Northfield A5 Special

[wsugai]

Incidentally, I thought that the closest to the A-5 Special was that lowly f-hole MT on the wall at Dusty for $2565. Whoever gets that one will come pretty darn close to the A-5 Special at almost $1000 less money.

hey man congratulations on that acquisition! i have played that very mandolin on my last 2 visits to Dusty Strings and was super-impressed with it... actually i thought it was the best sounding mandolin in the house. that particular Northfield creation is a ton of bang for the buck... Planet Northfield continues to impress...

[yankees1]

Word.

It's also true of many accomplished players because a major component in tone production is the technique of the player. Or, as I have heard it expressed in marginally not PC terms: "it's the Indian, not the arrow".

And it's not the paint brush, but the artist !

[Glassweb]

Incidentally, I thought that the closest to the A-5 Special was that lowly f-hole MT on the wall at Dusty for $2565. Whoever gets that one will come pretty darn close to the A-5 Special at almost $1000 less money.

I agree with you completely on that Collings MT... like the Northfield A5 Special it just did everything "right". Balance, volume, tone, neck shape... as you said whoever gets that one will be in VERY good shape! The proof is in the pickin'...

[fatt-dad]

I think my Cohen has 5 bars too!



I'd love to play a Northfield, but, after all, my collection's complete - ha!

f-d

[Mike Scott]

I'd love to play a Northfield, but, after all, my collection's complete - ha!



Ha ha-You forgot to add “at least for now!”

[Gary Leonard]

Was at the Marshall Mandolin Summit a couple weeks ago. That A5 special they had on the wall of their showroom hands down beat the F style Artist Model and Big Mon hanging next to it. It just had everything going for it.

[Rich White]

Congrats on the new mando, WSU. I played that one a while back, and again a couple more times during visits to Dusty Strings. Each time I returned I was amazed to find it still there - it was definitely my favorite of all their mandos. That thing is going to sound incredible when it has been banged on for a few hundred hours.

Rich

[Verb]

I think my Cohen has 5 bars too!

Pardon, as some one new to mandolins and instruments in general, could someone explain what those wooden bars are for? I assume it has something to do with acoustics?

[mandobassman]

Can you really hear the difference between a two bar and five bar mandolin ? I doubt if I could !

I really like the fact that builders are willing to try something different besides just copying Gibson exactly. It's good to see them experimenting with designs and giving buyers different voicing options.

[jdchapman]

Ditto on the Congrats. I was in Seattle recently for work, and made the trip to Dusty Strings. That A-5 is remarkable. The bass really charmed me.

Same model from Elderly just went on sale for being shopworn. (NFI). Wish I had the scratch.

[wsugai]

That shopworn A-5 Special at Elderly for $2975 is the one that I A-B'd against the A-5 Special that I eventually bought from Dusty. Like I said in my previous post, the sound of that Elderly A-5 Special is very, very close to the one I bought from Dusty and, in fact, my friend said that she thought that it was right up there with the one I eventually bought.

The "shopworn" marks are really negligible to my eye. At $2975 (Elderly absorbs the shipping), that's a $525 savings right off the top -- real close to the price of a used Calton case.

Ditto on the Congrats. I was in Seattle recently for work, and made the trip to Dusty Strings. That A-5 is remarkable. The bass really charmed me.

Same model from Elderly just went on sale for being shopworn. (NFI). Wish I had the scratch.

[fatt-dad]

Pardon, as some one new to mandolins and instruments in general, could someone explain what those wooden bars are for? I assume it has something to do with acoustics?

I think you are correct. Now, the why and what and wherefore? No clues. I just know that Dave Cohen (the builder) had done experiments with different geek devices and that's where he landed. There is purpose to the bracing that transcends the structural requirements. Those purposes all relate to the sound and acoustics.

f-d

[lflngpicker]

Wsugai, Congratulations of the Northfield purchase. I look forward to hearing about how you enjoy playing it. Dan

[Mando Mafia]

It’s not an A5 special, but I got a Northfield Octave Mando after seeing & hearing Joe Walsh play his. It’s so loud one of my jamming buddies asked me to play more softly as he had to put in earplugs, it literally hurt his ears! Definitely my go-to instrument to play.

- Pete Marshall
Mando Mafioso

[Phil Goodson]

Is there a difference between the A5 Special and the Model M, excluding cosmetic considerations??

[Blues Healer]

Is there a difference between the A5 Special and the Model M, excluding cosmetic considerations??

the top on the Model M is Englemann, the A5Special is Italian spruce. to me, that might be the biggest difference, tonewise. I'd expect the Italian spruce to be a little punchier.

[tmg145]

I ended up with the shopworn model from Elderly; negotiated a very good deal with them. Consequently the mandolin has opened up really nice.
https://youtu.be/iSQubq8WY7g

[Br1ck]

A friend went to Gryphon yesterday and the Northfield A5 special and the Big Mon were the two that stuck out to him as his favorites. He ended up buying a Waterloo guitar. He was, after all, guitar shopping.

[pheffernan]

He ended up buying a Waterloo guitar. He was, after all, guitar shopping.

Which one? You never know . . .

[lflngpicker]

Which one? You never know . . .

Did you sell a Waterloo guitar, Pheffernan? Is there something I am not getting? Duh...

[pheffernan]

Did you sell a Waterloo guitar, Pheffernan? Is there something I am not getting? Duh...

No, Dan, but I did catch Jeff Tweedy in concert lately, and his opening act was playing a Waterloo that had me tempted.

[Br1ck]

Which one? You never know . . .

WL 14L. It is a perfect compliment when one of a duo is playing a dread. I've heard it in this context several times now. Dry and direct, it's articulation allows it to be heard without a volume boost. Similar to a 15 series Martin in that regard, but definitely spruce. I can see why they've become popular.

Back to the question at hand. I was back at Gryphon and made an effort to pay attention to the Northfield A5 Special. It was a toss up as to which I'd buy between that and a Collings MT2. What I've not tried is a Northfield F style artist. But the A was better to me than either the F5s, which I greatly admire for its value, and the BigMon, which gives you a fully bound, glossy, flamy f style.

Worth seeking out if you are shopping A styles.

[Old Growth]

It might have already been mentioned in this thread but recently(still?) there was a new Northfield A5 special in the cafe classifieds for an exceptional price. I stopped looking at it for fear of an "outbreak" which requires medical attention to abate.