"I've played several. Most of them reminded me of every other Czech thing I've touched (tools, art, etc.), as in pretty but chinzy."
Crowder, does does "playing several" enable you to generalize about every builder in an entire country? I've heard there are some so-so luthiers in Australia too. Does that mean there can't be any good ones? Matter of fact, there are some downright bad builders right here in America. Does that discount our culture's ability to produce something excellent?
The Czech culture was one of the central European cultures that perfected the violin--a couple hundred years before there WERE any American builders. Some Czech builders were making the world's most sought-after violins at a time we were still throwing tea in the harbor. So it should come as no surprise that when the Czech people began to demand bluegrass mandolins, their luthiers figured out how to make them - they have all the resources: a strong domestic demand, access to first-rate tonewoods, and the intellectual capital that comes with centuries-old luthierie traditions.
The best of the Czech builders are making instruments on a par with the best western builders -- if you don't believe me, ask David Grisman, Joe Craven, Radim Zenkl, Mike Marshall, Chris Thile, Andy Statman, or Peter Rowan -- ALL of whom either own mandolins made by Czech builders, have given them professional endorsements, or have personally communicated to me a great respect for at least one individual Czech luthier.
Full disclosure: I represent four Czech builders, so I can't claim to be unbiased -- but I'm a teacher and performer first, and got into the sideline of representing the luthiers because I was impressed by their work. It burns me up when world-class craftsmen get discounted because of our own cultural myopia. But last week on the Cafe I saw Gilchrist being discounted because he's not an American, so nothing surprises me anymore.
August Watters
http://www.galleryofstrings.com
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
Bookmarks