I had an interesting and validating experience today. I took my trusty 7-yr-old Collings MT to a local music store to compare with some other instruments - specifically a new Collings MF and a 2013 Stivers F they listed in their inventory.
The Collings MF has a black top. I wasn't sure how I would like the looks, but in person it was simply stunning. the black adjacent to the flame of the wood sides and back is a really cool contrast. Fit and finish were excellent, as to be expected, and the setup was great. I played it for about 1/2 hour. It had quite a bright, punchy tone (partly from the Adi top) with a great chop. It played great and was pretty loud. But, compared to my MT, it didn't knock my socks off - it had a different sound flavor, but I liked the MT sound better.
The Stivers was a beauty. This one was a satin finish. Nice big frets with a radiused board - fantastic playability. Very sweet tone - and a good strong chop. If I didn't already have a mandolin I like, I would have been in love with it. But, again, when I A/B'ed with my MT the sounds were a bit different, but I didn't feel like the Stivers was Better. I actually preferred the sound of the MT to both of them.
This came as somewhat of a relief. The MF was about $6K, the Stivers was $3800. I could probably get about $1800 for my MT, which meant I would have to shell out an extra $2k for the Stivers. If it had really wowed compared to my MT, I probably would have brought it home (my wife was with me, we could have had the spousal conversation right there), but in the end it didn't seem like I would get a lot of added value for that $2k (besides the cred from an F and the cred from a Stivers, which is pretty cool).
I had a fun afternoon, and I left there knowing that MY MANDOLIN SOUNDS FANTASTIC! Now back to practicing!
Cheers,
Rob
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