I must like blonde mandolins. Here are two blonde-top piccolo mandolins on my bench right now awaiting tuners, TP, nuts and bridges. One is Cherry, the other Black Walnut. What I really like is the contrast between the hardwood sides and the Spruce tops. It has been fun to see the nice photos posted in this thread! Lots of beautiful blonde mandolins out there!
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
Do you know the story about Jesse McReynolds and Jethro discussing this? Jesse had gotten a new Stiver with all premium woods, and it came with blond finish. Bu tit was more expensive than a sunburst would have been because Stiver used the most expensive woods and wanted to show them off. Anyway, Jesse was backstage complaining that a natural finish mandolin should be cheaper since it didn't have all the work a sunburst requires.
To which Jethro replied in his Knoxville drawl, "I dunno, Jesse. In my experience blonds are ALWAYS more expensive." Ba-dum CHEE!
Gilchrist in the classifieds.....
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/164958#164958
Be still my heart!
Charley
A bunch of stuff with four strings
Gentlemen prefer blondes.
'24 Gibson F-5g, NK Forster '23 Big Celtic - O, Northfield F5S, Weber Bitterroot F20-F Octave, Home built F5 (1995)
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
https://www.facebook.com/LauluAika/
https://www.lauluaika.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Longtine-Am...14404553312723
Your MT has a nice butt. Lp
J.Lane Pryce
Hey Hank is that a Kimble with those sweet Pearl blocks in the board-looks like the one posted on page 3 someone else posted? I seriously have a thing for pearl blocks man! I think they are ultra gorgeous! I picked up a seriously screwed up 1924 Gibson Tenor Lute that was already converted to a Mandola and while the neck was wrong and busted, the back and sides were painted an awful color but at least the top was original blonde so I'm thinking of pearl blocks in the new maple Dola necks ebony board! As my other 1924 TL that was a basket case I picked up at a deal off evilbay years ago that I had converted to a Dola has a black top with gold pearl blocks in the ebony board! Yep she'll be a blonde topped Mandola with pearl blocks!
I play two blonde mandolins, my Gibson A and Weber Yellowstone A HT. They are both great mandolins, as well as my Pava. Enjoy the Journey. Happy New Year!
Kentucky KM-1050 2021
Pava Satin A 2018 #272
Gibson A 1916 #25861 FON 2626
Count me in. I prefer natural wood over any kind of stain, especially a yellow to black or yellow to red sunburst. Funny how natural tops are pretty standard for guitars but we got stuck with all those ugly burst for mandolins?
These have western red cedar and redwood soundboards, left to right. So maybe not technically "blonde".
My Morris hybrid F4, Cricketfiddle F4 OM, Cricketfiddle 10 string mandocello all together:
Attachment 191002
I’m favoring natural soundboards, which quite often seem to be blonds. No problem with darker woods, though.
2014 BRW F5 #114
2022 Kentucky KM 950 Master Model
YouTube Original Recording of My composition "Closer Walk"
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