Cole mandolin

**J.Sloan** · Jun-01-2011, 4:15pm

Well folks, after all these years I finally quit lurking and "got bonafied" here on the Cafe. Gotta say, there's some great info here for us mandoholics!! I wanna give some attention, again, to Ron Cole of Filer, Idaho. I currently play his A-5 #125. I've had the chance to play(mostly) and own some really high end mandolins. But this thing just continues to surprise me! I would describe it as a hollow, dry, popping tone with a pile of volume and a beatuiful voice. Built in 2008, it already sounds very open and settled into it's own. Please keep Mr. Cole in mind for your next mandolin; he's doing well and still building great mandolins!

**fernmando** · Jun-01-2011, 9:37pm

Ditto to that...Ron is one of the better builders, and a straight-up guy to boot.

Roscoe Morgan

**J.Sloan** · Jun-06-2011, 8:24am

Yes Fernmando, Ron is a great guy to deal with and has gave me some great advise on the "in's and outs" of building. I would think that after 17 years of building mandolins, he's learned a thing or two. Are there any Cole mandolin players out there that care to comment? F or A? What serial number? How does she sound?

**rosewoodmusic** · Sep-07-2021, 8:52pm

Updating an old thread from ten years ago about Cole mandolins....

I got to play two Cole mandos at a festival in Montana a couple months ago and was really impressed. I didn't know too much about Ron since I hadn't lived in Idaho very long, but he lived only a few hours away so I called and made an appointment to take a look at what he had ready for sale. I was sitting pretty content with the three mandolins I already owned, but I wanted to check out this local builder. Was blown away to see seven mandolins in cases, all new and all for sale. Five F's and two A's. I spent time on each one and ended up getting RCF5#146. I couldn't not get it! The others sounded really strong, too. Loud and strong.

Ron said he is gonna retire from building after finishing #150. He has #149 being finished-up right about now. If you live in a place where you can make it to Filer (near Twin Falls, Idaho), you can taste a nice selection of his mandolins. I see that he's listed in the Cafe builders section. His phone is 208-326-5224. He likes to talk mandolins, and he asked me to pass the word along.

Click image for larger version.

Name: 20210830_140659.jpg
Views: 128
Size: 699.4 KB
ID: 196193

**MandoMan1** · Sep-07-2021, 10:47pm

Congratulations! The headstock inlay looks great. Please post more photos when you get a chance.

**rosewoodmusic** · Sep-08-2021, 9:19am

Here's a couple more photos of 146.

Ron used to have a booth and sold and displayed his mandolins at several western festivals. When he got into his eighties, he continued to make some mandolins but didn't really have much in the way of marketing or sales outlets. Thus the seven new mandolins to choose from. I'm pretty sure he's up for making some deals.

I noticed that all his mandos have Engelman tops that he sourced from the McCall, ID area. All have maple backs/sides/necks. All have 1-1/8" necks. All have 3-piece necks with graphite reinforcement (no truss rod). All have a flat fb except for one of the A's. Inlays are all different.