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Thread: Woodley Mandolins

  1. #1

    Default Woodley Mandolins

    All, this is my second post to the forum, but I just couldn't sit on this question so had to ask the experts here.

    Does anyone know if Doug Woodley is building Mandolins? I have seen a few older threads saying he had stopped due to health issues. I also believe I saw that he was possibly building again but many web searches have come up empty, so I could be wrong. Asking because I ran across this video https://youtu.be/BPzsY4dc10w and as my friends in the UK would say, I'm "gobsmacked". The instrument is absolutely beautiful but more importantly for me is the clarity and tone.

    And also does anyone knows what sort of price range they are going for these days?

    Thank you all in advance!

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Incredible sounding mandolin. I had a Woodley that I sold a few years ago, it was an A model where he was trying to combine an oval sound and ff hole sound. I was a good sounding mandolin, but not what I wanted after a few years. I had heard he may start building, but like you have not heard. Good luck and post if you find out.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

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  4. #3
    Registered User djeffcoat's Avatar
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    My 2000 Woodley F5 lefty was ordered through The Twelfth Fret in Ontario. You might try contacting David Wren and see if he knows what happened to Doug. You are correct about Woodley mandolins. The build quality and sound are outstanding.

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  6. #4

    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by djeffcoat View Post
    My 2000 Woodley F5 lefty was ordered through The Twelfth Fret in Ontario. You might try contacting David Wren and see if he knows what happened to Doug. You are correct about Woodley mandolins. The build quality and sound are outstanding.
    Thank you so much! I'll give them a call.

  7. #5
    Registered User Cary Fagan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    I'm in Toronto and my understanding is he stopped building a long time ago. I've heard two Woodleys played either in jams or onstage and they were both marvellous A style mandolins and great looking, too. You'd have a very hard time finding one, I think.
    Cary Fagan

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  9. #6
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    I played this Woodley F-2 at a CMSA convention many years ago. Will Kimble actually owned it and I played it for a good twenty minutes and if I had the money would have bought it on the spot. Even earlier than that it was sold by Twelfth Fret. Well made and and super-responsive tone. The only other one I knew about was hs copy of a Lyon & Healy for Marilynn Mair.

    Click image for larger version. 

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    Here's a video of Marilynn playing her Woodley:

    https://www.marilynnmair.com/wp-cont...___-Guacho.mp4
    Last edited by Jim Garber; Apr-12-2020 at 1:01pm.
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  11. #7
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Doug was a real shining star in his field. There are posts on this Forum dating back to 2008 asking if he was still building. Easy way to find these--I know it's thought you can't find anything using this Forum's search, but that's not true--go to Advanced Search, enter Woodley in the search field and then from the pulldown menu select "Search Titles Only" and you get the sum of what's here which is not much I'm afraid.

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  13. #8
    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Hah! I found my comment on the earliest thread on the topic from 2008 and I said just about the same thing.:

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    I played that black F2 for about 20 minutes straight when Will was selling it at CMSA 2004. Probably one of the nicest sounding contemporary made oval holes with sweetness all the way up the neck. I wished that I had the money to buy it then. As I recall, Will sold it thru Cotten some time later.

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  15. #9

    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Garber View Post
    I played this Woodley F-2 at a CMSA convention many years ago. Will Kimble actually owned it and I played it for a good twenty minutes and if I had the money would have bought it on the spot. Even earlier than that it was sold by Twelfth Fret. Well made and and super-responsive tone. The only other one I knew about was hs copy of a Lyon & Healy for Marilynn Mair.

    Click image for larger version. 

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ID:	184930 Click image for larger version. 

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    Here's a video of Marilynn playing her Woodley:

    https://www.marilynnmair.com/wp-cont...___-Guacho.mp4
    Jim

    Thanks for the info, I'm going to try Twelfth Fret tomorrow but not with a lot of hope. And I can't blame you wanting to buy it then and there when you played it. When I first saw the clip of the F5 I posted, I just knew that I had found the tone I was looking for and would never need another mandolin again. LOL. Well maybe not never need another mandolin again, but I'm sure you know what I'm saying.
    Last edited by Hawksbill Jim; Apr-12-2020 at 8:45pm.

  16. #10

    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Quote Originally Posted by Mandolin Cafe View Post
    Doug was a real shining star in his field. There are posts on this Forum dating back to 2008 asking if he was still building. Easy way to find these--I know it's thought you can't find anything using this Forum's search, but that's not true--go to Advanced Search, enter Woodley in the search field and then from the pulldown menu select "Search Titles Only" and you get the sum of what's here which is not much I'm afraid.
    Yes have done a few advanced searches and no, there's not much about Doug's mandolins. What I have found here and on the web is all positive without exception. Great tone and build and as far as anyone is aware of, not building anymore. As Jim Garber and djeffcoat both pointed to Twelfth Fret as the last source, I will try them tomorrow and will let everyone know if I find anything out.

    Thank you!

  17. #11

    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    I was able to get in touch with the folks at The Twelfth Fret in Toronto. They were very friendly and helpful and remembered Woodley Mandolins very well. The bottom line is that Doug has not built mandolins in quite a while and he has no plans to resume. That's a shame because from what I've seen and heard they are wonderful instruments. Thank you to everyone for helping me track this down.

  18. #12
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    Default Re: Woodley Mandolins

    Just saw this thread. I owned 3 Woodley mandolins over the yeas including the black top F2 pictured above that I traded to Will Kimble. Will liked it so much he built me one of his early F5's in trade for it. I also had a Woodley F5 and also years later a blond A model that I bought from the 12th Fret store, mentioned above. I sold both to buy a Monteleone. I used to host Comando gatherings at my studio in the SF Bay Area, typically when a special luthier was visiting the area. We had them for Michael Heiden, Lawrence Smart, Peter Coombe, and also one for Doug Woodley. He was a shy but nice fella & his instruments were all top drawer, well built & great sounding. When he quit building he unfortunately just disappeared & didn't respond to people who were on his list & had given him deposits. I later heard it was due to health problems. If you can find one they are very nice instruments, too bad that his circumstances led to him not building anymore. He was a talented luthier!

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