What do you think about quilted backs.

[Shawn Gambrel]

I really like them. What are your guys opinion

[OldSausage]

I couldn't care less. The audience can't see it and it doesn't make it sound any better.

[JEStanek]

I've seen some very nice ones. IIRC, the quilted woods may be more challenging for a builder to carve than regular flamed or unfigured maple. But, I might be mistaken. I like the quilted and birdseye maples as an alternative to the flamed maple you normally see. The quilts definitely have that Rorschach feeling though.

Jamie

[mandolirius]

I couldn't care less. The audience can't see it and it doesn't make it sound any better.

Well, it's not really about the audience, is it? When you get into the kinds of dollar amounts high-end mandolins go for, most people want to have something that is truly a thing of beauty. You could have any old furniture, but people love nice carving, striking wood figure etc. Personally, I'd much rather have a lovely antique dresser than some piece of plywood from Ikea.

[chris]

Speaking of quilted, Check this out. http://cgi.ebay.com/5A-AWESOME-QUILT...3A9%7C294%3A50

[OldSausage]

Well, it's not really about the audience, is it? When you get into the kinds of dollar amounts high-end mandolins go for, most people want to have something that is truly a thing of beauty. You could have any old furniture, but people love nice carving, striking wood figure etc. Personally, I'd much rather have a lovely antique dresser than some piece of plywood from Ikea.

Well, fair enough - I'm certainly not averse to a great looking and sounding mandolin, in fact I like them a lot. I'm just saying that for me, because I'm rather vain, a part of what I like about a mandolin is how cool it looks to the audience, and a big part is how awesome it sounds when played. And the bit of the mandolin that only my belly could see (if it had eyes) doesn't interest me at all.

On the other hand, I do own quite a lot of Ikea furniture.

[Mike Bunting]

Speaking of quilted, Check this out. http://cgi.ebay.com/5A-AWESOME-QUILT...3A9%7C294%3A50

Wow, just Wow!

[mandomania7923]

I love quilts, but it doesn't get any better than a one piece curly maple back like this http://www.mandolincentral.com/06duff.html

[barry k]

Quilt does not do anything for sound. I feel that it, and birdseye degrades the sound of a mandolin. But, it seems to get the ohhh's and ahhh's when people see it. Also depends on the builder, I personally dont like to carve it either. When its time to finish birdseye, it like trying to spray lacquer a sponge.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I think that wood is one of the most beautiful natural materials on earth & i love it in all it's aspects,from a plain,straight Mahogany grain, to the most awesome quilted Maple. Burr Walnut has to be one of my very favourites though. Re.Mandolins,personally,i prefer a 2-piece flamed Maple back.The back & sides on my Lebeda looks like the semi-precious stone 'tiger's eye' seen in the right light - it just glows - 'simply' beautiful,
Ivan

[Chris Keth]

I guess I wouldn't turn it down on a great sounding mando. I don't really care much for the look, though.

[fits]

Seems liked quilted backs are sure less common than "fiddleback", "tiger striped" or "flamed maple" backs or whatever you want to call it. This back was on an 80s KM 850 of all things.

[SternART]

As I understand it from talking with luthiers, quilted maple can be softer and produce a warmer tone. I owned a fabulous Lawrence Smart 2 point that exhibited this trait. I've also owned a birdseye backed F5 by Steve Gilchrist that was extremely hard maple and was on the bright side tonally. Based on my personal experience, I'm thinking figure can influence the hardness of the wood and the resulting tone of the instrument.

[Spruce]

As I understand it from talking with luthiers, quilted maple can be softer and produce a warmer tone.

Well, it can be. But that is not always the case. Quilted can be very hard or heavy, or soft as hell....
Just like any other chunk of Bigleaf...

I've also owned a birdseye backed F5 by Steve Gilchrist that was extremely hard maple and was on the bright side tonally. Based on my personal experience, I'm thinking figure can influence the hardness of the wood and the resulting tone of the instrument.

OK, birdseye is always hard and heavy, as it only occurs in Acer saccharum, the sugar maple....

So-ooo, true birdseye does influence the tone, especially if it's hard and heavy maple you are after....

[GTG]

Although I admire the looks of fancy quilting, tiger-stripe, birdseye, and other figured wood, I can't help but note that the best-sounding mandolins don't have the fanciest-looking woods. (By all means, show me that I'm wrong!). Loars and other instruments of reknown seem to have, at most, a bit of flame. So I think if I was commissioning a new instrument, I'd let the luthier find the most resonant tonewoods, not the fanciest-looking.

[sunburst]

It makes perfect sense that quilt would give you a warm sound.

[Skip Kelley]

It makes perfect sense that quilt would give you a warm sound.

[Paul F]

[QUOTE=shawn9106;666520]I really like them. What are your guys opinion

If it were not against God's own natural law, I'd have taken a quilted maple back mandolin to be my wife.

[JEStanek]

Paul, TMI. And I hope your wife doesn't read the Café or your quilted backed mandolin may go el-kabong on your head.

Jamie

[jefflester]

When I hear "quilt" in regards to a mandolin back my mind always first turns to Driftwood/Poe. Those are my favorite quilted backs that I've ever seen.

[allenhopkins]

What do you think about quilted backs?

Prefer crocheted, myself.

[Potosimando]

Paul F, that's really funny!:

"If it were not against God's own natural law, I'd have taken a quilted maple back mandolin to be my wife."

[ira]

don't know about how it affects sound but i love the look.

[Jim Broyles]

I must be weird because that piece of maple on eBay is grotesquely ugly to me. I don't like most quilted maple that have ever seen.

[Spruce]

Loars and other instruments of reknown seem to have, at most, a bit of flame.

Huh??

There are Loars that are underwhelming flame-wise...

But a good chunk of them sport highly-figured woods on the back and sides.....