Hey, who doesn't like a beagle? And after all, it could also serve as homage to all the other "dawgs" out there in Mandolinland...
Regarding inlays I'd just say that the art of inlay is exactly that... an art unto itself. Frankly I can't imagine Steven Gilchrist meticulously carving his name in elaborate script out of mother-of-pearl. You gotta be pretty damn dedicated to work with that material (or even wood in general) as it can really wreak havoc on the lungs after a while... my hat's off to those who do it so well.
Fancy woods and inlays are appealing to me in a certain sense... especially one-piece backs. But at the end of the day sound and playability are of primary importance.
The first time I visited Tom, he was kind enough to show me a few of his personal instruments which included a black Gibson F4 with a double flowerpot inlay. Later when I decided to order a mandolin, I asked him if he had ever used that inlay on a snakehead.... this beauty was the result. Ellis mandolins sound pretty fine too
JBovier ELS; Epiphone MM-50 VN; Epiphone MM-40L; Gretsch New Yorker G9310; Washburn M1SDLB;
Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster; Squier Modified Vintage Cabronita Telecaster; Gretsch 5420T; Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat: Washburn Banjo B9; Ibanez RB 5string; Ibanez RB 4 string bass
Pedalboard for ELS: Morley Cry baby Miniwah - Tuner - EHX Soul Food Overdrive - EHX Memory Toy analog Delay
Fender Blues Jr Tweed; Fender Greta;
And am I right in believing Orville Gibson was into occultism or spiritualism? And his inlays reflected this?
JBovier ELS; Epiphone MM-50 VN; Epiphone MM-40L; Gretsch New Yorker G9310; Washburn M1SDLB;
Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster; Squier Modified Vintage Cabronita Telecaster; Gretsch 5420T; Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat: Washburn Banjo B9; Ibanez RB 5string; Ibanez RB 4 string bass
Pedalboard for ELS: Morley Cry baby Miniwah - Tuner - EHX Soul Food Overdrive - EHX Memory Toy analog Delay
Fender Blues Jr Tweed; Fender Greta;
Hi,
I’ve always loved the look of my Michael Lewis in which he paid homage to the Art Deco movement. He is a great luthier and I hope he getting back to work after a tough time.
Regards,
Last edited by mandrian; Jul-05-2021 at 3:54am. Reason: Cannot align image
i love this community
Thanks for the input gang. The last time I stopped in there were just a couple of responses, which were much appreciated. Today, so much more.
Instead of using the term "best" i probably really intended to ask for simple, elegant. I do appreciate all of the feedback though. As an aside my favorite guitar model is a D18. That's about as fancy as i git.
Tone and playability are first and foremost, but there are some amazing artists building mandolins (and instruments in general) right now, and I totally respect those able to do intricate and beautiful work. I’m a trainable monkey, but I don’t have (or haven’t yet accessed) the artistic compartments of my brain, and, at 46, am not anticipating any “awakenings.”
Jill, I love your beagle inlay and your music. Thank goodness there’s no “mutual exclusivity” clause stipulating that good sounding instruments can’t also be pretty. I may not be able to create beautiful works of art (my skill sets lie otherwise), but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate them…
Chuck
I too think the Beagle is fantastic. All of these inlays are magnificent.
JBovier ELS; Epiphone MM-50 VN; Epiphone MM-40L; Gretsch New Yorker G9310; Washburn M1SDLB;
Fender Nashville Deluxe Telecaster; Squier Modified Vintage Cabronita Telecaster; Gretsch 5420T; Fender Tim Armstrong Hellcat: Washburn Banjo B9; Ibanez RB 5string; Ibanez RB 4 string bass
Pedalboard for ELS: Morley Cry baby Miniwah - Tuner - EHX Soul Food Overdrive - EHX Memory Toy analog Delay
Fender Blues Jr Tweed; Fender Greta;
And just like I admire and appreciate the skill involved in creating beautiful inlay I also admire and appreciate the classic simplicity of an A-jr, a Flatiron pancake, or Martin's 15 and 18 series guitars, but just like "bling" doesn't mean that all effort was put into looks rather than sound, "simplicity" doesn't mean that all effort was put into sound, rather than looks. Judge each instrument on it's individual merits - judging instruments (and people for that matter) on their appearance is never a great idea.
Last edited by Jill McAuley; Jul-06-2021 at 3:55am.
2018 Girouard Concert oval A
2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
1969 Martin 00-18
my Youtube channel
Maegen Wells' logo head stock inlays. Simple & Elegant:
https://www.pegheadnation.com/instru...rchtop-guitar/
1955 Levin 52
1993 Flatiron 3MC
2019 Meredith A5
1906 Gibson A-1
I love this one!!. It was in this thread a while back
2007 Weber Custom Elite "old wood"
2017 Ratliff R5 Custom #1148
Several nice old Fiddles
2007 Martin 000-15S 12 fret Auditorium-slot head
Deering Classic Open Back
Too many microphones
BridgerCreekBoys.com
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
Tracy Cox does a lot of custom inlay for Martin. He makes his own guitars and mandolins as well.
https://www.tracycoxguitars.com/
Girouard Concert A5
Girouard Custom A4
Nordwall Cittern
Barbi Mandola
Crump OM-1s Octave
www.singletonstreet.com
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