John Sullivan F

[Demetrius]

I had a chance to play this mandolin last year and I didn't catch the name of the builder at the time... It is absolutely incredible. Anyhow some time later I realized the mandolin Andrew had showed me was in fact a Sullivan. I want really one!
Here's a clip of a great band, and a special Sullivan mandolin.


Enjoy,
Demetrius

[grassrootphilosopher]

Unfortunately the video does not show.

By the way, was your previous Wiens F-5 No 40?

[MikeEdgerton]

Unfortunately you'll have to find a used one.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...-john-sullivan

[Demetrius]

Opps sorry for the typo. Sullivan"

[MikeEdgerton]

I fixed the spelling in the subject line. I hadn't even noticed.

[Demetrius]

Great! Thanks Mike I appreciate that very much.

[DataNick]

A friend of mine has a Sullivan A model; very good mandolin, but I wouldn't classify it as "magical"...as with any builder/brand you gotta play'em individually, but you already know that...

Demetrius, to put my comments in a meaningful context: the same friend has a Gil that to me, as good as the Sullivan is, I much prefer her Gil...YMMV

I would put Sullivan mandos in the same general classification of other small builders who build generally very good mandolins, among which some can be exceptional: Givens, Sullivan, Schneider, Stan Miller, etc.

Hope you find what you're looking for, sincerely!

[LillianBelle]

Saw Caleb Klauder and Reeb Williams night before last - he has a Sullivan F. Couldn't figure out what it was while he was playing - no builder logo and it's got the Gibson flowerpot on a Gibson-style headstock and the fretboard doesn't have a "florida." Very much the bluegrass sound - woody and barky.

[mandroid]

Yes, Being the Late Mr John Sullivan , The number of mandolins He made is Limited.

[JAK]

There is/was a bluegrass band, "Jack Straw," the mando player played a Sullivan F5 = loud, clear, great presence and tone. Hot band!

[FLATROCK HILL]

Saw Caleb Klauder and Reeb Williams night before last - he has a Sullivan F. Couldn't figure out what it was while he was playing - no builder logo and it's got the Gibson flowerpot on a Gibson-style headstock and the fretboard doesn't have a "florida." Very much the bluegrass sound - woody and barky.

Well I could not confirm or deny what make of mandolin that is being played in the clip. I've never heard a Sullivan before as far as I know. Whatever it is...it sounds very good to me. Has what I would call a very traditional tone.

[Josh Levine]

Sullivan's certainly have a mystique about them, especially here in the Pacific Northwest. And ya, Caleb's is a holy grail mandolin. Andrew's is not shabby either and certainly sounds amazing.

[Spruce]

And ya, Caleb's is a holy grail mandolin.

[Demetrius]

I'm obsessed with the Sullivan Caleb plays...
He posted that pic on Twitter or Instagram I forget ... Love that pic!

[Spruce]

I'm obsessed with the Sullivan Caleb plays...
He posted that pic on Twitter or Instagram I forget ... Love that pic!

Here's one I took...

[Demetrius]

beautiful!

[FLATROCK HILL]

That's Calebs??? Or another Sullivan?

Same mandolin in both pictures posted by Spruce.

Check the gouge south of the bass side 'f' hole.

[Josh Levine]

And the tailpiece cover

[Spruce]

A friend of mine has a Sullivan A model; very good mandolin, but I wouldn't classify it as "magical"...as with any builder/brand you gotta play'em individually, but you already know that...

I first started cutting red spruce in '90, and had John build me an F5 out of the stuff...
It just didn't do it for me, and John agreed.
I think we both learned a lot from that mandolin, and I also wouldn't be a bit surprised if it kicked butt today...

...and he really dialed in his batch of red spruce...

I would put Sullivan mandos in the same general classification of other small builders who build generally very good mandolins, among which some can be exceptional: Givens, Sullivan, Schneider, Stan Miller, etc.

...I'm sure that would be the first attempt ever at trying to classify John...

[DataNick]

Something about the northwest as I think about it more, the Sullivan A that my friend owns has the same vibe as a really good Givens or Stan Miller...I hear they're hard to find as their owners don't like to part with them; good luck in finding one!

...But I gotta re-iterate with you being a Gil owner; I like her Gil better than the Sullivan...YMMV

[Demetrius]

I cant imagine a much better sounding bluegrass machine than this, and what a great player. It sounds as if he's knocking on wood... And it's not a coincidence that Andrew a Marlins has that same pureness to his Sullivan.

[Demetrius]

Bumping this up. I am so in love with the tone these guys pull out of these boxes.
I have been wanting one of John's mandolins for too long now. To love and be my work horse...

Demetrius

[Mandobar]

Caleb used to play an old Triggs F5 that had a partially sunken in top (a friend of mine bought it directly from Caleb). You could tell that the mandolin had been played hard. Caleb made it sound great, but my friend used to wrestle with that thing to get any kind of tone out of it.

I've said this before, I heard Charlie Rappaport playing a base-level Kentucky, trying instruments out for student in the store where he teaches in Pittsburgh. He made it sound like a million $$$$. He moved on to another low priced instrument. Same thing. The player brings a lot to the instrument.

[Demetrius]

And you’re absolutely right! I agree... That is why I wrote I love the tone these guys pull out of these boxes. However based on the two Sullivan’s I’ve played and based on the tone I’ve heard from other players playing them, there is a certain Sullivan characteristic I hear in all of them. And that is what I want... You know, there’s a Campanella thing, a Gibson thing, a Collings thing ect...

Yes there is the stereo you eventually play a recording out of that ultimately delivers a great deal of the audio spectrum you hear. That being said you are still able to hear the style of the artists who layed down the tracks...

I think it is a lot like this with instruments. Yes the artist’s go for a certain sound but so doesn’t the builder. We either work well with it or we don’t. Sure we could hear Caleb Klauder picking on a piece of junk and think he makes it sound great, but I bet if you were to ask him what he thought of playing that instrument he wouldn’t be singing praises. In the end that’s what matters. How we connect with what the builder was going for on there end. We take over the conversation that they started, metaphorically speaking...

[Mandobar]

Caleb loved that Triggs mandolin, and if you talk to him, you will find that an instrument is literally a tool for these guys. He didn't seem to think that there was anything wrong with the mandolin, even when asked about the sinking top. I think he just found something that better fit his playing style. In talking with people who have been playing the same instrument for years without wavering, they appear to have found an instrument they can work with and have developed a relationship with it over time.

People like Kevin Burke, John Reishman, Sharon Gilchrist, etc. are pretty much wed to the instruments that they are playing. My fiddle teacher has had the same Cooper since 1999, and she has no desire to play anything else. After some twenty years on the road, she's still toting it around the world. She doesn't even really have a backup instrument.

I think we get all caught up in who the builder is, and what the woods are, the appointments, etc. It should really be about how the instrument fits into the player's world, both physically and tonally.