Custom made instruments- what luthiers do you like

[doc holiday]

Well....I as at Greg Boyd's in Missoula a couple of weeks ago and the Kimble 2 point has the sound. It's an incredible mandolin in the 6.5K range. Carmel music also has a beautiful blacktop F4. If I were right-handed i'd be playing used instruments rather than always custom ordering.

[Ken Olmstead]

If it were my $, I would be trying to get my hands on the Stealth V4 or the Eclipse by Brentup. I love the progressive look that says "There is music beyond bluegrass." I am also intrigued by the new Clark JM being displayed by Ted in the post a pic section. I'll bet he could build the JM sound and look into an F model and I think that would be off the charts cool! Fletcher Brock builds superb instruments, certainly worth a look! I will plug my Weber Fern as being the best Cross-Over instrument I have played. Looks traditional, plays bluegrass well and eliminates the need for an oval hole (almost .) Looks like a fun year for you! Good luck!

[Greg H.]

This is a good point. Jethro and Appolon played standard instruments with f holes. There was no super fancy choice back then, and many of us judge their music to be the best non-bluegrass ever made!

Well. . . .just to add to the confusion, Jethro actually played a 2 point oval hole most of the time. Most all of the builders frequenting here can build what you want, so the best option would be to choose a builder (either someone who lives close to you or with whom you build up a rapport) and let them know the details of what you want. If you want a G5 I'm sure it can work for whatever style you wish to play, particularly if you talk to Mr. Langdell so he knows what you're wanting. If it were me, I'd probably be looking at a Brentrup (based on Hans' experience with a wide variety of woods), Dale Ludewig, or Michael Lewis (I don't know if his jazz mandolins are in your price range but they're great instruments)..

Then again, you live in New York. . . .you could just make a road trip to Mandolin Brothers and see if anything strikes your fancy. . . #

[BlueMountain]

Have Lawrence Smart build you a 10 string A with fanned frets. It's good enough for Dawg and Mike Marshall, and Thile plays a Smart mandola. I had one. It was amazing.

[Boombloom]

Just noticed you're in Saratoga. Pete Langdell is about 3 hours away, maybe 4. It's a beautiful drive. Pete's an old friend and a great builder. You really sound interested in his instruments. Why not take the day off and go see him? If not that, likely enough his band will be in your neighborhood sometime this summer and you can see him closer to home.

There are excellent builders out there with proven track records who should be recognized. Pete is one of them. He pursued a dream with Rigel and for whatever reason it didn't work out. He's up there in Vermont making mandolins the old fashioned way these days--one instrument at a time. I hope he builds hundreds more and is always known for his great work.

[grassrootphilosopher]

Look at this. It´s a Duff F 5, it´s beautiful. People that are not into music (some of my family and friends) call it a peace of art. Its sound is wonderful. The mandolin can be used for most any kind of music. Though I am a bluegrass diehard I would not hesitate a second to pick some sweet jazz. It rivals that of many much higher priced mandolins I´ve played and I´ve been in some nice jams lately with a bunch of instruments ranging from 5 - more than 30K instruments. There´s www.mandolincentral.com where you can get more information.

[grassrootphilosopher]

Oh boy, my spelling. Though the instrument pacifies MAS it of course is a piece of art.

On the other hand, if you want to kick ... there are allways these little critters for about 300 USD that put many highroller instrument to shame.

[generankin]

As Mr. Jazzmando suggests (among others) have a look at Phoenix. I have a custom Deluxe (see avatar) that came in under your budget and which I think is incredibly versatile, long sustain, fab tone ...

[Gutbucket]

I agree generankin. Rolfe has his stuff together an it won't break the bank.

[jimbob]

Everyone who is happy with a custom mando is likely to have an opinion supporting the builder of that mandolin...so...check out Jim Hilburn. I have a couple of Jim's that are pretty nice. The F has stood its ground to about everything I've compared it with. Unfortunately, the A doesn't get a lot of playing time.
The one draw back to going the custom route is the waiting time. It seems to me like there are a ton of very nice mandolins on the market now and the prices seem to be softening.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

That's a neat lookin' Vessel, BTW.

Thanks David. It sounds as good as it looks.

Daniel

[elvisNoir]

This doesn't exactly answer your question but...having gone that route, I think that in retrospect, I might have done well to try to play a lot of mandos--I am talking about traveling to play them, visit new cities, etc.--and when I found one that really appealed to me, well that would be the one.

The way it worked out for me was that I ordered a "custom" from a small builder without much research or thought, apparently, and while the mando turned out to be an OK daily player/jam mando, I wanted a bit more, so I asked Weber to make me a true custom. They came through with incredible finesse and made me an instrument that was even better than I thought my nutty ideas would make it. So, two sides of that coin.

[Brad Weiss]

Everyone who is happy with a custom mando is likely to have an opinion supporting the builder of that mandolin.

Yes, I think this is inevitable. #It's not unhelpful, exactly, but it doesn't narrow one's options, it just confirms the presence of good quality and satisfaction in a lot of places. On that score, I'll throw in my 2¢ for Andrew Mowry and Rolfe Gerhardt (Phoenix). I've got one of each, both are quality jazz instruments to my ears- which means not a cutting percussive tone, but a rich complex voice, balance, and sustain. Also, both are really easy to play, which I think is THE main thing I look for. #If I had the spare $ you describe, and had to get something different, I've loved an Arrow mandolin I once played, and would love to try a Smart - or I'd see about the Phoenix Jazz (save some of the cash for other stuff- like more lessons....)

[Dan Adams]

Contact Geoff Burghardt http://www.iiimandolins.com for a quality and unique custom made mandolin. #A small upcoming luthier that fits into the original tag line for this thread. #Great quality, a small independent luther, for a reasonable price, with quality workmanship and tone!! #Dan

[man dough nollij]

Contact Geoff Burghardt http://www.iiimandolins.com for a quality and unique custom made mandolin. #A small upcoming luthier that fits into the original tag line for this thread. #Great quality, a small independent luther, for a reasonable price, with quality workmanship and tone!! #Dan

That link didn't work for me, but some googling revealed that http://www.iiimandolin.com does. Thanks for the link-- they are cool and different.

[Joel Spaulding]

Cannot speak highly enough of Geoff @ iii. (NFI -mine was paid for many months ago and I have yet to meet him #)
Geoff's instruments have a sound comparable to many costing 2-3X the current price, while Geoff's finishing skills only continue to improve. If you want to be picky and look for "imperfections",you may find a few tiny ones, but Geoff's instruments are beautiful and no different than most handmade instruments - take a look at the most recent models. I guess if you want perfection you can pay $20,000+ and still might have finish issues.

Working with Geoff to come up with exactly the instrument you want will be as rewarding as receiving the instrument itself. Geoff takes his instruments seriously, but does not take himself too seriously - he is a professional, a scientist and an artist ( oh, and he's a pretty fair musician as well). I won't feel bad about giving him a well deserved plug - seems a bit more honest than " Collings is the only Mandolin worth buying" (superb Mandolins, agreed)- but there are a LOT of very talented up-and-coming luthiers out there and Geoff's integrity, enthusiasm and talent deem him worthy of a look if you want a fine instrument - at a (currently) fairly low price point. I believe he has about 19 - 20 under his belt at this time.

Will be posting some soundclips in the near future now that my Mandolin, computer, Cakewalk and hands are at least on the same page. Hands being the lowest common denominator in that equation.

[ab4usa]

Jay,

Why not take a trip to Mandolin Brothers and play a broad spectrum of instruments. You could train down and back and play everything from a Big Mudy to a Gibson DMM.

[Cheryl Watson]

I play an Apitius F5 that has that pure, sophisticated clean tone and it is PERFECT for jazz--light in weight and looks great too

Unfortunately, at this time, Oliver is not building but you can find used ones here and there--that blonde Apitius at Greg Boyd's sold, I guess.

What you do not want is a hard-edged tone which is more geared towards aggressive bluegrass. You need sophisticated-a complex tone.

If you want to get on a wait list, I HIGHLY recommend Lon Williamson's mandolins (Gatorbone.com). His mandolins (Fs and AS) have a very sophisticated tone and they record and mic extremely well too. They are VERY light in weight. He does varnish or nitro--usually come with Waverly tuners and he is a very nice guy--I'd call him a laid-back perfectionist. He is a gifted musician/vocalist/writer and he KNOWS what a mandolin should feel/look/sound like.

If you do not want to wait--Apitius. Just my opinion.

Twang

[adizz]

check out highland strings. jason builds a model called the copperhead. I am playing a distressed model right now. they are sold through dennis at the mandolin store. go to the mandolin store web site and check out the copperhead sound clips and the right up dennis did. You'll save yourself a couple grand or more and have a top notch mandolin.
I have played mine next to a gilchrist and a few other great mandolins and not even a hint of MAS.

[woodwizard]

My neighbor's son in-law dropped by my house yesterday to show me his custom Weber Fern. Man! it was beautiful. The wood awesome, fit & finish, just perfect, had a custom scooped extension with a beautiful mop inlay and a beautiful custom ebony carved out pickguard. I handed him my Goldrush & he handed his Fern to me. I got to pick it for quit a while and it really sounded nice and played so easy. I think price wise both are pretty close the same of mine & his. Now this may sound like I'm bragging a bit but it's just my honest observation ... of when we were both picking at the same time. When he picked my goldrush I could hardly hear myself picking the weber fern. I had to play really hard. The Goldrush was just so much louder. Don't get me wrong both are quality instruments but that kinda made me proud ofcourse. I think he noticed the differrence as well. A guy wouldn't go wrong buying either one of them. And both are in the price range of the original post mentioned.