NMD: Northfield F5S Amber

Hello all,

I am a bit late posting this as the mandolin arrived last Thursday, but I just wanted to spend some time getting to know it and hadn't taken any pics.

After recently selling two mandolins, I found myself with a serious problem. ONLY ONE MANDOLIN!! :disbelief: So I had to fix that problem pretty quickly.
Was not in a hurry, but I saw a couple posts from Glassweb here on the Café about this beautiful Northfield F5S (according to the label, NFS-F5E technically). I drooled over it for a week or so waiting on someone else to snatch it up, but alas, I gave in and the nice folks at Dusty Strings had it shipped to North Carolina from Seattle.

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Out in the sun or with bright light it looks more blonde and indoors it is more of a dark amber. The two things that appealed to me on this one were the different look and the Engelmann top since I have the 4th Gen with the traditional burst and Red Spruce. I was hoping they would be different and they definitely are. I also didn't need to spend north of $5k on a secondary mandolin.

The F5S has more of a "hollow" sound to the low end with plenty of power there. The high strings I would say don't cut as well as the 4th Gen, but hey, we are talking half the price here. I love the F5S' tone on the "prettier" stuff like waltzes, Bach, etc. This is absolutely the best F style under $4k I have ever played.

I added the Tone Gard purchased through Banjo Ben, a Northfield/Harrison strap, and as soon as I wear out this set of strings I will be changing out this tailpiece for the Gilchrist style and adding an armrest.

I hope to do some quick videos with both mandolins soon for a little comparison.

Happy to see another NFS-F5E owner here! The Engelmann top definitely has less "cut" than the Adirondack tops I tried, but as you said, it suits the "pretty" styles really well. Congrats on your new mando!

A lot of bang for the buck those... congrats!

Drew, if that sounds half as good as it looks, you got a killer mandolin! Congrats! I still dig my Kelley A-5 that I bought in part based on your review of your previous F-5, but I get 2 kids out of college/grad school this summer and am thinking something F-style is in my future...

Very nice indeed! Congratulations.

Looks like a keeper.

Welcome to the F5S Appreciation Club!

Love the amber....

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Originally Posted by webber

Happy to see another NFS-F5E owner here! The Engelmann top definitely has less "cut" than the Adirondack tops I tried, but as you said, it suits the "pretty" styles really well. Congrats on your new mando!

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Curious about the properties of the Engelmann vs the Adirondack. What is different about the sound? Is it a dramatic difference?

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Originally Posted by DaveGinNJ

Curious about the properties of the Engelmann vs the Adirondack. What is different about the sound? Is it a dramatic difference?

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Dave,

I won't purport to be an expert by any means, but I did some reading on this before I decided to buy this one.
From what I gathered, there are a lot of opinions out there that it is really all about the builder and what they do and the type of wood on its own may not be a big factor. It may however influence how the builder needs to shape the top based on the stiffness. Then of course there are other opinions that Engelmann sounds like X and Adirondack/red spruce sounds like Y.

Comparing my Engelmann F5S to my Red spruce 4th Gen is tricky also, because we're not talking apples to apples there in terms of construction (and price) either even though they are from the same company. My overall thoughts so far is that the Engelmann has a more "modern" sound with a deep hollow thump low end, more overtones, beautiful on the slower pretty tunes but less cutting and powerful on the hard driving bluegrass high notes. The 4th gen Red spruce is more powerful overall and definitely stronger from the E string and up. More of a focused mid range with the bluegrass cut.
I'm sure it is some combination of the wood and the model variations.

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Originally Posted by Drew Egerton

Dave,

I won't purport to be an expert by any means, but I did some reading on this before I decided to buy this one.
From what I gathered, there are a lot of opinions out there that it is really all about the builder and what they do and the type of wood on its own may not be a big factor. It may however influence how the builder needs to shape the top based on the stiffness. Then of course there are other opinions that Engelmann sounds like X and Adirondack/red spruce sounds like Y.

Comparing my Engelmann F5S to my Red spruce 4th Gen is tricky also, because we're not talking apples to apples there in terms of construction (and price) either even though they are from the same company. My overall thoughts so far is that the Engelmann has a more "modern" sound with a deep hollow thump low end, more overtones, beautiful on the slower pretty tunes but less cutting and powerful on the hard driving bluegrass high notes. The 4th gen Red spruce is more powerful overall and definitely stronger from the E string and up. More of a focused mid range with the bluegrass cut.
I'm sure it is some combination of the wood and the model variations.

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Thanks. If you get a chance to post a video of both mandolins back to back that would be interesting

Well, this thread is bittersweet. That's the one I tried to buy but the store doesn't ship internationally. At least it went to a Cafe member who will appreciate it so that's good. Congrats, Drew.

Meanwhile, I've been doing an informal survey & I'd say about 50% of Northfield dealers, maybe a bit higher, do ship out of the country, so there are some options.

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Originally Posted by nick delmore

Well, this thread is bittersweet. That's the one I tried to buy but the store doesn't ship internationally. At least it went to a Cafe member who will appreciate it so that's good. Congrats, Drew.

Meanwhile, I've been doing an informal survey & I'd say about 50% of Northfield dealers, maybe a bit higher, do ship out of the country, so there are some options.

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Sorry Nick! Luckily NFs seem to be pretty good with their consistency, so I'm sure you can find one that you will love!

That is a beauty!
I really like the blonde and amber models that NF makes, they look so good. And irregardless of color tone, they always sound and play amazing.

I just about picked that one up also, no way I need another mandolin, but a few folks gave it such good reviews, glad you ended up with it Drew.
d

Every time I see what some lucky feller just bought I get a lump in my throat....

Love the color on this one!

Gorgeous!

Oh my beloved mando-bro Drew, so that's the reason for the gleam in your eye the first time you picked a tune on Squeeze...you were wondering if she had a younger sister just as blonde. Not only is she a spitting image, but they're wearing the same Deco Toneguard dress! :grin:

Can't wait for them to sing together. They're going to have the crowd enthralled with their beauty!

C. ~/:/~

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Originally Posted by Chris Daniels

Oh my beloved mando-bro Drew, so that's the reason for the gleam in your eye the first time you picked a tune on Squeeze...you were wondering if she had a younger sister just as blonde. Not only is she a spitting image, but they're wearing the same Deco Toneguard dress! :grin:

Can't wait for them to sing together. They're going to have the crowd enthralled with their beauty!

C. ~/:/~

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Yessir! I will probably bring both the 4th Gen and this one to Bibey Camp, hope you can make it!

I got the tailpiece changed out and added an armrest and Tone Gard. Put on some D'addario monels that I had lying around and they sound pretty good so far.
I did play this one with a 3 piece group and it held its own very well, but tonight I am taking it to a full bore loud bar jam which usually features multiple guitars and banjos....so we will see how THAT goes! :))

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It's a treasure for sure. I'd love to have something like that one day

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Originally Posted by Drew Egerton

I got the tailpiece changed out and added an armrest and Tone Gard. Put on some D'addario monels that I had lying around and they sound pretty good so far.
I did play this one with a 3 piece group and it held its own very well, but tonight I am taking it to a full bore loud bar jam which usually features multiple guitars and banjos....so we will see how THAT goes! :))

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Love the tailpiece and armrest! The armrest looks like it matches the back and sides pretty well too.

only one mando?- how did you get through? oh yeah you bought another mandolin, proving all of life's problems can be solved by simply buying another mandolin.
I was reading up the Engelman versus Adirondack, and I thought I saw somewhere were Steve Gilchrist said he would use Engelman for mellower tone, but as you mentioned in the end a mandolin's tone is influenced by much more than just the top wood selection. Looks nice I'm sure it sounds even better! Congrats.

Hey Drew! I just love the new Northfield blonde top F5. What a great instrument and it looks super! Congratulations.

Thanks everyone!

Reporting back after the jam, it was about as I expected. PLENTY of woof on the chop, but a little harder to cut through all the guitar bangers on leads. Overall though, I think it did pretty well. In a setting where everyone was mindful of dynamics I think it would do great. And again, I am perhaps unfairly comparing it to the 4th gen at double the price and the different spruce...love them both!

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Originally Posted by lflngpicker

Hey Drew! I just love the new Northfield blonde top F5. What a great instrument and it looks super! Congratulations.

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Since blonde Northfields are getting a lot of love I'll post a pic of mine, but upping the ante with a double-bass

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Originally Posted by DaveGinNJ

Since blonde Northfields are getting a lot of love I'll post a pic of mine, but upping the ante with a double-bass

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Very nice Dave! Is yours Engelmann also or Red spruce top?

(and don't tempt me to break out all of the instruments I have for a background photo lol)