Experience AND expertise. Skaggs was a mandolin pro at what.....3 years old or something like that. Sam Bush, Chris Thile, etc. They very simply had a gift. And I could practice 8 hours a day until I'm 100 and not play as well as Skaggs did at 12.
I think it's the same for builders. Gil, Dude........these guys are gifted, and now they are experienced.
The point has been made that you can't know how good the mandolin is until you've played it. I agree. Some of these builders are experts at building, but also gifted at designing what you or I want. If you want a mandolin that plays 'like butter,' sounds like Loar, looks distressed, etc, etc, and you tell a reputable builder that's what you want........and he says, yes I can get build that........you will probably get it. A reputation for consistancy is the way to measure........designing, knowing where to buy the wood, selecting the wood, building the mandolin to a players specs. Yes there are exceptions. Very rarely there may be a lemon, or there may be a WalMart 'killer' mandolin, but I doubt it.
Bob
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