Steve Gilchrist conversion of Gibson guitar to K-5 mandocello?

[Bernie Daniel]

At least I THINK that is what this video is about. The result is a great sounding mandocello in any case and there some nice playing in the video too.

I wonder if the person who produced this video is an MC member?

Alternatively do any of you guys like Greg Stec (who knows a lot about K-5's) know the back ground on this instrument?

Having done a Gibson guitar to a mandocello conversion myself I'd sure like to see how someone of the stature of Steve Gilchrist did it!!

[Jim Garber]

I believe the person who posted that video on youtube is our own Bill Bussmann. You can prob ask him directly.

[Bernie Daniel]

I believe the person who posted that video on youtube is our own Bill Bussmann. You can prob ask him directly.

Thanks for the tip Jim! I wonder if he uses a "handle" on the site because his name per se does not show up as a option for sending a PM? At least it did not seem to be there.

Edit: Well never mind I just remembered the Old Wave connection -- I'll try that first.

[Jim Garber]

He just posted on the progress thread here: oldwave maker

[Bernie Daniel]

He just posted on the progress thread here: oldwave maker

Thanks! I actually exchanged emails with him at Old Wave earlier today. He is not the owner of the mandocello -- it is a K-5 converted from a Gibson L-12. Since Gilchrist did the work I'm interested to see how he treated things like the fretboard, tailpiece, and nut etc. An L-12 is a pretty nice guitar to start with.

[Jim Garber]

I would agree with you. Why not write to Steve? I wrote to him a few years back when I was considering getting one of his mandolins and he replied pretty quickly.

[Bernie Daniel]

I would agree with you. Why not write to Steve? I wrote to him a few years back when I was considering getting one of his mandolins and he replied pretty quickly.

Thanks! I might just do that!!

As it turns out the current owner of the instrument in the video is Robert Rudawsky who sounds like quite a mandocello player as he has an impressive collection of those beasts. It sounds like it was David Grisman who actually owned the guitar that Steve converted --perhaps Grisman sold it when he got a '24 K-5. I think he still has it too.

I am communicating with Robert via email now. I think I that I have come across his name before and I am trying to figure out just where. In any case, he has had a chance to do a back to back comparison (same time) of the Gilchrist conversion K-5 with Grisman's '24 Loar-signed K-5 and finds the voices of the two instruments practically indistinguishable.

You mentioned Bill Bussman did the video -- perhaps he had it for a while to study while he built one for a customer?

All very interesting stuff.