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I have flown many times to/from Europe, and a few times to New Zealand with my mandolin and often my mandola or short-scale banjo as well and never had a problem. I've always carried them on in...

Not exactly DIY for the average hobbyist, but this guy has done some pretty darn impressive stuff. I can't imagine the time and dexterity it would take to make that kind of thing, and I like doing...

Hey that's great! I didn't know Bill Evans taught, nor that he was in the East Bay. That is where we'll be so I'll absolutely look into your suggestions. Would love to at least hear Mr Evans play...

Thanks for the great suggestions! I'll definitely check out Gryphon, I hadn't realized they were here. And I had forgotten Sharon Gilchrist was out this way, I'll see if I can learn more about what...

Hi all,
My partner and I have recently relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area for work, and I was hoping to tap into the great Cafe knowledge bank for some suggestions... Ideally wanting to find a...

I recently got a set of Rubners, and also having a set of Waverly tuners on one of my instruments I have to say that the machining and smoothness are first rate, and not noticeably lower quality than...

I finally overcame my extreme disinclination to be in front of a camera and made a quick and dirty clip of me playing the new mandola. Forgive my playing, I'm still getting used to the longer scale....

Thanks for the compliment Skip! I'm sure #2 won't be too far off, it's a slippery slope once you start... You get all those pesky ideas about what would be fun to try, or what you could do...

Yes, indeed it was! Thank you, it was a pleasure to meet you and see your excellent book in person. I very much hope to cross paths again.

And thanks all for the kind words, I'll try to get a...

I recently finished up my first instrument, and thought I'd post some pictures. It is a mandola with a 16" scale length, built to plans drawn by my friend James Curtis and with his assistance to keep...

That's some gorgeous work Adrian!
I also seem to remember reading something about cutting the binding to shape from solid stock, as opposed to bending it, if that makes any sense? Perhaps it was...

Just to chime in with some more info about Doug's background and workmanship. He's not new to the scene; he was one of the very first luthiers who started building Loar copies in the early 70's, and...

Here's another aspect to consider regarding "flight cases". I fly for work on a very regular basis, and I never check my instrument, and haven't been forced to yet - at least not after a bit of sweet...

Thanks for the good feedback! James does indeed build beautiful instruments, but that mandola in particular had incredible tone. I'll try to upload a few others soon.

My friend Daniel and myself have been working on some new music lately, and I'm starting to put a few videos up on youtube. Have a look and see what you think! Apologies for the buzzes, both...

Honestly, three decades of constant practice, apparently four hours a day currently if what I read is to be believed, and extensive understanding of classical, jazz, bluegrass, etc, etc, to create a...

Alright, so I'm not familiar with this song, but I saw your post and thought it could be a fun challenge to do a bit of sleuthing. Looks like it was from an album called " A Country Boy Looks Down...

During a recent intensive overhaul of my main mandolin (one which I keep meaning to describe in its own thread) I re-radiused the board to 9" and refretted with Evo Gold. Don't remember what gauge,...

That's very cool! I'm glad to see one being used for its intended purpose. I'm curious, how does it sound? I'm sure it does play great, such a beautiful instrument.

I too have a thing for tiny instruments, I don't know why exactly... The one I've been lusting after for awhile now is Joseph Campanella's piccolo...

DavidKOS beat me to it, but if you want to drool over some crazy mandolin eye candy you should check out the Unger pocket-mandolin thread. I couldn't say that I'd want to use anything made by Doug...

Ha! Well I tried a "clamshell"-style, but that didn't look quite right. Was still designing the "fishtail" type...

That's beautifully done Christine. Really lovely detail! Did you use mostly pencil, or powdered graphite? I've always enjoyed drawing with graphite for the detail and nuance you can get with it, but...

Another good word for Cotten. I bought my Elkhorn from them a couple years ago and couldn't have been happier. I haven't been in person, but would love to. Kim was a wonderful person to buy an...

I know you were leaving out minors, but I learned a great slip jig from a banjo player in Ireland called Farewell to Whalley Range thats in F#m. Written by Mike McGoldrick. Here's a video of himself...