Last week during a vacation to Nashville, Gruhn's was on the must do list. Lo and behold there was a brand new Old Wave #325. There's no mention of this one on Bill's website, no "recently departed" photos or "available now" photos. Did Gruhn's commission it, or did one of Bill's customers bale out? I'll learn more from Bill once he returns on Monday. I'm told this beauty has an Englemann spruce top, the grain is extremely wide. The back, sides and neck are all Pennsylvania sugar maple. It's sporting a one piece bridge and very pretty tortoise binding on the body only. I love the natural finish. In the sunlight the back sparkles with rainbow colors. Some ovals have a tubby tone; but not this one. It's sweet yet has a good balance of tone and rich harmonics. The radiused fretboard and the traditional short neck plays like clarified butter. I've always wondered why some mandos have the small chunks of wood on either side of the fretboard where the neck meets the body, and some don't. Does this indicate a construction technique? This one doesn't have them and it keeps the instrument looking light. Old Wave and Peter Coombe seem to be mentioned when traditional style ovals are mentioned so I figured this was my time to get one. I stole the photo from Gruhn's site. I have to thank Gruhn's for their hospitality, and the transaction was a flawless joy.
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