Finally finished---pictures in my album. The A-5 Special came about when I one last chance to get a piece of incredibly figured 100+ year old sugar maple. The board had a really unusual design that I could imagine in the center of the back. This maple really rings and has a tight projection that makes it ideal for Bluegrass. All the maple parts, even the bridge base and fingerboard support block are the old maple. So, it deserved some special attention. A carefully selected red spruce top was graduated just for this maple and fitted with extended tone bars. Although the Phoenix body is a two-point, the binding was done A-5 style all the way even to the finger rest. The headstock had to have "The Phoenix." The fingerboard, however, is radiused with larger gold EVO frets, a very modern touch. The tuners are the new Grovers, and the tailpiece is by James. The finish was stained more Loar style. It was a lot of fussy work, and right now I can't imagine making another one even if I could ever find maple like this. My test player, a fine local mandolin player, hasn't been over to road test it yet, and I am anxious to hear it.
Wow Rolfe, that really is something special. The detail is really fantastic, all the way down to the bound pickguard. Any chance we could see a photo of that one on the instrument stand like the other photo in your album?
Sure. Those were quick snaps. When I get a chance, I'll try to do better.
Send it to me: I'll kick tires on fersure!!!
The A-5 Special is now at The Music Emporium. Take a look at it on their website.
