)

[Tailgate]

I think I read somewhere that it is called 'New Five Cent', a fiddle tune. (See post #15.)

I must have glazed over that... thanks.

[almeriastrings]

I think it's #288 from 2012.

288 lives here with me...

It is a phenomenal mandolin, sounds very much like that video. Paint-peeling volume available, but it never sounds raw or harsh. You can push it all the way. I have not played a lot of Ellis mandolins, but all those I have encountered were very consistent... very characteristic voicing with an extremely distinct 'signature' sound.

They are beautiful, amazing instruments.

[Ivan Kelsall]

My "A" style is 215-10. 4 years old when i bought it & apart from a few minor blemishes the previous owner thought would add to it's appearance,in very good condition. I'd agree with Almeria's point above,even when i do play it loud,it's never 'harsh' sounding,the mandolin gets louder,the tonal respnse has the same even balance.
This is ''New Five Cent Piece'' played by Adam Steffey :-

Ivan

[9lbShellhamer]

I can't wait to head to Nashville next week! In seven days I'm heading down to test drive the Ellis A at Carters and compare it to a Pava Pro. I played a Pava Pro that I let slip away at Carters a few years ago. A few months later I played a Collings MT2 that knocked my socks off and I didn't let THAT one get away... I'm really looking forward to comparing the Ellis A's and F's and the Pava Pro. I'll keep y'all posted!

I still dream about the Pava I played at Carters in September of 2014. It'll be really cool to compare to the Ellis A!

[lenf12]

Thanks Ivan, I wonder what kind of mandolin Adam was playing in this recording?
Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[almeriastrings]

AFAIK that was a Northfield 'Big Mon' used on that track.