Hi, Everyone:
I received my new Northfield F5S (Engleman) mandolin two days ago and am happy to provide a review here for our collective knowledge-base. It's a wonderful mandolin unlike any other I have owned.
First, to give some context, I should say I'm a hardcore mandolin hobbyist who has had the pleasure of owning one mandolin at a time for most of the past 20 years. I've owned everything from a "No Name" I purchased on eBay on which the "tailpiece" was four wood nails (yes, four) hammered into the body to a highly customized Weber Fern made during Weber's heyday in the late 2000s. Along the way, I have had significant playing time on maybe a dozen other mandolins, each with its own character. So, although I've played but haven't owned a Gilchrist, Nugget, or Loar, I've sampled a bunch of high quality instruments that are more affordable and am happy to have those experiences as points of comparison.
I will say, this Northfield F5S is the best sounding mandolin I've owned since that 2008 Weber Fern - the one that got away. It's fundamentally different, perhaps more of a classic Gibson sound, but the quality of the tone is outstanding. It has plenty of volume, is very balanced across the strings and up the neck, and has that echo-y, chamber sound when strumming, chopping, tremoloing, and picking single notes. There's a rich, deep fundamental character I like a whole lot. It's also maybe the easiest-playing mandolin I've owned, with a respectful nod to Pomeroy, Morris, Rigel, Breedlove, and Collings. That was the drawback with the custom Weber Fern I had. It was a tank and took a heavy hand to draw out the super tone. Not this Northfield F5S. It takes a light touch to get it's fundamental sweetness. With that said, it also chops very well, but I don't need to whip it to get that throaty, percussive chop we all love. It's a great sounding and playing instrument.
As far as the way it looks, the fit and finish is very impressive, just like the Weber and Collings I have owned. It's a satin finish, which I quite like, and the little cutaway at the end of the fretboard is cool, although I assumed it actually had frets there but has lines that I suppose are painted. I'm also happy to have a pickguard, something I don't require but that I think looks really cool. Since it's the stripped down Northfield F5, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of the Weber Fern or the Collings MT2, but I'm not missing those things either, whereas even a year ago I would have longed for them. I'm so happy with the tone and to be back in the F-style club the visual bling isn't so important right now.
Here are some pics of it on The Mandolin Store's web site:
http://https://themandolinstore.com/...olin-engleman/
That's where things are with it two days in. It will, of course, be interesting to play it with others to hear how it holds up. My assumption is it is going to do great. In the meantime, here's me jamming on it this morning to a video of my friend Jeff Shiffman singing one of his original songs. He's the singer for Box Canyon, an Americana-ish band based in Poland:
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