# Instruments and Equipment > Builders and Repair >  Hester tribute loar a5 pair

## Gail Hester

Nearly a year ago I was asked to build a mandolin similar to the one and only original Loar A5. I thought that would be a fun project and decided to build a pair of A5s. I wanted to try some Carpathian Spruce so I built one with a traditional Red Spruce top and one with a Carpathian Spruce top so that I could compare them. There was a dramatic difference in tap tone while they were free plates but now that they are all together in the white (not strung up yet) their tap tones are identical to my ear.

I should have these finished for Wintergrass next weekend and hope to see some Mandolin Café members there that will give them a go.

Here are some pictures.

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Jim Garber, 

Tim Logan

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## Gail Hester

Teh Carpathian top finished.

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## Gail Hester

The rim and top of the Red Spruce.

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## Gail Hester

Jumping forward in the building process.

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## Gail Hester

A close up of the neck area.

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## Gail Hester

Headstock.

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## Gail Hester

I'm currently staining, varnishing the pair.

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## Gail Hester

Staining.

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## mandoforme

Great job Gail! Those are looking very nice!

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## Gail Hester

Somebody get that camera away from my husband...

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Old Growth, 

Tim Logan

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## cooper4205

those are some tough looking A-5s, Gail. I especially like the finish and inlays. great job!

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## chip

Figures...I was going to Wintergrass but something came up and now I'm not...darn...

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## Carleton Page

awesome!

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## woodwizard

Beautiful mandolins!

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## craigw

Great work Gail. I can hardly wait to see them next week at Winter Grass. I'll be bringing my H-5 so we'll have to do that Dola Fest West bit you suggested. I am biting my fngernails a little close since my dola case has yet to arrive. Ameritage is supposed to overnight it to me after building it this past week so here's hoping it at least arrives early in the week. I'll be getting in to the fest on Thursday mid afternoon and staying for the duration.

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## Gail Hester

Thank you everyone.

Craig, That's great. I sent you an email with my cell number.

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## Hans

Nice Gail, looks like you've got a lot of work before Thursday. Will be interesting to compare the spruces. Backs are red or sugar?
Hoping I can make it...have had the flu on top of bronchitis for a couple of weeks. #

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## Carleton Page

At some point could you please give us a report on how they compare? For one thing I have never heard of carpathian spruce(which doesn't mean much), and it is also one of those rare all other things being equal situations. I wish I could go to Wintergrass! Are these sold?

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## SternART

My Dudenbostel A5 has a Carpathian spruce top......supposed to be between red & englemann in tone.
Hang in there Hans.....if you're 2 weeks into it, bound to break it's grip on you soon!
I'm a bit under the weather as well but plan on toughing it out. Darn if I don't get sick
about every year just in time for Wgrass! I got a flu shot too......

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## craigw

Come on Hans. You gotta get well enough in the next four days. I'm looking forward to hanging out some with you and Maureen. I'm pulling for you.

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## Gail Hester

Hans, sorry to hear youre not feeling well. Im looking forward to seeing you and hope you get well and can make it.

Both mandolins are made with Red Maple. Arts description of Carpathian is exactly what Ive been told as well. Ill definitely offer up an opinion when theyre finished along with the opinions of others if I can get them to Wintergrass.

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## JEStanek

Great looking instruments, Gail. That's a very good picture of you working so intently as well.

Jamie

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## Bernie Daniel

> SternART: . #Darn if I don't get sick
> about every year just in time for Wgrass! #I got a flu shot too......


Sorry to hear that. #You should see an admission by CDC soon admitting that the strains included in the flu vaccine this year did not match up to observed pattern of virulence -- i.e., they missed this year #

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## Skip Kelley

Gail, Those are some fine looking A's! Awesome work! Looking forward to the finished pics!

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## Links

Gail - your work is just incedible! Those will make a beautiful pair. Can't wait to see the finished products!

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## Gail Hester

Here they are with four coats of oil varnish and about four to go. The flash makes the bursts look more abrupt than they really are but otherwise the pictures are accurate. The actual Loar A5 is pictured in the background.

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## craigw

Stunning Gail! I hope I get to see them later this week.

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## Caleb

Absolutely awesome work!

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## sgarrity

WOW!! I feel a seriuos MAS flare up comin' on......

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## Mario Proulx

As Mr. Bill would say, "that's what you want right there; just a little button sunburst"

Well done!

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## Nolan

Mercy! # 
Gail, your work is perfect.

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## jimbob

You sure do work fast ! Those look great !

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## Kbone

Very nice work indeed..

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## Gail Hester

Thank you everyone for posting such nice comments.

Here's the first coat of French polish going on the A5 with Carpathian spruce.

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## Gail Hester

...and one more.

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## Spruce

Bummer.....
The original sported a 2-piece back...

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## Gail Hester

I know Bruce and weve had discussions about that but I waited for over a year for you to send me the perfect match and it never showed up.  

I could have sawed this one in half but sorta hated to go that far.

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## Spruce

That's some beautiful work there, Gail...

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## Gail Hester

Here's the back of the other one (red Spruce top).

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## jasona

Beautiful work!

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## Spruce

Can we see a shot of the area where the neck meets the body? The buttons?
Love to see your take on it....
Thanks!

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## Gail Hester

I'm not sure what angle you want but here goes...

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## JEStanek

Finest kind, Gail. I like the look of the one piece better myself. Beautiful.

Jamie

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## Paul Hostetter

Another big cheer from the Peanut Gallery! I'll be interested in the consensus from players about the tonal differences of the two tops - after Wintergrass, and hopefully a year or so down the line, if they're still near enough to one another to enable a comparison.

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## Mark Walker

> Nice Gail, looks like you've got a lot of work before Thursday. Will be interesting to compare the spruces. Backs are red or sugar?
> Hoping I can make it...have had the flu on top of bronchitis for a couple of weeks. #


Hans, I hope you fare better than I've been! #I had the flu about a month ago, and still have a nagging cough! #My wife thinks it's going into pnuemonia! #  

Our band (For Heaven's Sake) is supposed to record a demo CD this weekend too. #Hope I can stop coughing long enough to sing a little harmony!

_Gail - GREAT looking 'almost identical twins' there! #Keep up the great work!_

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## Spruce

Hi Gail....
I wanted to see your take on the offset buttons...
Here's the original:

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## Gail Hester

Gotcha, here's a shot that shows that. Ignore the oil, they're not cleaned up yet.

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## Dan Voight

Very nice Gail. Great color.

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## Gail Hester

Thanks again Paul, Bruce and everyone.

I strung them up last night and didn't have much time to take pictures so these finished shots were hurried since I was trying to get to Wintergrass today. The new finish is still a bit smudged from handling. #Here are the fronts.

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## Gail Hester

Here are the backs.

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## Gail Hester

One of the reasons I was looking forward to Wintergrass was to see Hans for awhile. Here we are with a Lloyd and one of mine.

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## Gail Hester

Here is the Red Spruce A5 with its new owner, the Cafe's own "squirrelabama".

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## Gail Hester

I dont like talking about the sound of my own mandolins since I find myself using all of those cliché terms but the comparison is part of this thread so please forgive me.  

Before using Carpathian Spruce I was told that it falls somewhere between Red and Engelmann and after using it I would agree accept that I think its closer to Engelmann than Red (disclaimer: non scientific, sample of one, one builder). In comparing the sound and characteristic differences between the Red Spruce and Carpathian Spruce top, while both mandolins have good volume and openness for being so new the mandolin with Red Spruce is definitely a Bluegrass instrument. The Red is loud, slightly dryer with a heavy midrange, dark and whinny and has a great chop. The Carpathian Spruce mandolin has a more almost oval-hole type sustain, is sweeter sounding, open and even across the strings.

Lots of folks played them today so maybe one of them will offer up another opinion.

Thanks for looking and commenting on this thread. These two mandolin were a lot of fun for me to build.

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## atetone

Great looking mandolins Gail.
I am interested to hear some reviews from some of the folks that played them at Wintergrass.

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## fatt-dad

O.K.! That is some fine-looking work Gail! Seeing it in the hand of a picker really adds to the effect (well and the accompanying smiles from both of you).

How's your backlog? I'm thinking you may get a few more orders on such great-looking mandolins!

Continued success!

f-d

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## squirrelabama

That smile is still on my face...I think it will be there for a long, long time. I had the luxury of A/B-ing this with Hal Johnson's Loar (the '23 i believe) as well as Duane Boyer's Loar. I also had people A/B them at me, so I could get that perspective. Lets just say the A5 held it's own in all departments, and will only get better! I agree with Gail, the Carp top had more of an Engleman sound, but this Red Spruce just nailed the Loar/Bluegrass tone in spades. It is also surprisingly loud. Gail has a real gift I'll tell ya!

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## squirrelabama

Gail's review of the differences between the two pretty much sums up the impression I and other's in the room there had. Craig W was there and was able to get some time in on both of them too. Maybe he'll chime in? Both Fantastic mandos, however my taste is for the Bluegrassy tone, and that red spruce version has it. It made me late to work this morning!!

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## sgarrity

Wow...wow...wow....you flat NAILED the look on those!!

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## Gail Hester

Thanks again.

The Greg Boyd room is always one of my favorite spots at Wintergrass; those guys are all so nice and knowledgeable. I happened to be there talking to Chad and this gentleman asked to play the Carpathian A5. I didn't get his name but he is a fine picker and as it turns out a real cowboy.

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## squirrelabama

match made in heaven

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## sgarrity

This thread just gets better and better. That is a pair that is sure to cure even a serious case of MAS

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## squirrelabama

here are a few more shots of ol' Red.

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## squirrelabama

front.......

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## squirrelabama

back..........

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## squirrelabama

peg head..........

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## Carleton Page

Oh I wish I had gone with my gut and bought that! 1 word:amazing! I wish I had bought it! I wish I had bought it! I wish I had bought it! I wish I had bought it! I wish I had bought it!  Oh well you get the idea. Amazing looking work. Would love to here clips someday!

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## dan@kins

I can't take it anymore!!!!! I just love the look of these mandolins! Gail, I've sent you an email.....

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## Gail Hester

Last update for this thread.  

We had the pleasure this weekend of meeting Ken Sager who came in from out of town for some mandolin work and ended up taking the Carpathian topped A5 home. #The Carpathian is really opening up after a couple weeks and Ken who is a fantastic player really makes it sing. #I hope to get back some sound files of both mandolins someday that I can post.

Thanks to Ken for the nice visit and a copy of his new CD HERE.

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## John Hill

Those mandolins look awesome! I especially like that oval & f pair of squirrelabamas.

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## Ken Sager

Gail does fantastic work. I was blown away by that lovely little A5. She had mentioned the Red Spruce A5 was the hot item at Wintergrass, but believe me the Carpathian topped unit is no slouch. Far from it. It's got a rich, complex, sound that is quite open while still sounding dry with lots of pop, too. It's very well balanced. The biggest treat is that it is setup perfectly and plays like a dream! Gail's setups and finish work are top notch. I'm very impressed.

Plus, Chuck, Gail's husband, is a mighty fine mandolin picker himself and has some wonderful mandolins/mandolas at his fingertips.

Thanks Gail and Chuck for such a terrific visit!

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## PaulD

Those are both beautiful mandos, Gail, and it's been great to watch them develop on this thread. Congrats on the new "hatchet" Ken... I _can't wait_ to hear it! I'm interested in the assessment of the Carpathian Spruce because I really prefer the oval hole type sound.

Paul

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## David Newton

Gail.
I really enjoyed showing this thread to my wife last night. Not only is your work wonderful, beautiful, YOU shine out in the pictures like a rare treasure! Thank you for following this craft, it raises us all up.

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## Cornelius Morris

Gorgeous mandolins, Gail. Where do you get the tuners?  I know that Stew-Mac doesn't list snakehead A-type Waverlies with screw-on buttons. 

Cornelius

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## Gail Hester

I used the "new" Gotoh tuners and I really like them. They come with ivoroid buttons but Roger Siminoff sells a variety of replacement buttons and I used real MOP for the A5s.

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## Ken Sager

I'd love to let you see it, Paul. I spent the last two hours playing and I'm even more impressed. It warms up really well. It has some roundness to it, but it's so well balanced and cutting, too. I wouldn't call it oval hole sounding, but it has some of the complex tonal capacity of a good oval. I can't wait to get home and put it in front of a couple good microphones to see what happens. I'm also excited to hear it in a band setting. It's really a delightful instrument.

Shayne, I'll get some sound clips to you, and I'll keep you posted on its progress. It's already a very strong instrument and having been played a lot at Wintergrass has helped that. You're right though. It's a very special mandolin.

The absolutely coolest thing is how old it *feels*. It's got an incredible vibe that I can't explain.

More on this later,
Ken

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## Nolan

Dang.. both those A-5's are gone! # I wanted to give them a test drive! #Oh well, I'm lucky in that I live pretty close to the Hester's, I'm sure there will be more!
Congrats on your new mandolin Ken. #I know the Vibe you're talking about....

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## Cornelius Morris

Thanks, Gail. Where do you get the "new" Gotohs? (And why do we call them "new"?) I don't see them at Stew-Mac, and at the Siminoff site the ones he lists aren't identified as Gotoh. His replacement buttons sure look nice though.

Cornelius

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## Paul Hostetter

I have a page comparing the new and old Gotohs here. They're easily identified visually, no one else makes gears quite like them. 

Stew-Mac used to sell only their F gears but I think dropped even those Gotohs in favor of their own Elites and Waverlies. Their new catalog has the new 510 guitar gears on the cover, so they're still on the Gotoh client list. You can get the good Gotoh A gears from Saga. The only Gotoh mandolin tuners Stew-Mac sells now are the low-end ones. They're rather ugly, visually very close to Ping, but they do work well. 

Roger Siminoff may be the only source for the whole line of Gotoh mandolin gears. I find it baffling that they've always been so hard to get - basically you can't get them unless you buy on a wholesale scale, but no one but Roger does it. MusicLink carries the low-end Gotoh mandolin gears and the good banjo gears. They could do quite well with them, I don;t know why they don't. 

If you're in luck, Roger Siminoff is still selling new-old stock from the earlier type, because the buttons are a lot nicer and based on the sets I've tried, they turn smoother than the new ones as well. I don't really know though from personal experience. Does anyone else?

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## Gail Hester

I get these Gotoh A-style tuners from LMI because they are the only ones I can find that are configured correctly like a Loar era machine, worm-under and they turn the correct direction. #From LMI they are item# GMNIA. #I replace the bushings with Stewmac vintage bushings and use MOP buttons from Roger.

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## Cornelius Morris

Thanks, Paul and Gail, for the quick and detailed replies.

Cornelius

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## squirrelabama

"The absolutely coolest thing is how old it feels. It's got an incredible vibe that I can't explain"
Yup. Gail has been inside an out of so many Loar era instruments with her repair work that it has almost become second nature to her to re-create that magic. She's kind of like the female Randy Wood of the West. A mutual acquaintance once said that Gail builds "new old stock" if you know what I mean. I can only imagine that getting one of her mando's brand new would be a very similar experience to going back in time (to the mid 20's) and getting a brand new Gibson. Once I discovered Gail, I quit working on my time machine.......:p

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## c3hammer

I got to noodle on Ken's for a second and listen to him at a very loud and obnoxios jam in a crowded pizza joint last night. Hey, there's nothing that can really sound perfect in an environment like that, but I was impressed with the well rounded punch Ken was getting out of that thing, in spite of all the noise.

It's the first time I've seen any of Gails work in person. I'm nothing but impressed. I'm waiting impatiently for the sound clips too. Hint, hint Ken 

Cheers,
Pete

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## Philip Halcomb

Awesome work Gail!

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## Ken Sager

> &lt;snip&gt;
>  but I was impressed with the well rounded punch Ken was getting out of that thing, in spite of all the noise.
> 
> It's the first time I've seen any of Gails work in person. #I'm nothing but impressed. #I'm waiting impatiently for the sound clips too. #Hint, hint Ken 
> 
> Cheers,
> Pete


Tonight you get to hear it in a concrete bunker of a BBQ joint while playing with a hammered dulcimer... This should give you a better idea of its sound.  

What are you hinting at, Pete?

I'm going downstairs now to fire up the mics. We'll see what happens. 

I'm also counting coins to see if a Hester F5 is in the cards...

Best,
Ken

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## Tom Smart

I got my hands on Ken's new A5 the other day, and I'm extremely impressed. What a great mandolin. Loud, balanced, meaty, sweet, very playable, gorgeous, vintagey...just special in every way.

Ken has had a lot of mandolins, and I know a lot of other people with a lot of mandolins. This is the first time I've ever said to someone, "If you ever decide to sell that, let me be the first to know."

Terrific work, Gail.

Tom

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## Ken Sager

I've recorded a short tune with the Carpathian Hester A5.

The mandolin sounds better than my playing.

http://kensager.com/hester....0A5.mp3

Enjoy,
Ken

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## BlueMountain

Wonderful mandolin. Thanks, Ken.

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## gan

I am working on the varnish finish for an F-5. How did you do the stain on the twin A mandolins? It really looks great. It looks likd you sprayed it on. What spray medium did you use? I am wiping mine on with oil coloring. Mine is not as good looking as yours. Thanks for posting the article. Would like to hear from you. Thanks
GAN

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## Gail Hester

Thanks gan, I use aniline dyes dissolved in alcohol and apply them with a combination of hand rubbing and air brushing. I use a yellow undercoat thats a mixture of a bunch of stuff, my own home brew.

Thanks to Geoff for posting the wonderful pictures and to Ken for taking the time to post the sound file.

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## pheffernan

I saw that today is Gail’s birthday on the Cafe homepage, so I thought I’d bump one of my favorite threads about one of my favorite instruments by one of my favorite builders. I picked up the red spruce topped A5 five years ago this week, and though there have been others since, it still might be the best mandolin that I have played or owned. Happy Birthday, Gail!

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darylcrisp, 

Eldon Dennis, 

Gary Alter, 

MikeEdgerton, 

pops1, 

Rodney Riley

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## banjoboy

Happy birthday Gail.

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## iowaiowa

Hi Gail.  Great looking.........
I have a f2 that needs a new top.  Interested, please pm me.  Tom

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## grassrootphilosopher

Nice thread from over 10 years ago.

Still no soundfiles anywhere. I´m still interested. What´s the going rate for a Hester A-5 these days?

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## Martian

those 2 are stunning. How did you do such a clean job with the gauze? mine looks like I stood back and threw it.lol. not quite but

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## pheffernan

> Nice thread from over 10 years ago. Still no soundfiles anywhere. I´m still interested.


Hester with Carpathian:



Hester with Adirondack:






> What´s the going rate for a Hester A-5 these days?


Youd have to find one first. To the best of my knowledge, Gail has only completed thirty-something instruments, and I dont recall seeing an A5 come up for sale in the last five years.

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## grassrootphilosopher

> Hester with Carpathian:
> 
> 
> Hester with Adirondack:
> 
> 
> You’d have to find one first. To the best of my knowledge, Gail has only completed thirty-something instruments, and I don’t recall seeing an A5 come up for sale in the last five years.


The Adi Hester A-5 clip is new to me. Who´s the picker (nicely played)? The Alan Bibey clip is also nice. Thirty-something instruments in more than 10 years is not much. If you think about HoGo (Adrian Minarovic), his instruments are far and between (and great!). He is a teacher if I´m not mistaken. What´s Gail Hester´s main occupation then? Applause to people like them that carry on with so much effort and commitment.

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## pheffernan

> The Adi Hester A-5 clip is new to me. Who´s the picker (nicely played)? The Alan Bibey clip is also nice.


Alan Bibey is playing the Ads topped A5 first bought by squirrelabama in post #52. Ken Sager is playing the Carpathian topped one that he originally purchased in post #68.




> Thirty-something instruments in more than 10 years is not much. If you think about HoGo (Adrian Minarovic), his instruments are far and between (and great!). He is a teacher if I´m not mistaken.


If you think that Hogans are rare in Europe, they're almost non-existent here. I know.  I've looked.




> What´s Gail Hester´s main occupation then? Applause to people like them that carry on with so much effort and commitment.


My understanding is that in addition to her own builds Gail keeps pretty busy with repairing those of others.

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## pheffernan

I’m bumping my all-time favorite thread in honor of Gail’s special day. Happy Birthday, Gail, and thanks!

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Chris Gray, 

Don Grieser, 

Eldon Dennis, 

Gail Hester

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