What a wonderful instrument. Very, very cool.
What a wonderful instrument. Very, very cool.
Gorgeous instrument and sweet sounds. Congratulations and enjoy!
Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.
Sounds and looks great! Enjoy it. Thanks for sharing your build story with us.
Very nice Kevin! Enjoy, I look forward to hearing more tunes from you on that sweet two point.
Thanks, Evveryone!
As you can imagine, it’s evolution is exponential. Day three, first set of strings. It’s rounding out nicely. Lots and lots of sweet/loud tone:
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
Wow!
Kevin, what a beautiful, rich sound. Wow! And it is truly gorgeous. Good for you.
2014 BRW F5 #114
2022 Kentucky KM 950 Master Model
YouTube Original Recording of My composition "Closer Walk"
Congratulations...a real beauty!
Right on Kevin! That’s a sweet sounding axe! I really like the looks too.
Best
Scott
Scott
Very nice. It will only continue to sound better as it is played over time.
Congratulation on your doctorate, Doctor. I remember when that day finally came for me. A very proud accomplishment.
Loar LM-370
“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” ― Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Congratulation on the doctorate and the mandolin! The black pearls are such a cool detail, I love understated fingerboards, but this is the best of both worlds.
Too cute to shoot!
Wow!
First, thank you for your positivity and encouragement. The Cafe is awesome.
Second… as you can imagine, I’m thoroughly enjoying my new partner. It still has the first set of strings on it, although they need to be changed now which I hope to do today. In terms of the first set of strings, each time I have picked this two-point up has been a revelation. The new string jangle gave way to tone that was more crisp and round. In addition, it is very responsive and the neck profile disappears, as I mentioned before. It’s a fine, fine mandolin, the most enjoyable I’ve played since I owned my custom Weber Fern, which I felt intimately connected to.
The thing is, it’s different than that mandolin, I guess obviously. That was a powerhouse, a true hoss but at the expense of its playability. It was super tight, but as a result powerful. The Hamlett is much, much finer, and has all of the volume and then some as well as fantastic responsiveness and a beautifully emerging tone. I don’t want to compare too much, and that Fern lacked nothing in quality except maybe the playability. However, there is something exquisite about the Hamlett. I mean, it’s awesome.
I’ll have another video to put here soon. I want to get the second set of strings in it and see what happens, lol. More coming…!
Last edited by Kevin Briggs; Aug-04-2021 at 4:24pm.
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
For your post-doctoral studies? https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/174460#174460
1924 Gibson A Snakehead
2005 National RM-1
2007 Hester A5
2009 Passernig A5
2015 Black A2-z
2010 Black GBOM
2017 Poe Scout
2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
2018 Vessel TM5
2019 Hogan F5
I saw that as well, and I think it’s been bouncing around for a while. Surely it sounds and plays great. I’d have to think John would be able to spruce up the finish under the bridge fairly easily for whomever buys it. It would cost something of course, but I found John to be upfront about costs and committed to keeping costs down where possible (i.e. Rubners over Waverlys).
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
John is one heck of a Luthier! That is one gnarly 2 point.
What’s up, everyone!
Here’s a tonal, week two, second set of strings update for you. I’m in mando love/lust:
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
Very nice, though John should have furnished you with a tee shirt!😄
Kevin, Your new mandolin is particularly striking, and its uniqueness as a custom 2-point is well matched to your own musical style and creative approach. I like the way it compliments your voice, or is the other way around? The binding is outstanding, as are the black pearl markers!
2014 BRW F5 #114
2022 Kentucky KM 950 Master Model
YouTube Original Recording of My composition "Closer Walk"
Just out of curiosity, Kevin, why would one change the strings on a brand new mandolin after a week? I didn't get the impression that it was solely because you wanted to try something different.
Thank so much Russ, lflngpicker and Sue. :-)
Sue… I hear you. John strung it up, tried it out, let a potential customer demo it, and then loosened the tension on the strings to ship it to me. Since I’ve gotten it I’ve been playing a significant amount. I noticed the strings lost their luster, starting slipping out of tune a bit, looked dull, etc. When I play a lot I get 1-2 weeks out of J74s. It could be 15-20 hours of playing and it seems to be enough to wear them out.
Granted, I was eager to put the second set on because in my experience a new mandolin evolves significantly and keeping fresh strings on seems to help with that.
Last edited by Kevin Briggs; Aug-08-2021 at 11:18pm.
Hamlett Two-Point
Eastman MD805
Schertler DYN-M + Yellow
http://www.youtube.com/ktbriggs
https://www.facebook.com/kevin.briggs.1213
sounds great. I like your style of play also.
No doubt John's a builder! I've met him a few times over at his shop (Virginia) and also at my buddy Dave Cohen's house. Those two can geek talk about mandolins. I listen and the engineer in me knows they get it!
Congratulations!
f-d
ˇpapá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
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