Amber Big Mon at Dust Strings

[Glassweb]

I was at Dusty Strings on Wednesday and got the opportunity to play eight (8!) new Northfield mandolins! Now how often does that happen?!?

My personal fave was an amber/tortoise Big Mon model with an Engleman spruce top. Not only was this mandolin particularly beautiful, it played and sounded really nice. You can check it out on their website. If you go for it tell them Adam sent you!

I thought this one had more "meat" and less "puff" than most Big Mon models. In fact I preferred this one to the Adirondack topped Big Mon they had in stock.

A great instrument!

[webber]

Dusty Strings isn't local to me, but I can confirm after playing multiple Big Mons that the Engelmann models sounded better (warmer, fuller, more responsive to soft dynamics) to my ear than the Adirondack models.

[joh]

Did you get a chance to play the Northfield NFS-F2? I'm very intrigued by this instrument, but there are almost no recordings of this model online that I can find.

[Glassweb]

I did play it… unlike other NF F2s I’ve played this one didn’t knock me out. I’d go with an Eastman A model oval hole instead… a MD404 or MD504 if you can find one. These two models are an oval-hole steal!

[webber]

Did you get a chance to play the Northfield NFS-F2? I'm very intrigued by this instrument, but there are almost no recordings of this model online that I can find.

I played the F2S at Fiddler's Green and thought it was an absolute knockout. It sounds better than the Collings MTO they also had at the time. Ben, the owner, has sent me video clips of him playing instruments when I've asked nicely in the past!