What a wonderful instrument. Very, very cool.
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What a wonderful instrument. Very, very cool.
Gorgeous instrument and sweet sounds. Congratulations and enjoy!
Sounds and looks great! Enjoy it. Thanks for sharing your build story with us.
Very nice Kevin! Enjoy, I look forward to hearing more tunes from you on that sweet two point.
Thanks, Evveryone!
As you can imagine, it’s evolution is exponential. Day three, first set of strings. It’s rounding out nicely. Lots and lots of sweet/loud tone:
https://youtu.be/-XnNDSq4oF4
Wow!
Kevin, what a beautiful, rich sound. Wow! And it is truly gorgeous. Good for you.
Congratulations...a real beauty!
Right on Kevin! That’s a sweet sounding axe! I really like the looks too.
Best
Scott
Very nice. It will only continue to sound better as it is played over time.
Congratulation on your doctorate, Doctor. I remember when that day finally came for me. A very proud accomplishment.
Congratulation on the doctorate and the mandolin! The black pearls are such a cool detail, I love understated fingerboards, but this is the best of both worlds.
Too cute to shoot!
Wow!
First, thank you for your positivity and encouragement. The Cafe is awesome.
Second… as you can imagine, I’m thoroughly enjoying my new partner. It still has the first set of strings on it, although they need to be changed now which I hope to do today. In terms of the first set of strings, each time I have picked this two-point up has been a revelation. The new string jangle gave way to tone that was more crisp and round. In addition, it is very responsive and the neck profile disappears, as I mentioned before. It’s a fine, fine mandolin, the most enjoyable I’ve played since I owned my custom Weber Fern, which I felt intimately connected to.
The thing is, it’s different than that mandolin, I guess obviously. That was a powerhouse, a true hoss but at the expense of its playability. It was super tight, but as a result powerful. The Hamlett is much, much finer, and has all of the volume and then some as well as fantastic responsiveness and a beautifully emerging tone. I don’t want to compare too much, and that Fern lacked nothing in quality except maybe the playability. However, there is something exquisite about the Hamlett. I mean, it’s awesome.
I’ll have another video to put here soon. I want to get the second set of strings in it and see what happens, lol. More coming…!
For your post-doctoral studies? https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/174460#174460
I saw that as well, and I think it’s been bouncing around for a while. Surely it sounds and plays great. I’d have to think John would be able to spruce up the finish under the bridge fairly easily for whomever buys it. It would cost something of course, but I found John to be upfront about costs and committed to keeping costs down where possible (i.e. Rubners over Waverlys).
John is one heck of a Luthier! That is one gnarly 2 point.
What’s up, everyone!
Here’s a tonal, week two, second set of strings update for you. I’m in mando love/lust:
https://youtu.be/8fG6-CTmM24
Very nice, though John should have furnished you with a tee shirt!😄
Kevin, Your new mandolin is particularly striking, and its uniqueness as a custom 2-point is well matched to your own musical style and creative approach. I like the way it compliments your voice, or is the other way around? The binding is outstanding, as are the black pearl markers!
Just out of curiosity, Kevin, why would one change the strings on a brand new mandolin after a week? I didn't get the impression that it was solely because you wanted to try something different.
Thank so much Russ, lflngpicker and Sue. :-)
Sue… I hear you. John strung it up, tried it out, let a potential customer demo it, and then loosened the tension on the strings to ship it to me. Since I’ve gotten it I’ve been playing a significant amount. I noticed the strings lost their luster, starting slipping out of tune a bit, looked dull, etc. When I play a lot I get 1-2 weeks out of J74s. It could be 15-20 hours of playing and it seems to be enough to wear them out.
Granted, I was eager to put the second set on because in my experience a new mandolin evolves significantly and keeping fresh strings on seems to help with that.
sounds great. I like your style of play also.
No doubt John's a builder! I've met him a few times over at his shop (Virginia) and also at my buddy Dave Cohen's house. Those two can geek talk about mandolins. I listen and the engineer in me knows they get it!
Congratulations!
f-d