Tucker #16

[Dave Hulse]

About 12 years ago I was taking mandolin lessons from Jordan Ramsey at Swallow Hill Music in Denver. Jordan couldn’t make it one night so he had a friend substitute for him. The fellow had a Tucker F5 mandolin. He let me play it for a while and while I had not played a huge number of mandolins, this thing had tone and volume like I had never heard before.

I have been on the lookout for a Tucker since then and have seen a few come up here on the Café for sale but have never been in a position to get one. Tucker #16 came up for sale recently and I was able to get that one. Searching the forum and the web it seems like #16 has been owned by quite a few Café members. It probably has more shipping miles on it than most UPS trucks. It has definitely been played, has replacement tuners and a James tail piece, a few dings and finish checks but it plays easily and has great sound.

There are a few Tucker threads in the forum but does anyone have any additional info on this mandolin’s history?

[palosfv3]

I don't believe Mr. Tucker is still around. Dan Voight in Nashville apprenticed with him.

[Bacfire]

I tried to buy that one a couple years ago, but the seller backed out at the last minute. The Tucker was my dream mando back in the 90s when Wayne Benson made ‘em the hot item.

Like you, I wondered why #16 had known so many homes. Every reference online was glowing with praise, though, and the couple of video and audio clips I heard sounded great.