Unexpected But Highly Anticipated NMD: Sorensen FX “Dark Shark”
Hey guys,
Longtime lurker here. I’m a Southern California picker of average ability who came back to mandolins a few years ago, after a long absence during which I mostly played electric bass. Anyway, awhile ago I saw a video online of an incredible player named Chris Cerna. I loved the music and also the two-point he was playing, which I found out was a Sorensen Sprite. I visited the site and saw Sprites in really uncommon finishes like creamsicle and blueburst and thought they were so cool! I decided I would start saving up to buy one for my 40th birthday in 2018. In the meantime, I followed the Sorensen Facebook page and “friended” Steve himself. I found out that like me, Steve was a California native who loves prog rock and likes to do things a little differently; must be that California pioneering spirit. This strengthened my resolve to save up enough money for my birthday gift.
At some point, I saw a batch of “in progress” builds and one of Steve’s mandolins had a shark inlay on the headstock, and I was “hooked”. I’m a volunteer educator at an Aquarium and sharks have fascinated me since I was a little kid. I had no plans to buy it, but—fast forward a few months and I get this message from Steve that the Dark Shark is done and available for sale. I hadn’t saved up nearly enough at that point, but thanks to my 20 year stockpile of musical instruments, within a week I was able to sell enough unplayed gear to tell Steve not to sell the Dark Shark to someone else at IBMA. I even sold two mandolins here on the Cafe (to quite possibly two of the nicest folks on earth—what a great community we have here). I’d never spent so much on a single instrument before, but I’ve learned that with a thing of value, as long as you can afford it, after awhile the thought of how much it cost kind of disappears.
So Steve stopped by my office today and dropped off the Dark Shark, and I’ve got to say, it was everything I hoped it would be. Even though it wasn’t custom built for me, I kinda feel like it was. It’s a beautiful instrument and fits my aesthetic perfectly. The neck is not cramped and not too big, and it’s very dynamic. I play with a light touch and can really feel the way the notes are coming off the pick. They’re rich and complex, nice low end but not tubby. And it can get loud! I can’t wait to see how this thing matures as I spend more time with it. Lastly, and maybe most important, Steve Sorensen is a great dude to work with. Thanks Steve!
I should also say that since I love sharks, I have a pet peeve about artistic depictions of sharks that have the incorrrect number of gills. Steve’s headstock shark has the correct number and that was very important to me.
Here are some pictures. I apologize I didn’t spend a lot of time on them—I was too busy pickin’!
Sitka top with unique bearclaw
American sycamore back, sides, neck
Here’s a closeup of some of the sycamore. You can see the mesmerizing medullary rays (“rays” also goes with the shark theme)
Awesome headstock with five-gilled shark.
Sharks everywhere!
This link should show larger versions of the same photos:
https://jeromelikesbirds.smugmug.com...olin/n-KtGRrM/
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Originally Posted by Ivan Kelsall
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