This is my first attempt at a proper 8 stringed mandolin. I wanted a travel mandolin, and I really like the sound of this one a lot.I call him Elmer because there was an incident involving myself and some stupidity which led to a fair amount of glue repair on the box during construction. But hey... if the end result sounds this good, I can't complain.Also, this is my first attempt at a hand carved compensated bridge. It won't be my last!
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I really like the looks of "Elmer"! Nice clean looking build. I am currently waiting for my mail order mandolin tuning machines. Once I get them I will start on my first mandolin 8 string reso build for my daughter. Hope it turns out well. I may need some advice once I get into it.
Paul-
I carve all my own necks. The tuners are in- line tuners. Stew Mac economy tuners in this photo, ping upgrades now. Check out the updated photos I've put up since.
The sound is great, once I discovered sawmill tuning, I've never looked back.
You have to figure out a way to brace the soundboard on cb mandos without sacrificing sound. That's the hardest thing to get right. Otherwise that 90 pounds of pressure will crumple your box in a few months, even with a through-style neck.
Although gdgd tuning reduces that stress...
Feel free to hit me up with any questions. I now have 3 solid mandolin builds under my belt. They sound good and I'm now working on some exotic wood mandolins. Mmmmm ziricote mandolin...
Cheers!
VERY NICE !! Did you buy the neck or make it yourself? Are the tuners inline gang tuners? I am thinking about making a traveling mandolin too. I am looking at the shape of the Martin Backpacker Mandolin. Still in the planning stage in my head, but I am going to draw something up. Do you have any sound clips of the mando? We would love to hear the sound quality.
i'm quite proud of elmer. the tailpiece is from stewmac. the bridge is working out well, but right now the maple saddle is just sitting on a rosewood block for height. my next project is to carve an adjustable bridge for a the flat top mandolin. i just got a very nice compensated antler saddle.
i think i'll need to experiment with bracing on the soundboard though, just to prevent a huge amount of sinking over time.
i also just found out about cbgitty's little rod piezo pickups. i do believe i'll put on of those on here as well for some extra volume and unorthodox effects.
Now thats a fine looking instrument. I love the sound holes and tail piece and the bridge looks cool also. I can go on and on as to what I like about this. Congrats!
Comments
I'm a better builder than I am a player, but I'll dig some up or make some more
I carve all my own necks. The tuners are in- line tuners. Stew Mac economy tuners in this photo, ping upgrades now. Check out the updated photos I've put up since.
The sound is great, once I discovered sawmill tuning, I've never looked back.
You have to figure out a way to brace the soundboard on cb mandos without sacrificing sound. That's the hardest thing to get right. Otherwise that 90 pounds of pressure will crumple your box in a few months, even with a through-style neck.
Although gdgd tuning reduces that stress...
Feel free to hit me up with any questions. I now have 3 solid mandolin builds under my belt. They sound good and I'm now working on some exotic wood mandolins. Mmmmm ziricote mandolin...
Cheers!
VERY NICE !! Did you buy the neck or make it yourself? Are the tuners inline gang tuners? I am thinking about making a traveling mandolin too. I am looking at the shape of the Martin Backpacker Mandolin. Still in the planning stage in my head, but I am going to draw something up. Do you have any sound clips of the mando? We would love to hear the sound quality.
thanks for kind words.
i'm quite proud of elmer. the tailpiece is from stewmac. the bridge is working out well, but right now the maple saddle is just sitting on a rosewood block for height. my next project is to carve an adjustable bridge for a the flat top mandolin. i just got a very nice compensated antler saddle.
i think i'll need to experiment with bracing on the soundboard though, just to prevent a huge amount of sinking over time.
i also just found out about cbgitty's little rod piezo pickups. i do believe i'll put on of those on here as well for some extra volume and unorthodox effects.