Well, all I can say is there's mando porn... and then there's mando porn! Wow!
Congrats to Tom and his team down in Texas... amazing, amazing builds...
Well, all I can say is there's mando porn... and then there's mando porn! Wow!
Congrats to Tom and his team down in Texas... amazing, amazing builds...
I like the hummingbird A style. I'm an A kind of guy.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
The Ellis shop delivers on looks that look almost as good as they sound. I currently own a twin point and that is a keeper! Wish I'd never sold the A model I had previously. At current prices, I'll need market recovery before I consider an F Ellis, but they stack up to anything on the market.
One is already sold
Theres a Honey-topped Special at Elderly that sounds absolutely unreal. From the quietest tremolo to just flat out stupid loud bluegrass. Just goes to show the best can keep getting better.
Gunga......Gunga.....Gu-Lunga
Stunning !
The 1 piece back on that F5.... wowza
The first time I ever played an Ellis was at The Music Emporium. They obviously look & sound fantastic (they really do), but I remember being dumbfounded by the playability. It played so effortlessly, it felt like I was cheating.
I wish they would stop posting those beautiful pictures. The aching desire is giving me a deep ulcerous pain.
It has a $10K (including a Calton case) tag on it. Pretty steep for an A model.
Seriously! I think that TME posts the most droolable photos of all the major US stores. Every instrument of theirs absolutely shimmers in their photos!
still trying to turn dreams into memories
“ It has a $10K (including a Calton case) tag on it. Pretty steep for an A model.”
It is $7k less than the Gilchrist Style 3 that I just noticed at Carter’s.
If money was no object...
Eastman MD315 Mandolin
Oh, no. Those overly expensive mandolins.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sells for $12.6 million, shattering record
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Yikes on that card!!
I’m sure not complaining about the prices. Ellis has been building great mandolins for maybe 40 years—I hope the mandolins are at a price level that keeps his business sustainable .
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Tom and his team make exceptional mandolins, and as far as high end builders go, his have been pretty reasonably priced. The recent prices have certainly elevated, but I think it's well deserved and well earned on their part.
In discussions of luxury items, expensive is a given and overly is irrelevant.
If you search the current inventories of the US mando stores and the Cafe Classifieds, you probably won't find many A models that are over $7K, let alone over $9,999. TME currently has a used 2022 Ellis A-5 Deluxe for just under $7K. So, I still would say that $10K is pretty steep for an A model mando at this point. Is it "overly expensive"? That isn't up to majority vote. If one person pays that amount, then it is priced appropriately.
True, but that Gilchrist 3 has been at Carter's for quite a while. In their mando inventory sorted by arrival date, it got there just before that $50K Randy Wood that Clarence White had owned. So, it's been there a few months.
I agree completely about the quality of appearance, build, and tone of all the Ellis mandolins that I've ever tried out. Sylvan Music in Santa Cruz has been getting a few Ellis A's every year. They've always been great, and they've never lasted in the store more than a month. Some haven't even lasted there for a week.
still trying to turn dreams into memories
The used Hummingbird A5 at TME sold for well over $7k a few months back, and within a few days of me dropping it off there.
As for Sylvan, they have had Ellis mandolins sit there for months on end. I have seen stuff on their website for sale that I'd buy in a heartbeat if it were anywhere else. I gave up trying to buy anything from them.
As for that Gil, the problem is that TME sold that recently (it was its second time there in the last few years) for $14k. I am sure that I am not the only person who noticed that either.
As for the Internet and shops inventories, there are a lot of instruments that never make it to websites. So, the Internet is not the true picture of inventories, sales, or prices. A lot of places are holding back stuff for their customer call lists.
And we can all balk at the prices, but meanwhile, people are buying and enjoying these instruments. It is what it is.
"your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."
Dealing with them on the phone is like pulling teeth. Ever wonder why they have rally nice instruments that just sit for months and months?
It’s not the pricing. It’s the grumpy attitude.
"your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."
Check the more recent reviews on Yelp and the content on the Google reviews. Read a couple of the more recent reviews. Either way, I’m glad you all had great experiences. I know plenty of folks who have had the same experience as I have, including local folks, who walked in, and walked out.
"your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."
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