Northfield post on social media and their email newsletter

[Mandolin Cafe]

Nothing wrong with a little fun on a Friday. Northfield just posted this in their newsletter and social media. We know what's up but not up to us to announce... so far.

@northfield_instruments NEW INSTRUMENT ALERT! On July 9th, We keep Roaring Ahead.
#roaringahead #mandolin #octave #mandolincafe

[joh]

Fun! I can't wait to see the reveal.

If I had to guess.. from left to right: mandola, electric octave, A model Big Mon, and an arch top guitar!

OR MAYBE

A style octave, electric octave, mandola, arch top guitar?!

[gspiess]

Nah, they bought Gibson and now they're making 8 string Les Pauls.

[lgibjones]

Really hopeful that single cutaway is electric

[Mandolin Cafe]

We are planning a major feature article around these new models.

[Chuck Leyda]

My guess:
-Octave mandolin. I think there's lots of room in the market for a 2-3k octave mandolin. GBOMs are pretty well represented but it's hard to find an entry pro level octave. Weber bitteroot/gallatin octaves used to be everywhere but they're hard to find right now. I would be excited for this!

-IDK electric something or other. I have no clue on the market for these.

-Mandola A style F hole. Love to see this. Hopefully priced above the top of the line Eastmans but below the boutique 5k+ mandolas. I think there's room for that. A style Big Mon was mentioned but I'm not sure how that fits into their product line. A5 Special is 4k. Big Mon F style is 5k. If an A style Big Mon is 4.5 you may as well spend that extra 500 for a scroll

-Arch top guitar.

[Chuck Leyda]

One down, three to go:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/205273#205273

[Mandolin Cafe]

One down, three to go:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/205273#205273

That's actually not one of the four being announced next month, but it is a new model. We have a feature article cooked up with pix & video coming in the near future that will help tell the story.

[Crazyquilt]

I was looking forwards to being tempted by a Northfield oval-hole, and now I don't have to wait until 9 July. But an all electric line coming roaring out? Even more intriguing possibilities!

[Marcus CA]

I don't understand the advantage of having an oval-hole mandolin that has about 1/3 of the soundhole covered by the fretboard. With an Italian spruce top and a spirit varnish finish, I'd want as many sound waves as possible getting into the instrument.

[Eric Platt]

I don't understand the advantage of having an oval-hole mandolin that has about 1/3 of the soundhole covered by the fretboard. With an Italian spruce top and a spirit varnish finish, I'd want as many sound waves as possible getting into the instrument.

Builders sometimes have a reason. I know Peter Coombe experimented with his classical flattop models and found out the best tone is with a fingerboard extension partly over the soundhole.

On an archtop instrument, that does look different and unusual. However, if it gets the sound they wanted then great.

[peter.coombe]

I don't understand the advantage of having an oval-hole mandolin that has about 1/3 of the soundhole covered by the fretboard. With an Italian spruce top and a spirit varnish finish, I'd want as many sound waves as possible getting into the instrument.

You are assuming that most of the sound comes from the sound hole. That is not true. Most of the sound comes from the top. The main air mode does contribute to the sound, and it is important not to have the main air mode the same frequency of the G string. The main air mode is the Helmholtz resonance of the sound box, but changed by the flexibility of the top and back, so it is not the actual Helmholtz resonance frequency. If the main air mode is the same frequency of the G string you get a boomy sound from the open G string, and the G string will sound different from the other strings so the mandolin sounds unbalanced. The frequency of the main air mode is proportional to the square root of the surface area of the sound hole, so covering part of the sound hole with the fingerboard lowers the frequency of the main air mode. The actual frequency of the main air mode is unpredicable, but it often is bang on G or not far off G, so lowering it is a good thing. Note that Lyon and Healy used the same technique, and nobody complains about the sound of those mandolin. There are also a lot of bowlback mandolins that have the fingerboard overhanging the soundhole. Making smaller soundholes does not lower the volume of an instrument, it just lowers the frequency of the main air mode.

[Northfield mando]

You are assuming that most of the sound comes from the sound hole. That is not true. Most of the sound comes from the top. The main air mode does contribute to the sound, and it is important not to have the main air mode the same frequency of the G string. The main air mode is the Helmholtz resonance of the sound box, but changed by the flexibility of the top and back, so it is not the actual Helmholtz resonance frequency. If the main air mode is the same frequency of the G string you get a boomy sound from the open G string, and the G string will sound different from the other strings so the mandolin sounds unbalanced. The frequency of the main air mode is proportional to the square root of the surface area of the sound hole, so covering part of the sound hole with the fingerboard lowers the frequency of the main air mode. The actual frequency of the main air mode is unpredicable, but it often is bang on G or not far off G, so lowering it is a good thing. Note that Lyon and Healy used the same technique, and nobody complains about the sound of those mandolin. There are also a lot of bowlback mandolins that have the fingerboard overhanging the soundhole. Making smaller soundholes does not lower the volume of an instrument, it just lowers the frequency of the main air mode.

THANK YOU Peter for this excellent response. You are absolutely correct. I believe this kind of meaningful exchange is what the forum is for. I commend you on your patience and willingness to explain these concepts. This is where we live inside musical instrument design. You obviously do too. I look forward to checking out one of your instruments someday.

All the best,

Adrian

[Marcus CA]

Thanks, Peter and Adrian, for your thoughtful responses. Since I have zero experience with building any instrument, I can only go by what I've read and what I've played, so I lack that extensive experience that leads to your expertise.

I guess my confusion comes from the guitar world, where the main small-soundhole design is found in gypsy-style guitars. On the other extreme, I think that Santa Cruz Guitar Co. uses a larger soundhole on their Tony Rice Professional model, and I found this description on the Bourgeois Guitar website:
https://bourgeoisguitars.com/product...rge-soundhole/

"For decades, serious flatpickers have known that the simple modification of enlarging a soundhole offers proven benefits. Though originally introduced as a cosmetic hack, we treat the large soundhole with the same respect we reserve for vintage design while retaining, in tribute, a variety of minor details unique to an iconic guitar that inspired a generation of players and luthiers. But we’ve also added a wrinkle of our own, discovering that a large soundhole transforms the OM into the finest small-bodied flatpicking guitar on the planet."

Since Gryphon is only 1/2-hour away, I'm looking forward to trying out this new A-4 when they get one in stock.

[jdmeyers77]

Hey friends. I bought that A4 Special and will post pics when I receive it on Monday.

I was so blown away by the A5 Special that I jumped when I saw this listed yesterday by Dennis & Zach - who informed me on the backstory of them getting the very first sample to be offered to the public!

My philosophy is that I want to be on the commercial aircraft that was grounded for safety the next time it flies: likely the safest plane in the sky, right?

And, given what I've been able to garner about the wonderful folks at Northfield, this very first A4 Special must have received the "blessing" of everyone on the team before heading out from Michigan to The Mandolin Store.

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...eld-A5-Special

And thanks, Peter, for that great explanation. Collings and Ellis do the same thing with their oval sound holes, if I'm not mistaken!