Meet me and my mando

[OrienM]

Hello everyone, just joined the board...My name is Orien MacDonald, I am a luthier and sometime player of mandolins and other stringed thingies. I thought you all might enjoy seeing my mandolin. It's not an A, not an F...it's a...well, I guess it's an O. It's a big weird mando with a big sound:

[Joe-TN]

Welcome. Beautiful work and a very nice web site, as well!

[swinginmandolins]

Welcome to the board. Checked out your site and your instruments look very cool. Especially like your mandolin design. How would you describe the sound?

[OrienM]

Thanks,guys... Terry, This one's an experimental prototype and my own personal instrument (matches my archtop bass!) I'm not sure if I will continue to use this type of soundhole for mandolins in the future but the instrument has a fairly bluegrass-like chop to it, believe it or not. I'm curious what people here think of the aesthetics...I actually thought about posting in the 'oddities' thread instead

-Orien

[Andrew Lewis]

For a non-traditional look, I really like the body shape. Its subtle lines have a nice balance to them. While those soundholes don't look bad at all with the body shape, you could think about doing some interesting experiments with f-hole derivations.
I could see your mandolins gaining a nice following. Beautiful work!

[swinginmandolins]

I think that your design is a brave one. I personally like the looks. You say it has a good chop, would you put the tone in the F hole characteristic or Oval hole? Would it fit in a jazz context?

[delsbrother]

Really neat! I like the oval holes. Ever do a uke?

[Jim MacDaniel]

Nice work -- that's a wicked cool looking mandolin.

(BTW, I think your guitar design would look awesome as a mandolin as well.)

[OrienM]

Thanks! Terry, tonally this one tends more toward the oval-hole side, I suppose. I've made this body shape with f-holes too, which I thought sounded slightly more balanced. This one is a tiny bit bass-heavy for my taste. It has bright, penetrating trebles though, and a nice percussive quality when muted. All in all, I think it suits a variety of styles, and I bet it would do well as a jazz mandolin. If only I could play jazz...

Hmm, a uke...It would look kind of like one of Stephen Grimes' slack-key guitars, with the 2 soundholes! Good idea, that's one I should try sometime. I'm curious to attempt an archtop uke, just to see how it would work out.

[Tillmanator]

Looks extremely beautiful! Any chance you can post a vid of you playing it so we can hear it?

[JEStanek]

Orien,
Welcome to the Mandolin Café. That looks really cool. I especially like your compensated bridge. Your website has some very nice looking instruments. Do the strings attach individually or in pairs to the tailpiece? What woods are used in the instrument you posted?

Jamie

[delsbrother]

I believe Kala is making some archtop ukes now. There have also been a few bass ukes made (using those Ashbory silicone strings) that would look killer with your designs.

[Jim Garber]

Orien,
I like your aesthetic. I was excited because the contact phone number on your site is only a few hours from me. Then I read in your bio that you are in New Mexico. Which is it?

Jim

[OrienM]

Jamie, the woods are redwood for the top, walnut back, sides, and neck, and cherry overlays and tailpiece. Each string is looped onto the tailpiece individually, and after this one I figured out to bush the holes with brass!

I'm particularly fond of this bridge too, although I wish it was adjustable...it's drilled out and is very light, which seems to be good for volume and treble.

Later I'll try to get my wife to take a video of me playing it some...Jim, you just missed me, we are back in New Mexico after a 5-year stay in upstate NY. ( dang, I better fix that number, thanks!)

[fwoompf]

It's Awesome!

The Big O Oscar Robertson signature model!

[Lee Callicutt]

Me likeee!

[Bill Snyder]

Orien you posted the f hole version over at the MIMF sometime back didn't you?

[OrienM]

Yup, the consensus was that the headstock on that one was kind of big .

Actually, yeah, it was really cool, someone over there ended up making a version in osage orange. It was neat to see someone else's take on the design. He was smart, though, and made his smaller so it would fit in a standard case!

[Jim Garber]

Jim, you just missed me, we are back in New Mexico after a 5-year stay in upstate NY. ( dang, I better fix that number, thanks!)

Too bad... my sister used to live in Alb, NM, but no more. There are some great builders out there. Mr Bussman and Ken Keppeler and prob a few others.

Where in NM are you?

[Pete Braccio]

Wow! I just fell in love with another instrument design.

Ever consider building an Octave based off your guitar shape?

Pete

[Ivan Kelsall]

That's a beautiful Mandolin Orien,clean lines,nicely designed floating tailpiece - however,one very minor crit.,the fingerboard looks a bit 'chopped off' ie. square, when compared with the flowing lines of the rest of the instrument. Other than that, (my own personal taste),esthetically,it's one of the very nicest 'modern' Mandolins i've ever seen & you should rightly be very proud of your design,
Saska

[Antlurz]

Simply put?

Very, very nice!!

Ron

[Ted Eschliman]

Oh MY!!!
Orien, we really need to talk!

[neal]

Hey, great design, I think it's a winner.

[8STRINGR]

Hello, Orien! Welcome to the Cafe!
I like the design. I guess the next question from our curious minds would be the asking price for one of these just like you have posted (?). #