This post is to share my newest mandolin.
Just in from the NorthField workshop, my custom Engelmann top, 5-Bar omnidirectional, wide-necked beauty. This took 9 months from the start of the project until delivery. The color inspiration was from a cabinet outside Adrian's office. It had an old world feel with light sheridan browns and some rawhide for highlight/contrast. We hand-selected a book-matched flame maple back with consistent figure, minimal variation, and extension from the center all the way to the edges of the frame.
The mando has a French Polish finish with a touch of light brown... which is incredibly beautiful and still curing. The color is shifting slightly as it hardens giving more warmth. The neck has minimal varnish "violin/speed neck", which makes it very easy to play.
Fit and finish are lovely. The binding is consistent, and includes fine details both top and sides. The lighter stain requested for this build really demonstrates the beauty of the raw materials, and the high level of artistry and craftsmanship to make them sing.
The headstock inlay is brass wire with abaloney, done in house at the NorthField workshop. It took several months to get the inlay design completed, one of the major delays... but I wanted something that represented Northfield's aesthetic and would be re-used (not a one-off).
And now for the important stuff: how does it sound? I'll be posting some audio files in the near future, but here's a good sense... The mandolin is incredibly warm, resonant, woody, and has sustain of over 40 seconds. The trebles are louder than on my previous mando, making chords and stops much easier to play with balance. It's also crazy loud and responsive... surprised me at first just how loud. It's great to play and listen to. The full contact bridge is superb and Derek did an amazing job with setup.
I played the mandolin in comparison to a few others this week including the following:
1984 Zeidler Carrara
February 1924 Gibson signed by Lloyd Loar
2015 Collings MF5V
2002 Gibson F5 Master Model Fern
1980 Monteleone Grand Master
The old wood of the 1924 had more richness and maturity of sound, and a Loar is a Loar, but it wasn't a huge difference. The Zeidler was quite close sonically, but the Northfield had much more volume and less resonant frequencies to distract the ear.
For $6,700 (retail) including the complex Inlay, Airloom Case, and Airloom Case Cover, I'm quite pleased with the results. After playing it, I'm not surprised that Mike Marshall, Adam Steffey, Don Julin, and Emory Lester choose to play this instrument even though they each own multiple mando's including signed Loar's. To sound this good when it's brand new... it will be fun to hear this open up and grow in the coming years.
The photos were taken before the bridge was mounted. I'll take some other pics of it now that it's fully setup.
Enjoy the photos. Feel free to ping with questions.
Best,
David
First time I saw the varnished back... I was stunned.
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