New Classical Mandolin

[labraid]

Friends and Colleagues, the all-new Labraid Orchestral --











This mandolin features 34 fluted staves, a scale length of 13", 1+1/8" nut width, 27 stainless steel frets, 16:1 tuners, spruce lined maple bowl, Engelmann spruce top, and hide glue construction. She'll be making her debut in Dayton, Ohio October 28th. Hoping to see many of you there!

[Shelagh Moore]

That's beautiful work Brian. I'm sure she sounds as good as she looks.

[JEStanek]

Exquisite. Congratulations.

Jamie

[joebrent]

Crikey, that's sexy.

[John Goodin]

Beautiful! I'll be looking forward to giving it a try in Dayton.

John G.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Another reason why checking in at the Cafe is always a good thing to do.

[Michael Wolf]

This mandolin looks very "dense" and complex to me. Many fine details and everything seems to be very organic. The bowl looks as if it were a creature, maybe a aquatic creature. And I really like the headstock, maybe a touch of modern design here, but very subtl.
This is a very beautiful mandolin and a successful design. Thanks for the nice pictures.

[Fliss]

Wow, what a beauty.

Fliss

[Jonathan Rudie]

Congrats Brian! Looks awesome.

[vkioulaphides]

A fine-looking instrument, if I ever saw one. Bravo, Brian!

[Zappa]

That is gorgeous! If I only had the money...

[Jim MacDaniel]

Wow! Beautiful work there.

[labraid]

Thanks very much, all. I'll admit that I did make an attempt to give this mandolin something "organic". I share the opinion of luthier Keith Hill on the subject of perfection:

"I have observed that there is a profound effect on the souls of those who play an instrument which is "dirty" and obviously "used". That effect is what I call "amicis utiorum" or user friendliness. The impulse to touch an object that appears like someone else has already used and appreciated the object is both immediate and invited. That is players feel like the instrument is inviting them to touch and play the instrument. Instruments which are pristine in every way send the clear and opposite message: Noli me Tangere! or don't touch me."

While it has not yet been "used", it certainly has been appreciated on its brief sejour in the shop. The use of hand tools and the simple fact of brushing on a home-made varnish, etc, etc.. give the instrument a character I hope players will find "warm", despite its overall newness.

[MLT]

If it is the played and well loved look you are after, you could send it to me for a week or two, then I can ship it so that it meets you at the 2009 CMSA Convention in Dayton .

Well done Brian!

[Jim Roberts]

Holy blowlback, Batman...that is lovely.

[Jim Garber]

Nice work, Brian. I wish I could make it to Dayton (or Nova Scotia) to chekc it out in person. Ah, some day!! BTW is the fretboard radiused?

[labraid]

Jim, it sure is. Most stark near the nut per my standard, flat across the tops at the bridge. We'll catch up some day, maestro...

[JeffD]

I am curious about the dampers in the strings between the bridge and the tail piece. Were they part of the design from the beginning, or a last minute tweaking of the sound?


You hit the mark, I must say, in making an instrument that calls me to play it, hold it, or just change its strings.

Beautiful.

[Martin Jonas]

Very nice!

One question: as your overall design is clearly Embergher-inspired, I wonder why you decided for the all-ebony bridge Embergher used on his student and lower orchestral models, rather than the bone saddle version on his concert bridges? Did you try both and prefer the all-ebony tone?

Martin

[labraid]

Thanks, Jeff! Damping the strings at center is more effective than at the string ends. That really is the extent of why I place them where I do. They don't always photograph well, so I suppose it depends on my mood if they make it into the final pictures or not.

Martin, the question could become very deep because tone itself is not a very easy question to answer.. But in essence, this is an orchestral, and it is my intent to be true to the final intent of each instrument as an individual. I aim to always build for "best in class", and would never skimp on a detail that actually improved tone for the sake of economy. The bone saddle simply does not improve the tone of the orchestral in my opinion, it simply nudges it toward soloist tone.. Some aged and/or poorly built instruments lacking brightness will benefit from a bone saddle, thus bringing them up maybe closer to the tone we would expect, but no saddle will make an orchestral into a soloist, or vice-versa. At least, it should not, the two being very different beasts. Thanks Martin!

[Giannis Tsoulogiannis]

Beautifull work!
Bravo Brian!

[DougC]

Looks like spar varnish to me. The fret markers are very nice. Another winner Brian. Very nice.

[labraid]

For the varnish, all-natural sticklac (bug legs and twigs included, of course ) is blended with naturally-occurring almond benzoine, gum mastic, Manila copal, and up to five other traditional resins in a high-grade alcohol. Left to saturate for a month and then filtered, the resulting varnish is quite hard, smells incredibly nice, and is food-grade -- it contains absolutely nothing artificial/man-made.

[vkioulaphides]

Food-grade varnish! Man, you sure know how to tantalize...

Cheers,

Victor

[mrmando]

So, if you're lost in the desert with nothing but your mandolin...