Sunday morning Heiden...

[jmagill]

Click to see the glamour shots.

[Randi Gormley]

pretty, pretty, pretty! I love the color.

[Mark Wilson]

Agreed. Love the color. How's she sound?

[sgarrity]

Stunning!

[JAK]

The bride looked stunning, and the groom looked stunned.

[barry]

Mark Wilson
"Agreed. Love the color. How's she sound?"


I'm going to guess that it has a very even, round tone. Full and resonant.
I recently acquired one of Michael Heiden's mandolins. That seems to be the character he aims for. From the looks of JMagill's F5, I think he hit the bullseye.

[Don Grieser]

What a beautiful mandolin! I agree with barry that Michael certainly has the tone dialed in, too. My A5 is a keeper.

[Jim Garber]

jmagill: I noticed the unusual bridge with a bone top on the treble side only. Is that something that Michael does on all or most instruments or is that something you asked for. In either case, I wonder what the thought is behind that. I would think the A and E strings would be even brighter with a bridge like that.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I agree - a beautiful mandolin in a very lovely colour. I seem to have seen a very similar pickguard !. I'm wondering if they were a ''bought in'' item, or did 2 mandolin makers have almost identical ideas re.shape ? Here's my Lebeda,
Ivan

[jmagill]

Agreed. Love the color. How's she sound?

Mark, this is one of what Michael Heiden calls his 'Heritage' models, using topwood salvaged from a 100-year old building. At the time I acquired it, it was one of only a dozen or so Heritage models in existence, and most of the ones I've seen have a uniform chocolate color like mine and John Reischman's, although Arthur Stern asked for a lighter brown color on his. You can see both John's and Arthur's Heritage model Heidens in this thread. Michael also seems to favor black trim (tuner buttons & binding) on his Heritage models. This one spent most of its life owned by Ry Cooder.

Regarding the sound, I've only heard 2 or 3 like it. You can find more pictures and my detailed review of its tonal qualities on the Instrument Reviews page at my website here.

jmagill: I noticed the unusual bridge with a bone top on the treble side only. Is that something that Michael does on all or most instruments or is that something you asked for. In either case, I wonder what the thought is behind that. I would think the A and E strings would be even brighter with a bridge like that.

This is something I've done on several of my mandolins to add a bit more body to the treble strings. It doesn't make them brighter necessarily, just gives them a thicker, more muscular presence. The Monteleone Grand Artist currently at Carter's Vintage Guitars was made for me in 1980, and after I'd had it a while, I asked John Monteleone to make me a second bridge with bone inserts under the A & E. They're still on the instrument and you can see them here. The bridge on the Heiden was made for me by Lynn Dudenbostel and I describe its effect in my review mentioned in the link provided above. The effect is subtle but noticeable (at least to me).

Glad you like the photos. It's such a beautiful instrument in person that sometimes, when the light's just right, I just have to grab the camera...

[jmagill]

I agree - a beautiful mandolin in a very lovely colour. I seem to have seen a very similar pickguard !. I'm wondering if they were a ''bought in'' item, or did 2 mandolin makers have almost identical ideas re.shape ? Here's my Lebeda.

I'm pretty sure Heiden makes everything on his instruments himself, including his pickguards. The similarity is probably accidental.

[barry]

The lighting in your photo shows an integral part of what gives Heiden's instruments their characteristic voice. Michael appears to carve a slightly lower arch than that of a typical Loar-style instrument. He also carries the arch further into the area of the recurve around the rim. Again, a bit different than what builders aspiring to the "Loar tone" demonstrate.

[Barry Canada]

I have a Heiden F model. These are exceptionally beautifully made and incredibly sounding instruments. I have had the opportunity try out and play a Lebeda and examine the workmanship. I would hesitate to place these 2 instruments in the same category. In my opinion they are not comparable and worlds apart.

[FLATROCK HILL]

I agree - a beautiful mandolin in a very lovely colour. I seem to have seen a very similar pickguard!. I'm wondering if they were a ''bought in'' item, or did 2 mandolin makers have almost identical ideas re.shape?

I have a Heiden F model. These are exceptionally beautifully made and incredibly sounding instruments. I have had the opportunity try out and play a Lebeda and examine the workmanship. I would hesitate to place these 2 instruments in the same category. In my opinion they are not comparable and worlds apart.

An interesting observation but somewhat of a non sequitur.