New Morris Oval Hole

[Steve-o]

I had Howard (Sonny) Morris build me this nice A4 recently. I wanted an oval hole, but had a very limited budget - basically what I could sell my Eastman 515 for plus a wee bit o' cash. The cool part is, I got to indulge my wood fetish - a redwood top, walnut back/sides/neck, and cocobolo headstock and fretboard.

And the nice bonus is the tone and playability. This baby has a sleek v-neck and low action. Easy to play with no further setup. The tone is dark, tubby, and sweet like I wanted - great for celtic, old timey, and blues.

If you are thinking about a custom build under $1000, I highly recommend Howard Morris!

[Mandolin]

That's awesome! Under 1k?

[Ken Olmstead]

I had Howard (Sonny) Morris build me this nice A4 recently. I wanted an oval hole, but had a very limited budget - basically what I could sell my Eastman 515 for plus a wee bit o' cash. The cool part is, I got to indulge my wood fetish - a redwood top, walnut back/sides/neck, and cocobolo headstock and fretboard.

And the nice bonus is the tone and playability. This baby has a sleek v-neck and low action. Easy to play with no further setup. The tone is dark and tubby like I wanted - great for celtic, old timey, and blues.

If you are thinking about a custom build under $1000, I highly recommend Howard Morris!

Looks like you got a bargin! Very nice!

[Steve-o]

That's awesome! Under 1k?

Yes, that's right. I originally was thinking of a Breedlove Quartz OO, but when I learned I could spend less and get the custom features I wanted, it was a no brainer.

[JEStanek]

Seriously, that looks awesome. I love walnut and you got some great figure to boot!

Jamie

[Michael Cameron]

Gorgeous walnut! Gorgeous mandolin.

What kind of neck/body joint?

[McCandolin]

*whistles*
That is a nice piece of instrument!

[Steve-o]

Gorgeous walnut! Gorgeous mandolin.

What kind of neck/body joint?

Thanks for the nice comments everybody. Mike, I'm pretty sure it's a Siminoff joint (solid, but not as elegant or difficult as a dovetail).

[ShaneJ]

Very nice! Congrats!

[Ravenwood]

Beautiful! Congratulations!

Sound samples, please!!

[Fliss]

What a beauty - congratulations!

Fliss

[Markkunkel]

Looks WONDERFUL, Steve! You and Sonny did good. I can only imagine, having owned and enjoyed a similar Morris with a cedar top and walnut b/s, how nice that redwood sounds. Enjoy!

Mark

[Steve-o]

Looks WONDERFUL, Steve! You and Sonny did good. I can only imagine, having owned and enjoyed a similar Morris with a cedar top and walnut b/s, how nice that redwood sounds. Enjoy!

Mark

Thanks all. Mark, I expect the sound is similar to the Morris you had built. I thought of buying yours, but already had mine on order, largely inspired by yours. (Maybe I should just buy all your used instruments ). The redwood does seem to give it a complex tone.

Ravenwood, sorry I have no recording equipment to put up sound clips, but Mark posted sound clips of his Morris oval hole if you do a search.

[Skip Kelley]

Sweet! I love that walnut back! Nice figure in that piece!