Ellis A Special

[doc holiday]

Tom Ellis is definitely at the top of his game, as an exceptional builder.
This one sounds as great as it looks....just strung up 3 days ago.

[Cheryl Watson]

That is a great antique look but more perfectly done. I wanna see the rest of the mandolin now(?)

[doc holiday]

I like it too Cheryl & that's an understatement. I'll take some other photos & get them on later today.

[Bradley]

that is sweet !! I'm in love all over again

[Don Grieser]

Love how the inlay continues on the truss rod cover with the black screw being part of it. Brilliant.

We definitely need more photos.

[mritter]

Great looking flowerpot. Is that a slightly different design or is it just the additional truss rod inlay throwing me off.

[doc holiday]

That's the design that was on late teens F4s....the double flowerpot. Tom once showed me his old F4, and I asked him if he could do that on a snakehead A. Now the teens F4s had no trussrod...and so no trussrod cover. But Tom is as ingenious and generous as he is artistic...and this is the result.

[mritter]

That explains that. Congrats. I'm a proud Ellis owner myself.

[doc holiday]

MRitter I see you're in Austin. I was down there to pick this one up & had a big time. What a great music town. Not my first visit, and certainly not my last. I saw Billy Bright's well-worn Gilchrist on Pava's bench when I went to get this one....in for some TLC after being played hard for 15 yrs or more....center seam separation etc....lots of mojo...

[mritter]

Yes, lots of mandolin building and playing in the greater Austin area. I am a fan of all. Ellis, Collings, Stefan Passernig, Paul Glasse, Billy Bright.....many more that I'm missing I'm sure.

[doc holiday]

And as requested a bunch more pictures of the newest Ellis

[Mike Bunting]

It's upside down! Otherwise, it's gorgeous.

[Don Grieser]

Congratulations, doc. That's one beautiful mandolin, and I'm sure it sounds as good as it looks, maybe even better. Tom's building some fabulous mandolins.

[Ed Goist]

Glorious!

[grassrootphilosopher]

Swell, post some soundclips and/or video now!

[F-2 Dave]

Dang. That's nice.

[Trey Young]

Beautiful! Love that double flower pot inlay!

[frshwtrbob]

It's amazing how the flower pots actually look as if their 3D sitting behind a piece of glass like they're inside the headstock. And the colors... jeez louise. It doesn't get much better than this - you gotta admit.

[Randi Gormley]

Just gorgeous. Sigh.

[pjlama]

Very, very nice. The back is super good too, not over the top, the whole thing glows. Congrats!

[Martin Stevens]

Congrats! It's a beauty.

[Steve-o]

Mmm. Mmm. Incredible good looks there. The headstock and back are exquisite!

[Fretbear]

I have never been an A man, but that beauty could convince me.
I don't believe I have ever seen a classic double flowerpot on a Snake-head before and when you look at that one so nicely done in the paua shell you have to ask why. Stunning.

[Markus]

There are a lot of incredibly beautiful little details to this mandolin.