Flatty/Pancake Shootout?

[Stevo75]

The one I'm getting is a flat fretboard. Terry said he could do a radius but it sounds like flat is what he normally does.

Since the strings are lighter on a pancake you may not even notice the flat fingerboard.

[soliver]

Hey guys, I heard back from Terry and I've decided to pass on this one. As absolutely awesome as the price is, it does not end up as a savings to get it to be the pancake of my dreams

The ad owner did say he had someone else in line who was interested... maybe that's you, so congrats!!!

[Stevo75]

Here's mine...

[soliver]

Looks great Steve!... congrats!

[Joey Anchors]

Here's mine...

It turned out gorgeous!!

[Stevo75]

Thanks! I'll post a sound clip when I get it.

[ollaimh]

3 words: Sawchyn Beaver Tail.*

bratsche

*As usual, I speak more for mandolas than mandolins...

sawchyn's beaver tail is the best frying pan mandolin ever. yes yes yes, next flatirons are great, and uesd to be cheap second hand. they are going up in price now.

[ollaimh]

sawchyns beaver tails are the best flat tops i have ever played. i also like the plain old flatirons a lot. they used to be cheap. 300-400 bucks but they seem to get higher prices now. i have played two ginson army navy mandolins. one was fantastic the other dead. the good one was rode hard and looked beat but sang the nice looking one was the dead one.

yeah gibsons are all over the place. a friend decades ago had one that looked beat as a child's toy drum on christmass morning, but was great sounding, totally differnt than the carved top tone, two others i tried were dead.
and sawchyn sawchyn sawchyn, yeah man

[ollaimh]

I second Bratsche -- Sawchyn Beaver Tail mandolin from Regina, Canada is a great value, especially with the low value of the Canadian dollar relative to US$. I had a Beaver Tail OM that sounded great, and have had three carved top/back Sawchyn models (an OM, which I still have, and two mandos, still have one and a good friend has the other). Peter is easy to deal with, and his fit and finish on all his instruments are top-notch.

sawchyn is great and of course he's from sasketchewan, the heart of the universe!!! cold in winter but warm hearted people.

[Bill Snyder]

I have never tried one, but if I were in the market for a pancake style I would talk to David Newton about one of his New Navy mandolins. There used to be a youtube video of a duet playing one of these and one of his guitars. I can't find it now otherwise I would post a link.

[soliver]

I've been keeping my fingers crossed hoping to sell some armrests but they are just not moving like I thought they would.... wishing I had the funds!... That original Flatiron 3M that started me thinking down this past is looking more and more tempting. I'm closer to that number than to a CF... plus the Birdseye Maple on the back is GORGEOUS.

[pheffernan]

That original Flatiron 3M that started me thinking down this past is looking more and more tempting. I'm closer to that number than to a CF... plus the Birdseye Maple on the back is GORGEOUS.

I suspect that it has the same dealbreaking flat fretboard though.

[soliver]

It does... but I think I could get over that... I pulled out my first Rover with the flat board and played it a little (then posted it on CL for sale)... it would probably be just fine.... but I still have some bucks to save.

[pheffernan]

It does... but I think I could get over that.

Then why was a flat fretboard a dealbreaker on the used Crystal Forest in the classifieds for significantly less?

[soliver]

If I had it to do over again, I probably would've gotten that CF... I'm rethinking the fretboard being a deal breaker... hindsight is 20/20 you know.

[soliver]

Elderly must have some high overhead:

https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/113776#113776

I typically see these for about $300 less than their price

Just sayin'

[soliver]

If you didn't see my other thread, I but the bullet and snatched up a Flatiron 1N off Craigslist last night for a great price. The intent being to learn what I like and possible sell down the road to raise money for a more contemporary flatty should I decide to.... I'm pleased with it so far. Stayed up late and spent some time with it. I feel like it really requires a different attack to it, but it really has a cool tubby sort of sound that I like. Mine sounds really cool on the bass side for sure. And the flat fretboard has not yet been an issue.





Not sure if they are showing upright in other places, but on my phone the photos are oriented incorrectly so sorry.

[pheffernan]

I feel like it really requires a different attack to it, but it really has a cool tubby sort of sound that I like. Mine sounds really cool on the bass side for sure. And the flat fretboard has not yet been an issue.

As I mentioned elsewhere, they require lighter strings and in my experience benefit from lighter picks than I use on my archtops. I'm a big fan of the Wegen TF140's and have been experimenting with lighter versions of Michael's design that I sourced from Greg Boyd's, including the standard TF120 and TF100 as well as the smaller custom CF120 and the rounded BN120. I find that the pancake requires less mass to get things moving and can sound very different based on the shape, bevel, and material of the pick.

My biggest issue with my 1N was the neck. Mine was built in '84 without a truss rod and to my recollection had a full rounded U or C. I'm curious if the truss rod on your '94 allowed for a more narrow design. Like you, I prefer a radiused board, and I will add that I favor bigger frets, but my dealbreaker from a playability perspective generally comes down to the neck profile.