Sullivan F

[Demetrius]

Hello,
I know they rarely pop up and finding one would be tricky but does anyone know how much an early to mid 2000's John Sullivan F would go for? Presuming it is in nice condition...

While we're at it maybe even the ballpark price of one of his A too?

Thanks,
D

[Bill McCall]

I think the hard part is finding a willing seller at any price. While there are many in Portland I’ve only heard of one sale in the last 5 years and that was an older gentleman deciding to pass the instrument on to a younger player.

Good luck.

[Demetrius]

I did find this one that had been posted on reverb but it is an A style.
Although it does look pretty decked out. Wish I had seen that before it sold...

https://reverb.com/item/1094880-john...-french-polish

Dem

I think the hard part is finding a willing seller at any price. I did find this one on reverb that I did find this one on reverb that have sold but it is in While there are many in Portland I’ve only heard of one sale in the last 5 years and that was an older gentleman deciding to pass the instrument on to a younger player.

Good luck.

[Mandobar]

It sold 3 years ago.

[Bill Foss]

I sold a Sullivan F for $5,500. almost a year ago right here on the Cafe. I sold it "as is" because it needed some expert tweeking and I had put some honest player wear on it. Hated to see it go but it went to a very good home in the northwest from whence it came. The money went to feed my MAS habit. If I remember it was a 2001 and it had a name not a serial number, as was Sullivan's habit. Which I think was a very good habit.

[Bill Foss]

Here's the Sullivan I mention above.

[Demetrius]

He made such incredible mandolins. That is beautiful...

Here's the Sullivan I mention above.

[Bill Foss]

I could resist posting one more photo of the headstock featuring Sullivan's typical and unique placement of the flowerpot.

[Demetrius]

Wow thanks for this Bob! What a gorgeous mandolin. I Think John Sullivan was one of the best builders of all time. Truly a master...

[j. condino]

I used to live a few blocks from John's house in Portland; he died way too young...

Sullivan mandolins have a cult like following around Portland. I'd guess that on the open market you'd have to offer up twice the earlier price given in order to get someone else to part with one.

He was my friend and he made great instruments, but I'd bet he would tell you to find another mandolin by a different builder, play the $h!t out of it, and live this short life well rather than obsessing about someone else's material possessions.....

[Ivan Kelsall]

I believe that Caleb Klauder (Foghorn Stringband). plays a Sullivan mandolin. It's certainly one of the finest sounding mandolins that i've heard in a long while. For me - i has ''that tone'',
Ivan

[Demetrius]

I honestly feel he can’t go up from here. Owning that is no different than owning a Loar in my opinion. The only difference is he was able to obtain that sound for a heck of a lot less money. I love listening to this clip because you can hear it’s magic really clearly.
That Sullivan has become part of his sound at this point. You hear the wood knocking...

[Bill McCall]

The tonality of his instruments varied over time. I’ve played a couple I would have bought on the spot, others, no.

Just a dose of reality intruding on MAS.

[grassrootphilosopher]

I honestly feel he can’t go up from here. Owning that is no different than owning a Loar in my opinion. The only difference is he was able to obtain that sound for a heck of a lot less money. ...
That Sullivan has become part of his sound at this point. You hear the wood knocking...

Well... I don´t think that that special Sullivan sounds like a Lloyd Loar F-5. It sounds good in the hands of Caleb Klauder. But it´s no 20ies F-5 sound (to me).

You have to take into consideration that a recording allways sounds different than the instrument in person but still... A Loar sound it ain´t.

And it´s no problem. If you´re a Loar guy then you look for that special sound. I recently played a Red Diamond. That was a really, really nice mandolin. But a Loar sound ... it didn´t have (yet). So whatever floats your boat, pick it.

[Kevin Winn]

Fantastic song and performance, and the Sullivan sounds perfect.

[Br1ck]

When I first started playing mandolin, there were some threads about having to pull tone out of them. I scoffed at the notion. Now I understand the player has to find what a mandolin has to give and then go get it. Yes, a fine instrument is a great starting point, but all players are not created equal, and a great player can get way more out of anything than I can.

Still, a Sullivan couldn't hurt, could it?

[j. condino]

That's all Caleb; he'd sound the same on an Eastman. I was around when John was building that mandolin. I believe it was made from John's pile of rejected wood because Caleb could not afford the fancy wood. After a bit of effort, he convinced John to build that one for him.

You should have seen Caleb back in his "Colobo" days shredding on his PRS electric guitar- they were my favorite band back then!

Where is Spruce in this conversation??? 'Probably on tour with his hipster band...He and John were good friends...

[Billy Packard]

Wow, that Calib and Reeb recording is so sweet, thanks Dem.

It seems there are two different tunes by that name, The Last Of My Kind. This one is by Paul Burch and there is another by Jason Isbell.

Billy

[Demetrius]

Hi Olaf,

I think you misunderstood what I was saying and perhaps I wasn't clear. I don't think the Sullivan sounds like a Loar. I don't think I actually said that but what I meant was I feel that Sullivan is every bit as good as any of the 15 Loars I've played over the years. I Love Loars so don't misunderstand by thinking I'm criticizing them, It only conveys how highly I feel about Sullivans. I've played Marlins before when he was last on the Cape and I thought It was amazing. I thought it was stronger than the Dudenbostel F I had at the time. I loved that Dudenbostel but really just connected to the Sullivan more.

Well... I don´t think that that special Sullivan sounds like a Lloyd Loar F-5. It sounds good in the hands of Caleb Klauder. But it´s no 20ies F-5 sound (to me).

You have to take into consideration that a recording allways sounds different than the instrument in person but still... A Loar sound it ain´t.

And it´s no problem. If you´re a Loar guy then you look for that special sound. I recently played a Red Diamond. That was a really, really nice mandolin. But a Loar sound ... it didn´t have (yet). So whatever floats your boat, pick it.

[Kirk Pey]

Demetrius. I think Greg Clarke is playing a Sullivan mandolin.. I may be mistaken.

[Demetrius]

Man thank so much for posting that. I enjoyed hearing Greg playing his Sullivan...

Demetrius. I think Greg Clarke is playing a Sullivan mandolin.. I may be mistaken.

[Kirk Pey]

You're welcome. There's several videos from that event.

[EvanElk]

Nice seeing/hearing these clips. The headstock on Greg's F is similar to my A ("Sean"). This thread is a nice tribute.

[Demetrius]

I will definitely check them out...

You're welcome. There's several videos from that event.

- - - Updated - - -

You're welcome Billy! Yeh there is something about that sound that is just extraordinary to me.

Wow, that Calib and Reeb recording is so sweet, thanks Dem.

It seems there are two different tunes by that name, The Last Of My Kind. This one is by Paul Burch and there is another by Jason Isbell.

Billy

[Demetrius]

Perfection right there..

Nice seeing/hearing these clips. The headstock on Greg's F is similar to my A ("Sean"). This thread is a nice tribute.