• New Owners of Weber Mandolins Announced

    Ryan and Michelle Fish Assume Ownership of Weber Mandolins

    BEND, OR — Weber Mandolins is producing mandolins once again under the leadership of new owners Ryan and Michelle Fish after a pause in manufacturing announced late last year by Two Old Hippies President and CEO Tom Bedell.

    Familiar names in the acoustic stringed instrument industry, Ryan served as the lead mandolin builder, inspector and signed all Weber Mandolins originating out of the Bend facility since 2017. Michelle was previously employed in Artist Relations, event planning, and marketing for Breedlove Guitars and Mandolins from 2008-2011. While they plan to utilize a few individuals on an as needed basis for the operation, Ryan will serve as the primary luthier with the remaining Weber Mandolin staff continuing on with Two Old Hippies.

    "Ryan Fish has been our master craftsman for Breedlove and Weber mandolins and other traditional instruments for 16 years. He is meticulously dedicated to crafting the finest sounding, playing and looking instruments. I am thrilled Ryan will continue and build on the Weber tradition of hand crafted extraordinary traditional instruments," commented Tom Bedell.

    About the change, Ryan told us, "The dream opportunity to continue my passion of building handcrafted Weber mandolin family instruments would not be possible without the mentorship and support from Tom Bedell and the entire TOH team."

    Weber Mandolins will continue to be sold solely through a small network of independent retailers that includes Elderly Instruments (Lansing, Michigan), Acoustic Music (Salt Lake), The Mandolin Store (Nashville, Tennessee) and The Acoustic Music Shoppe (Springfield, Missouri).

    Warranty for mandolins built under the Two Old Hippies ownership will continue in a collaborative effort between TOH and the new owners. For this article, Ryan Fish confirmed that he would be performing those services as part of the agreement going forward.

    Additional Information

    Comments 21 Comments
    1. MikeEdgerton's Avatar
      MikeEdgerton -
      Best of luck on the new chapter for this mandolin brand.
    1. Old Dog Dave's Avatar
      Old Dog Dave -
      I have a 2008 Gallatin A that I have been quite pleased with since purchasing it on consignment at Dusty Strings in Seattle back in 2012. It has a Sitka spruce top and maple back, neck and sides. The nut is 1-1/8th, it has nickel Grover tuners, and is described by the customer service rep for Weber (in 2012) as having a faded leather color in satin finish. Great tone and playability, and looks great. I wish Ryan and Michelle much success with this excellent brand of mandolins. ...Old Dog Dave
    1. Clement Barrera-Ng's Avatar
      Clement Barrera-Ng -
      Good to see Weber mandolins being made again. Wishing Ryan and Michelle the very best in this new adventure!
    1. tmsweeney's Avatar
      tmsweeney -
      Love all 4 of my Webers and I would always be willing to entertain the thought of obtaining another Weber instrument.
    1. Denis Kearns's Avatar
      Denis Kearns -
      Webers are wonderful mandolins; I’ve got a few. Glad to see that the tradition of excellence is continuing. Will be taking my Weber sweet pea backpacking again this fall.
      Attachment 203002

      I’m far better on the guitar than the mandolin, but it’s fun to have the whole Weber mandolin family and they bring a lot of joy and peace into my life. As a matter of perspective, my truck is about 30 years old, I don’t gamble, hardly drink, am pretty frugal, and am a widower (although my late wife was fine with my music). Sage advice from an old friend, “You vote with your money”; which encourages me to use my limited funds to support things that make the world a better place (luthiers and other folks involved with art and music). Time to go practice!
    1. Brett Byers's Avatar
      Brett Byers -
      Congratulations Ryan! I'm happy to hear that the Weber brand is back in good hands!
    1. Leester's Avatar
      Leester -
      Congratulations. Somewhat related to this, my Breedlove Legacy OF continues to be a great mandolin. Best wishes for this exciting new launch of a well respected mandolin maker.
    1. Bob Clark's Avatar
      Bob Clark -
      Great news! I wish the Ryan and Michelle all the best. So glad to see these instruments back in production!
    1. Ryan Fish's Avatar
      Ryan Fish -
      Thanks for all the well wishes! Michelle and I are very excited for the future.
    1. Al Trujillo's Avatar
      Al Trujillo -
      Weber is synonymous with quality and I'm pleased to see Ryan and Michelle pick up the brand. Best of luck and wish you all the best.
    1. rnjl's Avatar
      rnjl -
      So it sounds like Weber is now basically a one-person operation, which as I understand it is a bit of downsizing from the Weber and TOH days?

      Please note, I'm not in any way saying this is a bad thing- on the contrary, it's a great thing that good mandolins will be birthed into the world- just trying to understand the press release.

      I had a Yellowstone for a while. I'm a dork for having sold it. But that's true of several guitars and mandolins I've owned, and a couple that I didn't buy when I had the chance.

      Best of luck Ryan!
    1. darylcrisp's Avatar
      darylcrisp -
      this is great news!
      i own two later year model TOH mandolins and know that Ryan had a lot of hands on with both. i've owned more than a couple of Webers thru the years, and i've been extremely impressed with the instruments that came out of the TOH shop.

      we will see stellar instruments with the Weber name in the near future.

      i think my natural color 2 point was a winter Namm 2019 build that Ryan did, its hands down my all time favorite mandolin and it resides with some tall names on the mandolin rack.
      d
    1. Bob Buckingham's Avatar
      Bob Buckingham -
      All the best in this venture. Look forward to seeing the line continue and get even better.
    1. cayuga red's Avatar
      cayuga red -
      This is a significant development. Weber may return to its former lofty perch as one of the world's greatest mandolin companies. Wishing them much success!
    1. timacn's Avatar
      timacn -
      Great News! Hope Ryan and Michelle bring back the Bridger Octave Mandolin. I never understood why Weber discontinued that beautiful and unique instrument.
    1. Chuck Leyda's Avatar
      Chuck Leyda -
      Seems like a great way forward for the Weber brand. Looking forward to seeingyour work!
    1. Bob Clark's Avatar
      Bob Clark -
      I'm hoping Ryan and Michelle will bring back the Weber Sopranolin, Weber's version of a piccolo (sopranino) mandolin. That was a really cool little instrument!
    1. Michael Eck's Avatar
      Michael Eck -
      So much luck and love to Ryan and Michelle on their new venture. Ryan is a brilliant builder and a kind gentleman.
    1. MandolinChapman's Avatar
      MandolinChapman -
      We just posted our video interview with Ryan Fish, the new owner and builder of Weber Mandolins.
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      An important news event from one year ago today.