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Thread: Larry Rice's Mando

  1. #1

    Default Larry Rice's Mando

    For those of you in the know...tell me about Larrys mando..its history...why the vine of life in the fingerboard, etc?...That mando has alot of mojo surrounding it. Also..at one point there was a builder making copys of Larrys mando..what about them...and where is Larrys axe today? It wasnt the best sounding thing I ever heard but it was very descriptive of Larrys sound that he had all his career.

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

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  4. #4
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Nice, Scotti.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Thanks Buddy

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Good questions Scotti, that thing sounded like a million bucks on the recordings.

    Later F-5, 60s?, modified?
    Bill

  7. #7

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Van Liere View Post
    Good questions Scotti, that thing sounded like a million bucks on the recordings.

    Later F-5, 60s?, modified?
    It sure had its distinct tone..thats fer sure...to me..instantly recognizable.


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    Registered User Russ Jordan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Seems like Larry's mandolin was a 59. Didn't he do that fingerboard inlay himself?
    Russ Jordan

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    Kelley Mandolins Skip Kelley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Russ, I believe you are right; a 59 custom. I always love the tone Larry got out of that mandolin. He will always be one of my favorites!

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    Certified! Bernie Daniel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    That is a great picture --notice here you have two outstanding pickers not the least bothered, apparently, by the fingerboard extension that most of us regular morals remove or scallop on our mandolins.

    I wonder if Larry's instrument wasn't either a copy or if it did start life as a Gibson it was re-graduated by someone like Randy Wood?

    I say this because it certainly would have been unusual to a '59 Gibson F-5 to have come out of the box a strong good sounding mandolin -- this just was not a good period for the factory.

    That said I have been told that even in this period a few good ones slip out the door at Kalamazoo -- I have never seen any. I have personally owned several F-models from that darker period and none of them were memorable.
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Scotty
    t wasnt the best sounding thing I ever heard but it was very descriptive of Larrys sound that he had all his career.
    That's what I thought too. I always just thought it was a 70's model or something. Kinda thin sounding. Not strong in my view.

    But if you develop a style and play with the right folks you can play whatever kind of mando you want. Then it becomes part of your trademark.

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    As has been said so many times before, it's the picker and not so much the mandolin. He had a nice, laid back style, with some nifty moves, like his break on Farewell Blues off the Tony Rice Rounder LP. And he wrote a dandy tune Spring Fever, off one of his solo records.

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    Registered Mandolin User mandopete's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Yeah, I'd agree with comments on Larry's tone - instantly recognizable for sure. I've been enjoyed a tune called Jared's Rag from the Rice Brother's II recording - gotta add that one to my list along with Burnt Rice.

    Funny now, looking at that picture of Larry with the Dawg reminds of another great tune he wrote called Artesia.
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    vintagemandolin.com Charles Johnson's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    As I recall, Bryan England of Custom Inlay was going to make a Larry Rice model. Larry was supposed to sign the labels. They were expensive, I recall, around $8500 or so. Not sure if any of them were ever made.

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    I don't recall that I was ever going to build a mando for Larry, but I would be willing to if he asked. It wouldn't be that expensive either.
    Bryan England

  16. #16

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Don't be expecting him to ask very soon. He passed away in May of 2006. Maybe a commemorative model would be more appropriate.

    Len B.
    Clearwater, FL

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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Larry did some fine mandolin work, like on brother Tony's first Rounder record. And he wrote good mandolin numbers, like Spring Fever.

  18. #18

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    ...hmmm..still definitive info on Larrys mando...the plot thickens.

  19. #19
    Kelley Mandolins Skip Kelley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    One of my favs of Larry's was his duo with Wyatt. He does one called "Uncle Larry's garden". It is Larry through and through with that unmistakeable tone!

  20. #20
    Registered User Russ Jordan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    I emailed Larry's uncle, Frank Poindexter. He says the Larry Rice model mandolin never got off the ground.
    Russ Jordan

  21. #21

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Frank said it is a '60 or '61. They were never sure.

  22. #22

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    But if you develop a style and play with the right folks you can play whatever kind of mando you want.
    Great line Scotti and how true it is! There is a lot of "thin" sounding mandolins on some of those old recording that I just love the heck out of! Sad to say there escaping my memory at the moment...
    Look up (to see whats comin down)

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    Registered User f5loar's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    I verified it as a '59 the last time he was at MerleFest.
    It started life as a standard '59 F5 when he got it used. Nothing custom about it. Later on Larry had several things done to it like regraduations, new fingerboard and refinish. I would assume his family still has it. It was an important part of his musical life and served him well for several decades.
    Last edited by f5loar; Apr-17-2009 at 3:46pm. Reason: ms

  24. #24

    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    Thanks for the info!

  25. #25
    Registered User 300win's Avatar
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    Default Re: Larry Rice's Mando

    I remember reading in a interview article I think it was Bluegrass Unlimited, that Larry said that John Duffy influenced his playing a lot when he first begin to learn mandolin. A long time ago in about '67-'68 Larry and brother Tony were at the Starr, North Carolina fiddlers convention. It was a tough one to go to, always was cold, and they held it in a livestock sell barn. Man you talking about slowing your fingers down, it was as rough as the cold wet days at Union Grove back in those days. Any of ya'll remember them?

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