I’m looking for some collective wisdom on ordering a new oval.
Lately I’ve fallen in love with Os. I have a ’24 A2Z that I’ve had for a while but only recently started to play. And, wow. Way different machine than the F5s. I’m smitten — especially when there’s no banjo in the picture.
Love the Z’s tone and the playability is pretty good. I put Stew Mac repro tuners on it, but for some reason it’s a chore to tune up and keep in tune. I’m beginning to suspect there might be intonation issues. Weren’t some of the '20s Gibsons built with some of the frets off a bit? Or was that just the F5s? I’ve taken it out on a couple of jobs and struggled to tune it and keep it in tune.
So I’ve decided to get a new oval. The contenders:
1. A Brentrup. Or would be, if the used one I was interested in hadn’t gotten away. : (
2. An Ellis 2-point oval Mando Mutt has. I’m pretty intrigued by this. It’s an “homage to Jethro” build. I’m not crazy about either the color (it’s that wine hue) or the block inlays. I’m told it sounds great. I know the cosmetics are of secondary importance, but it's a lot of money to spend on something it'll take me a while to figure out whether or not I like.
3. A Collings MT 0 or MT2 O. I’m a red spruce guy so I think that means MT2. Music Emporium has an Italian spruce model that sure looks interesting. I have a Collings mandola I like; I had an MF that had a thin tone which quickly became a catch-and-release mandolin. I’m sure one of the MT2 Os would suit me. Though I don’t think they have EVO frets.
4. I’m really leaning toward finding or ordering a bespoke Ellis A4. The neck is a little longer than usual, meeting the body at the 14th fret. Looks like the Collings is the same. I don't think this is a big issue for me. The raised fingerboard seems like it would be a plus. It has EVO frets, Waverly tuners, some options I’d like to add if I get one.
5. There are some other makers. Will Kimble will build an oval. There’s a used Gil Model 1 for sale. Both the Gil and Kimble are the more traditional A ovals, without the raised fingerboard. I'm thinking if I'm going modern on an oval, I just ought to go with the "new" style (Collings or Ellis). I don't live within 500 miles of a play-and-compare situation, maybe closer to 1,000.
So, to Ellis or not? Or is there another A oval maker I’m overlooking?
Thoughts? Thanks!
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