A. Lawrence Smart Mandolins

[dorenac]

Does anyone have some experience with Lawrence Smart instruments? There's an octave mandolin in the classifieds that is a beautiful instrument. But I don't know what I might expect from it if purchased.
Thanks

[j4music]

That's a really interesting looking octave mandolin. I already have a good OM, but if I were in the market I would be following up on it. Although I've never played a Lawrence Smart instrument, my impression is that his builds are high quality and well respected. His instruments also strike me as reasonably priced. I do know that John Reischman plays a Lawrence Smart mandola, and that's what made me aware of him.

[j4music]

I just took a look at the ad to refresh my memory. I see that it's at Carters. This means the price is top of the market and I expect they will have a return policy, which means you could try it out for the price of shipping it back if it doesn't work for you.

[dorenac]

A couple features interest me with this OM. First the scale length is rather short which works well for us mandolin players and I have very small hands to boot. So that caught my eye. And yes Reischman owns one of Smart's mandolas, so that is a good recommendation to consider. And although I like guitar body OM's this A-style certainly would be very comfortable to play. I also prefer an octave that has a short tonal decay, the Clarks are sort of like that. Hopefully someone can chime in with some first hand experiance.

[pheffernan]

While I have never played one of his octaves, Lawrence’s mandolas are played not only by Reischman but Marshall, Thile, and Walsh. He’s a master, with incredible aesthetics, fit and finish, and tone.

[Baron Collins-Hill]

I’ve got a 10 string mandola (CGDAE), which I love, and a couple other instruments on order from Lawrence. That octave sure looks sweet. I’d second trying it out for the price of shipping, that’s what I did with the 10 string, but I kept it so I didn’t feel that particular monetary sting, just the big one involved with keeping it 😁.

Alternately you could reach out to Lawrence and get his thoughts on it vs. what he is charging and if he’s building differently now, he’s a great guy to work with.

Thanks
Baron

[Jim Garber]

Lawrence came out east probably 15 years ago to do a meet and greet at a local bluegrass club. Really nice guy and he brought 4 or 5 instruments IIRC. A few other long time MCers were there. Wayne Fugate plays a Smart F as his main instrument. On his web site he says:

LAWRENCE SMART - I own one of his 'A' model mandolins along with an 'F' model mandolin and a mandola. So, you can probably tell that I am a HUGE fan of Lawrence and his instruments! Lawrence has 'cracked the code' when it comes to building instruments of impeccable quality that prominently feature flawless workmanship and astoundingly great tone. There is a reason that folks like Mike Marshall, Matt FIinner, Joe Walsh, Chris Thile, John Reischman, Nick Forster, Rickie Simpkins and a host of others own his instruments! I simply cannot recommend him highly enough!

In addition, another friend of mine has a Smart F, yet another a mandola and I have played an A model and a mandocello. No doubt he is an excellent maker. Certainly I have always considered him on my short list of makers for a commission.

The closest I have gotten is to acquire a mandolin by one of his students: Joe Cleary of Campanella fame.

[Marcus CA]

I just took a look at the ad to refresh my memory. I see that it's at Carters. This means the price is top of the market and I expect they will have a return policy, which means you could try it out for the price of shipping it back if it doesn't work for you.

When you sort Carters' mandolin inventory by arrival date, the Smart OM is pretty recent, so I doubt that they will be open to negotiating that top-of-market price yet.

In evaluating the value, you might also consider that this is a 1999 instrument. So, I can't imagine that it would be as great as what Lawrence is building today, over twenty years later. That said, Lawrence had probably been building for at least ten years at that point, so you're definitely looking at a top-quality instrument.

I've only played his instruments once, when I met him at the late great Healdsburg Guitar Festival in 2013, I think. He brought a mandolin family set: a gorgeous matching mandolin, mandola, and mandocello. Possibly an OM, as well, but I'm not sure. I'm not a mandola fan, but the mandolin and mandocello were phenomenal. Aside from having a powerful and shimmering tone from the lowest notes to the highest, that mandolin had a neck that felt tailored specifically to my hand. Unfortunately, its $10K price tag wasn't tailored specifically to my wallet. The only mandocello I've ever played that impressed me more was Mike Marshall's Monteleone.

If you are seriously interested in this OM, though, I would call Carter's and ask about its tonal decay. Since it has F holes, it will have a shorter tonal decay than one with an oval soundhole, but I don't know how it would compare to the decay on Austin Clark's OM's, which have archtop guitar bodies.

[dorenac]

Does scale length affect tonal decay? This Smart OM is listed with a 20.5” scale which seems perhaps as much as 2” shorter than a typical octave.

[pheffernan]

Does scale length affect tonal decay? This Smart OM is listed with a 20.5” scale which seems perhaps as much as 2” shorter than a typical octave.

I would expect sustain to be correlated to scale length, and my octave is 21.5”.

[dorenac]

As a pure guess then, is shorter scale quicker decay and vice versa?

[pheffernan]

As a pure guess then, is shorter scale quicker decay and vice versa?

Generally speaking, all other things being equal, yes.

[JFDilmando]

I have a Smart fan fret 5 course mando, as well as an F Mandocello of his as well.... I could not recommend him more highly. His fit and finish are impeccable, as well as his attention to playability and tone...