Hey All,
I went down to Gryphon in Palo Alto yesterday to test out the Ellis F5 Fern they have in currently.
I have never played an Ellis, so I had to go.
I brought my Northfield Artist 5Bar to test against it, so I could get a really idea of how they differ.
I find that unless an instrument you know well is present, it is really hard to know how an instrument rates.
I have to say this Ellis is a stunning thing in person.
It is used (2015), but is basically mint.
There are no scratches, and the finish is perfect.
The construction is flawless..
The sunburst on the back is a little more orange than I like, but it was perfection in execution, and the front is an amazing piece of wood, with an amazing sunburst finish. .
Just a stunning finish job.
The tone is very traditional bluegrass, sharp and clear.
It is pretty dry sounding, in a good way.
It has a nice clunk and woody thump when played.
It is very even in tone and power going up the neck, and the high frets are bright and clear.
Simply an awesome mandolin, by any standard.
I sat in a room there with my Northfield on one side and the Ellis on the other, and I switched between playing similar things on each in succession.
My Northfield was a bit louder generally, but it is a particularly loud mandolin.
The Northfield has a more resonant full tone, but the Ellis had that amazing bluegrass sparkle to the tone. It is sharper in tone than the Northfield, which would help cut through a bluegrass band.
The Ellis chop was awesome, but not quite as round and woofy as my Northfield.
The Ellis is very fun to play, and double stops are especially clear and bright.
Notes up the neck ring out.
I think all the courses are nicely balanced with each other.
When I first sat down with the Ellis I was a tiny bit disappointed, but after about five minutes of playing it really started to liven up and sparkle. It relaxed and started sounding great.
If someone wants a stunning bluegrass axe, this could be the one for you.
Just amazing to look at, and a beautiful thing to play.
For my personal taste, I actually like my Northfield's tone a little better, as it has a warm resonance and fuller rounded tone, and it was noticeably louder than the Ellis.
BUT if you desire a dry and brilliant Bluegrass tone, go check the Ellis out.
You will love it.
I really enjoyed visiting the shop and had nice conversations with the guys there about the instruments. They were happy to let my play anything that struck my fancy. I like stores that don't mind you playing the good stuff.
I thought the Northfield Octave Archtop they had in there was a monster. Beautiful HUGE tone. It is surprising how much tone shoots out of those. It is smaller than I had imagine, and super easy to play. I would love to have that instrument.
The Northfield NF-F2S Oval hole was pretty impressive too. It is a bit different in tone to something like an old Gibson F4. It seemed somewhere inbetween an F5 and an F4 in tone. You could easily use it for bluegrass.
I also liked the Calhoun, although I don't really gravitate to that type of mandolin sound. It is more like a pancake style in tone. Then again, for that kind of tone, it was surprisingly loud and resonant. A very cool instrument if you like the Big Muddy kind of thing.
Anyhoo, just relating the trip to Gryphon to those who care to hear.
Cool store, nice people, and very cool instruments.
I have some pics below, but you can get a better look at the Ellis at the Gryphon link below.
https://shop.gryphonstrings.com/prod...ial-fern-56549
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