Why so few rosewood mandolins

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Why are so few mandos made with rosewood back and sides? Since bluegrassers like that dark tone, I'm wondering why rosewood apparently doesn't produce it the way it does on an acoustic guitar.

 

[eastcoastbuzz]

My take on it is you want the mandolin to have a bright tone in the mix, thus maple is the wood of choice.

 

[cjd-player]

Yea, maple punches through the mix with banjos and fiddles.

Personally I like the rosewood tone best myself - but I think that is more for Celtic music and such.

I dabble in mando about three or four times a year when it's needed for a special song at church. I have a very cheap maple laminate with a built-in pickup. I would someday like to get a Mid-Missouri. Reasonably priced, solid wood, made in America ... and wider necks . They make them in maple, mahogany, walnut, and rosewood. From the sound clips at "Folk of the Wood" I like the tone of the rosewood best. Seems to be the fullest, richest sounding; but that's the opinion of a rosewood guitar guy. :roll:

From what I have read, bluegrass kinda requires not only a maple body, but an f-hole arch top mandolin to be loud and punchy enough. Maple A-style (flat top, round hole) mandolins apparantly are not loud enough or punchy enough for blue grass.

 

[wa3jpg]

There are some rosewood models out there, I've seen them from Brazil and Mexico, nice mandolins with a whole lot of low end and sustain, usually rather large bodies and oval holes. I even saw an old Martin mandolin for sale somewhere lately and it was rosewood. I have seen some bluegrass style f-hole, f-style mandolins made of rosewood sides and back but have never heard one played. I'd love to, though. I'm a confirmed rosewood lover for guitars, but my mandolins are birch and maple.

Clark

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

ecb,

I think jazz mandos are, indeed, sweeter and brighter, but I don't know if mandos need more highs for bluegrass.

cjd,

Yes, I've seen only f holes for bluegrass, mostly f bodies but a few A bodies. I'll go to folkofthewood and listen to the rosewood.

wa3,

I've seen some old pre-war Braz Martins, and quite a few old Braz bowlbacks. But it must be something about physics of a small instrument that makes maple give a dark bluegrass better than rosewood.

Thank ya, fellers.

hf

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

PS I found a mando maker who is cool enough to make a custom order rosewood instrument. And wouldn't you know it. To find a mando maker of such grooviness, guess which country you have to visit? Hint: It might be antennae that make him more receptive to rosewood.

hf

 

[kitniyatran]

Carl(cjd) summed it up pretty well; but I think the main reason for maple is that it's what Gibson used on the Loar era F5's, & that's what Bill Monroe popularized the music with. Jesse McReynolds uses, or at least did, a rosewood backed Stiver F5 copy, & I saw a band last September who's Mando player used a rosewood backed Fraley.
Other woods than maple will work, but the sound will probably be a bit different. Gibson also used a lot of Birch outside of the Loar F5's, & they had a wonderful sound; birch is right up there with walnut as one of the bestest tonewoods, but underutilized.

 

[cjd-player]

Darryl;
Here's a link to the Folk of the Wood clips.

http://www.folkofthewood.com/page2518.htm#midmissouri

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

MandoSquirrel,

If Jesse McReynolds played a rosewood one, then it's got to be good. I didn't know Stiver made rosewood ones. Did they use rosewood on the sides too? Birch and walnut look great to me, but I've never played one. Too bad Guild didn't try it.

cjd,

It looks like those have a bigger body, which sounds a lot better to me.

 

[cjd-player]

I like the fact that you can get them with a 1-1/4 inch wide neck.

I struggle on the standard 1-1/8 neck.

But I've never had a chance to play a Mid Missouri

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Carlo,

Me too. I have fat fingers.

 

[kitniyatran]

Now that I think about it, I guess I don't really know all that much about Lou Stiver's instruments; just that Elderly sells them, he's top notch, in Pennsylvania, & McReynold's has used 'em for years. I'm pretty sure the sides are also rosewood; I have a VHS Homespun tape of Jesse demonstrating his style, & he discusses his Stiver in it .
I've never had an opportunity to try a Mid MO/Big Muddy, either,but I love the 1 & 3/16 neck on Breedlove's(I have a Cascade).

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

I've heard that for a modern technologically-advanced mando, Rigel is the touchstone, the industry standard, right?

 

[kitniyatran]

I'd say one of, but maybe number one, company is out of business, but Peter Langdell will still build one on special order.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Mando Squirrel,

Who was #1?

hf

 

[kitniyatran]

I wouldn't narrow "#1" down to only one, too many variables, & different needs for different situations. Rigel would be up there for the moderns, with Monteleone; I like Breedlove's mandos, & there are a bunch of highly respected small builders who are right up there, too, as well as Peter Langdell's former Rigel partner, Peter Mix with the carbon fiber New Mad's.
Looks like, aside from Gibson, probably the most popular mandolins (US made) are Collings & Weber. Possibly most lusted after, besides vintage Gibsons, are Gilchrist's(Aussie) & Dudenbostel.