mandolin comparison of three high class F 5 mandolins

**mando-bob** · Dec-22-2018, 12:13pm

Hi picking fellows,

here is a short comparison of a Collings MF 5 deluxe varnish, a Brentrup M 23 varnish and my well worn Collings MF 5.
I recorded it with a pair of Schoeps MK 4 microphones to a Pendulum MDP-1 preamp. No processing, only pure recorded sound.
I'm interested what you hear.

Best,
Bob

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3ti...A6siAsPOSnaFrg

**Jeff Budz** · Dec-22-2018, 3:24pm

#3 sounds the best to me! Just a little darker and sweeter. #2 sounds a little buzzy. #1 and #2 are a little midrangey sounding.

**Eric Hanson** · Dec-29-2018, 7:37am

That Brentrup is one POWERFUL mandolin! It seems to project the best, to my ear. Yes a little bit brighter. But in no way do I find it to be harsh to the ear. Just a wonderful sounding mandolin.
The MF5, #3, does have a nice projection also. The tone is a bit more dark and woody. Definitely the tone of a well played Collings.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

**KMaynard** · Dec-29-2018, 8:41am

Could be the strings, but #2 sounds "jangly" to me and not quite the texture and soul I hear in #3. I also like #1. It has nice tone and character. My picks would be in this order: #3, #1, #2.

**Astro** · Dec-29-2018, 8:58am

Doing some serious hair splittin here.

The biggest difference I hear is the wonderful voice and accent.

Would you read me a bed time story ?

**Br1ck** · Dec-29-2018, 1:08pm

Pick the one that sounds the worst to you and send it to me. You won't play it much anyway.

**RustyMadd** · Jan-02-2019, 3:54pm

I liked all three but concur that they were all a bit mid-rangey. Of course that means cutting through the mix in a band. And I also agree that the 2nd was the most powerful. #1 was louder than #3, but #3 had the woodiest tone.

That's what these old half deaf ears heard.
Blessings