mandolin finished

**DarwinStrings** · 9th December 2008, 11:10 AM

I posted some earlier pics of this on one of Sebastiaan's threads and now it is assembled and strung up.

Not quite finished though as I string them up a bit high and play them for a few weeks or month to settle before I set the finall action.

When it is more comfy to play I'll add some sound to the thread and you can hear what that Western Red Cedar sounds like.

I used some cheap machine heads that I wanted to try from one of the Aussie Luthier suppliers and will not use them again, oh well worth a try, ya never know.

The neck is Rock Maple, Fender style bolt on and head stock, that is one piece. Back and sides are Fiddleback Blackwood, bridge/bindings Rock Maple and the tail piece is Stainless Steel. Headstock inlay is East Indian Rosewood and Blackwood.

Jim

**peterbrown** · 9th December 2008, 12:51 PM

Very Nice Mano Jim. Is a bolt-on neck common with manolins?

Cheers,

Peter

**DarwinStrings** · 9th December 2008, 01:03 PM

Thanks Peter. I would guess that a bolt on is not common but I prefer bolt on necks as I find them easier to deal with when repairing Electric Guitars, so I just apply it to anything else I build now. It does not make things easier to build though especially with Acoustics but I feel it will make things easier for someone in the future.

Jim

**Sebastiaan56** · 9th December 2008, 04:19 PM

Hi Jim,

Looks very nice mate! I like WRC for mandolin tops, it has a richness, it doesnt stay "twangy" for very long. I also like the price and availability!

Im taken by your tailpiece, your own work I assume. Have you seen Red Henry's page on Bridges? http://www.murphymethod.com/redbridge.html he has some interesting work there,

**DarwinStrings** · 9th December 2008, 05:37 PM

Yes Sebastiaan, my design for the tailpiece. I had a quick look at that page and will read it later on tonight. I still haven't decided to leave the bottom of the bridge in full contact to the body or to bridge it. I have to shave it down a little lower in a few weeks and it is easier to lower if it is in the bridge shape like on that page but I do like the look of full contact. Perhaps reading that page may help with the descision.

Jim

**old_picker** · 10th December 2008, 09:57 AM

very nice job jim - bet shes got a sweet warm tone

**bitingmidge** · 10th December 2008, 01:52 PM

Looks great, now I'm busting to hear it!

Cheers,

P

**artme** · 11th December 2008, 03:22 AM

Nice work Toejam.

**oz tradie** · 14th December 2008, 01:00 AM

That's fantastic Jim.
My Dad came out to Oz about 40 years agofrom Scotland with a banjo/mandolin which got me started onto the creative music thing, so I've got a soft spot for these creatures. !!!!

And yes, It doesn't get much better than the ol' Blackwood.

**Scally** · 14th December 2008, 07:46 AM

It looks great Jim.

I like the body shape.

Nice piece of blackwood too.

**DarwinStrings** · 28th December 2008, 10:19 PM

Ok as I said, here is some sound out of the instrument, still have to link to YouTube but at least you can get a idea.

[ame="http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd0Mrew4Q2Y"]YouTube - Mandomove[/ame]

Feel free to make any comments you like negative or positive.

Jim

**DarwinStrings** · 7th January 2009, 08:54 PM

Sebastiaan pointed me in the direction of Red Henry's web page and after being impressed by Red's experiments with bridges I decided to try one of his designs. I feel it made a difference but not a huge difference.

Jim

Thread: mandolin finished

Thread Tools

Search Thread

mandolin finished

Similar Threads

Just finished this

New Aussie Mandolin Construction book

Mandolin pickup

Traditional mandolin

Almost Finished

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions