Request for Kettler Mandolins owners

[coopermax]

Hello Mandolin Folks,

My name is Jedd Kettler and my father, Ev Kettler, made Kettler Mandolins back in the 70s and 80s. I know some of you here have experience with his instruments and I’m hoping you might be able to help me and my dad out with a new chapter in Kettler Mandolins.

So, my dad has started making mandolins again and will have some new instruments for sale soon. In the meantime, I’m helping him get a website together and we’re including a section to show some of his earlier instruments from back in the day. We already have photos and info for a couple of old mandolins, but we’d love to get some more if we can.

Here’s where some of you might come in. We’re wondering if any of you Kettler mandolin owners out there might be willing to share photos of your instruments and a little info about where you got the mandolin or any other bits of history, etc. Instruments with play wear or other battle scars are fine. Impeccably maintained instruments are good too. We’re mainly looking for stories, history and photos of well-loved Kettler mandolins.

Also for the website, we’re debating including testimonials. So, if any of you wanted to share thoughts on Kettler mandolins you love, we’d like to include those as well.

You could simply share stuff here in the thread or contact me through my Mando Café profile.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, stories, and photos that you’d like to share. Hope you all are well and look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks, Jedd Kettler

[Rvansnick]

Hello Mandolin Folks,

My name is Jedd Kettler and my father, Ev Kettler, made Kettler Mandolins back in the 70s and 80s. I know some of you here have experience with his instruments and I’m hoping you might be able to help me and my dad out with a new chapter in Kettler Mandolins.

So, my dad has started making mandolins again and will have some new instruments for sale soon. In the meantime, I’m helping him get a website together and we’re including a section to show some of his earlier instruments from back in the day. We already have photos and info for a couple of old mandolins, but we’d love to get some more if we can.

Here’s where some of you might come in. We’re wondering if any of you Kettler mandolin owners out there might be willing to share photos of your instruments and a little info about where you got the mandolin or any other bits of history, etc. Instruments with play wear or other battle scars are fine. Impeccably maintained instruments are good too. We’re mainly looking for stories, history and photos of well-loved Kettler mandolins.

Also for the website, we’re debating including testimonials. So, if any of you wanted to share thoughts on Kettler mandolins you love, we’d like to include those as well.

You could simply share stuff here in the thread or contact me through my Mando Café profile.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, stories, and photos that you’d like to share. Hope you all are well and look forward to hearing from you!
Thanks, Jedd Kettler

Jedd,
i have number 0183 and it is a monster with beautiful sound and playability, I have had Gibsons, Northfields, Flatirons over the years and I just love this mandolin, it has everything a bluegrasser would want in a mandolin. If your dad was thinking of building any, I would love to have a new one.

Thanks,
Rick from Nova Scotia Canada

[coopermax]

Hi Rick,
Thanks for your response and for the picture! That’s a beauty! If you don’t mind, I’d love to include the photo on the website (and maybe a quote)? Just let me know if that’s all right.
We have pulled together a website and he has been building some new mandolins. A few are finished and more are in the works.
We haven’t started spreading the word about the site just yet because there were a few details on the backend that we’re ironing out to make it work better for him. It’s a functioning site, though, with a few mandolins listed. You can check out kettlermandolins.com to take a look. We’d some feedback if you have any. I’ll let him know you might be interested in a new mandolin and have him get in touch with you if you want?
Thanks again for reaching out and sharing that picture!
Cheers,
Jedd

Jedd,
i have number 0183 and it is a monster with beautiful sound and playability, I have had Gibsons, Northfields, Flatirons over the years and I just love this mandolin, it has everything a bluegrasser would want in a mandolin. If your dad was thinking of building any, I would love to have a new one.

Thanks,
Rick from Nova Scotia Canada

[coopermax]

I just wanted to thank everyone who shared their photos and their stories. They made some really great additions to my dad's website. The site (kettlermandolins.com) has been up for a little while now, but we were trying to finalize some details before talking about it too much. Thanks again for everyone who helped make it even better!

And, of course, if there are any other owners of a Kettler Mandolin who want to share pics, stories, etc, we'd still love to hear from you and try to include more stuff. Thanks again and happy picking!

Cheers,
Jedd Kettler