I am having trouble deciding between these two mandos. Any input would be appreciated
I am having trouble deciding between these two mandos. Any input would be appreciated
Sound will change over time due to picks, strings, your technique and just age. The feel of the instrument in your fretting hand will not. Choose wisely.
Not all the clams are at the beach
Arrow Manouche
Arrow Jazzbo
Arrow G
Clark 2 point
Gibson F5L
Gibson A-4
Ratliff CountryBoy A
There is no wrong decision here. You could eenie meenie miney mo and come out a winner.
The real question: are they enough different that owning one you will feel the lack of the other? Get one or get both?
I love my Yellowstone mandola for the gorgeous tone, the action is also quite nice, but the Big Mon's I've heard have a deep throaty voice and are generally sweet to play (although the one owner I know says he would not use it for Celtic music).
If you are looking for a specific "Bluegrass" sound I would lean towards Northfield, for more of a diverse pallet the Yellowstone.
Stormy Morning Orchestra
My YouTube Channel
"Mean Old Timer, He's got grey hair, Mean Old Timer he just don't care
Got no compassion, thinks its a sin
All he does is sit around an play the Mandolin"
I am a bluegrasser so this is good info. Thanks
My Big Mon, Miss Maybelle, is my #1 but I have a penchant for the increased mids & lows you get from the body design. I own & have owned a few Webers and I find both their neck & overall tone to be unique. Not better or worse, just different. They're both top end models from great builders with good resale so you can't go wrong either way but Maybelle's gonna be the one I grab in a fire
2020 Northfield Big Mon
2016 Skip Kelley A5
2011 Weber Gallatin A20
2021 Northfield Flattop Octave Mandolin
2019 Pono Flattop Octave
Richard Beard Celtic Flattop
And a few electrics
Lots of good advice here. Both good quality mandos that will allow you to do whatever you ned to do. Can't go wrong.
The only thing I would add: You probably have a gut feeling that you like one more than the other. Go with that. Given that they are both good; follow your intuition.
Girouard Concert A5
Girouard Custom A4
Nordwall Cittern
Barbi Mandola
Crump OM-1s Octave
www.singletonstreet.com
I have a Weber F5 Madison, and had a Northfield F5s. Both are very nice, can’t go wrong with either. The Weber fit and finish is flawless and has a slight edge over the Northfield IMHO. A key difference is the fretboard. The Weber is straight 10” radius, whereas the Northfield is compound radius 5.7” to 7.7”, which is quite curved. I prefer the flatter Weber. YMMV…what a great “problem” to have ☺️
Pomeroy F5 2003
Weber Madison F5 2013
Weber Sweet Pea travel mando 2006
Eric Ouren open back banjo
Bart Reiter open back banjo
I've owned both, and my Yellowstone is incredible. I had a Northfield MM Engelmann Top that I kick myself once a month for selling. I recently went to Morgan Music and they had an Engelmann Topped Big Mon that was only surpassed by a Gibson Fern.
I would highly, highly recommend playing a Weber before you order one. Pre-2010ish or so they seem to be decently consistent, but the final periods before Bruce retired I have found extremely hit or miss.
Meanwhile, I would be extremely comfortable ordering a Northfield without playing or even seeing the thing. They are as consistent as they come with a few absolute stunners mixed in.
TL;DR, A good Weber is nearly unmatched, but a bad one will majorly disappoint. Never seen a "Bad" Northfield, have seen and owned some spectacular ones.
I read recently that Weber had been sold. So the new owners may come up with their own spin and a new sound. Just trying to muddy the waters here a bit.
Can you play them both? I had a 2004 Yellowstone for a few years but I just could not adjust to the neck shape of that particular instrument. May be fine for you, but my point is to get each one in your hands if you can.
Follow the Flatt Stanley Incident on Facebook
Listen to original tune "When You Fly" by my old band The Kindreds
Bookmarks