I bought a Gibson A5-L in 1990. I had misgivings about the neck from the git-go because of its pronounced V profile. A few years ago, when it went to the shop for a fret job and to get the fretboard extension routed down, I asked the luthier to change the next profile to a C, but he said he wouldn't, out of concern that not enough room would be left for the truss rod and the neck's long term stability. I took his word for it.
Now, I don't know about other A5-Ls, but mine took a long time — years and years —to open up. When it did, it developed beautifully. The shape of the neck, though, kept me from ever really loving that mandolin. Incidentally, I also disliked the thick nitrocellulose lacquer finish on the neck. From time to time, I'd matte it with Scotchbrite pads, but it never really did the trick. It just kept getting shiny again until I finally started hitting wood.
A few weeks ago, I emailed Steve Carlson, because his signature was in it, and asked him if there was room to safely trim the wood. Steve said sure, even though it might look a little funny. He said I should ask Bruce Weber to do it. I waffled. Even told Steve I was going to leave it. I thought I might be making a mistake by doing something irreversible.
When I waffled back the other way and emailed Bruce at his Montana Lutherie shop, we spoke on the phone. He said he'd be happy to do it — personally. I was in West Virginia at the time and shipped it to him from a little country post office up in the panhandle.
Well, Bruce let me know when got the mando on Monday, July 10. By Tuesday he was texting me progress pictures. When the wood was trimmed, he sent another picture to ask if he should apply a touch of tint to bring out the figuring in the maple or leave it blonde. We went with a light tint. And then another photo when that was done. Plus one of his new puppy Ranger playing in the packing material.
It was looking good. Then Bruce asked if he should replace the original pearl nut, which was done for. My choice: bone or pearl. He said bone wouldn't last as long but would warm the tone up a bit more. I went with bone.
Today it is Friday the 14th, and the mando arrived TODAY via Priority Mail. I was surprised at how anxious I was when I unpacked it. I mean, I might have asked for something that I might not have liked and could have realized it the second I put my left hand around the neck.
Holy moly. Just holding it was a revelation. Even with the strings still detensioned for shipping, I knew this was perfect. And though some folks might object to the way the black finish at the heel and top of the neck on any speednecked mandolin might look, it is beautiful to me.
Steve Carlson had warned me that the neck would look odd where the flat of the back of the peghead meets the neck, but Bruce sculpted that beautifully. He didn't let that happen. The lacquer was also removed from the ivoroid binding on the fretboard, and that looks and feels just like a Loar I had a long time ago. No exaggeration. It changes the feel of quality entirely.
In case you're wondering just how big a bribe it took to get someone of Bruce Weber's caliber to do the neck, replace the nut, dress the frets a little and swap out the tuners (I sent a set of new Rubners to replace the awful Grover 309s which I really did not like; the Rubners are beautiful and a revelation in themselves) for some average no-name, play-at home hobby player — and to please hurry and do it in two days while he was at it — the entire tab ran $250. It's the best $250 I ever spent. And if that isn't a fair price, I don't know what is.
All in all, nothing about this whole escapade was less than ideal. Master luthier perfectly enhances mandolin to where I now love it. It sounds, feels, and even looks, better than it ever did. I'm so glad I held off until fate and Steve Carlson steered me to Bruce.
So, that's my once-in-a-lifetime profile change and speedneck story. The speed part wasn't an issue. The speednecking, though, results in a much more pleasant feel.
Thank you Bruce and Mary Weber. It's not often that someone does something with such excellence, and in such a friendly way, that ends up making such a big difference in your life. That might sound over the top, but it's how I feel. Getting the right feel out of your instrument is a big deal.
Hmmm, can't figure out how to add pictures from the phone, but I'll add some later.
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