I found myself in Seattle on Sunday with a few extra hours to spend, so I stopped by Dusty Strings. They had for sale a used Gilchrist F4C--his "classical" amber-finish mandolin made with softer spruce and red maple for a warmer, bassier sound. With the caveat that although I read this forum daily, I am not a mandolin player and have only once even held one before this weekend. But this thing was amazing!!! Just an incredible amount of sound poured out of it--it felt like it was alive in your hands. While I was there I played a number of other mandolins from very well-regarded shops, but the difference was just tremendous--more pronounced I would say than in the guitar world. The Gilchrist had been marked down and whoever picks it up will have an incredible instrument.
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