New Millennium Acoustic Design (NewMAD)

**trevor** · Nov-22-2006, 5:04am

Peter,
Sounds great, any chance of an oval hole A4?

BTW, I just got my hands on one of the two I-110s, hasn't arrived yet, cant wait.

**Peter Mix** · Nov-22-2006, 1:52pm

Greetings Trevor!
Yes, an A4 is in the works and we plan to bring at least one of each to the NAMM show in January. Will we have the pleasure of your company there?
regards, Peter

**trevor** · Nov-22-2006, 3:14pm

Peter,
Yes/No!
I would love to come, I haven't been for the last two years, but I have been stacking up my flying miles and polution quota recently with a trip to see friends in China, so not sure, 'tis a long way for a couple of days...

Might be worth the trip just to see your new mandos.

**Peter Mix** · Nov-27-2006, 1:17pm

With any luck, we'll have the prototype A5 in our hands a week from today. There will be more to do at that point, but we'll know a great deal once the first instrument is complete. The second instrument will be an ovalhole. I'll post more information and photos as soon as possible.
This is extremely exciting!
cheers, Peter

**fwoompf** · Nov-27-2006, 3:01pm

We can't wait to see them! Post some sound samples when you get it, too!

**Jim Garber** · Nov-27-2006, 11:37pm

A friend just emailed me with link to an article he wrote to come out in tomorrow's NY Times Science Section about new directions in instrument making. Carbon fiber is mentioned. Article here.

Jim

**Glassweb** · Nov-28-2006, 1:06am

Hi Peter... just my 2 cents here, but since you're doing something radically different here why not go for a non-trad design? Given the material, I would think that there must be plenty of potential for creating something new that would be visually arresting as well as sonically advanced. Guess that might be a bit much at this stage though... bonne chance!

**Peter Mix** · Nov-29-2006, 7:46pm

Design-wise, the sky is the limit, I suppose, but I'm not trying to re-invent the mandolin. I love A's and F's and believe that the sound chambers of both instruments have proven their merits. Couple that with the very significant cost of development and it makes a compelling argument for building A's and F's initially.
# Just a few more days now until the prototype is finished and I can hardly wait. I believe it's going to be an amazing-sounding instrument.....
# # # # # # # # # # # # # #cheers, Peter

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 10:33am

The prototype Mix A5 was completed on Monday and set up on Tuesday. It's beautiful, very light and very responsive with an extremely well-balanced voice. I played it briefly Tuesday night at a lesson where it drew rave reviews. My student is blind and has been playing one particular instrument for many years. She loved the feel of the prototype and played it for much of our session. She told me that after just a couple of minutes it felt as though she had always played it.
# # #Hearing it played was a delight. Double-stops on the G and D strings sound marvelous, breathy and full-bodied all at once, kinda like Kathleen Turner. The treble is brilliant and even all the way to the 22nd fret with no drop-outs. The mid-range is very sweet and even as well.
# # #After leaving my student's house, I took the prototype to my pal Larry Sweeney, the finish wizard. He's doing the final cosmetic work on it and it should be ready early next week for photos and video recording, then it'll be sent out to meet the public.
# Overall, my belief that carbon fiber would produce a dandy mandolin has been proven to my satisfaction at least.
We're building an A4 now and another A5 will follow rapidly with some minor changes for comparison. Production will start quite soon and our waiting list is growing.
# I'm sorry to keep you all waiting a few days more, but I think you'll be amazed and delighted when you see the first Mix A5. It's everything we hoped for and more....

**fatt-dad** · Dec-06-2006, 10:51am

You know what, this is a cool project! If/when there's a Mix-model in Virginia (Richmond in particular), I'd like to know about it and have a go at playing some solid amature mandolin tunes. I'm really curious just how "different" the sound is. . . . .

Good luck on this venture!

f-d

p.s., any thought of a "Mix-Master model"?

**Bob Denton** · Dec-06-2006, 1:08pm

Is the fingerboard carbon?

Thanks

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 4:40pm

I agree! This is a very cool project. The fingerboard is ebony with a 12" radius and 22 frets. With any luck, I'll have photos to post in less than a week.

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 5:55pm

I can't resist sending these...

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 5:56pm

and....

**DryBones** · Dec-06-2006, 6:04pm

would the grain run the opposite way on a lefty?

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 6:13pm

It certainly could....

**fwoompf** · Dec-06-2006, 6:23pm

What will the bridge be made out of?

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 6:31pm

We use Steve Smith's excellent ebony bridges and Bill James tailpieces.

**gwalt** · Dec-06-2006, 8:24pm

Any chance there might be a 2-point in the works?

**ShaneJ** · Dec-06-2006, 8:35pm

Mr. Mix, that is incredibly cool! I can't wait to hear it. Have you considered or experimented with a graphite bridge and/or saddle? I have a piece of graphite that I intended to cut a saddle out of, but I havn't done it yet. I know from building fishing rods that by adding graphite arbors and reel seats to a graphite rod, the sensitivity is greatly improved. Of course, that just means that vibrations are transmitted to the hand more effectively. Seems to me that a well-fit graphite bridge and saddle would transmit string vibrations very effectively as well. Would it transmit vibrations more effectively than ebony? Would that mean "better" tone or not? I guess there would likely be a wide range of opinions about that. It would be interesting to try it and see (hear) if there were any noticable differences in volume and/or tone between graphite and ebony. Maybe you could talk Steve Smith into crafting a bridge from graphite??

**Peter Mix** · Dec-06-2006, 9:13pm

Yes, we have considered a two-point instrument, though an F5 will likely be the next instrument in line. This is a very expensive process and each instrument represents a very substantial investment, so we have to be as practical as we can.
In that regard, we are looking for a few investors to help #this company achieve what we believe will be remarkable things. The initial results are extremely encouraging and confirm what I have believed since I began this quest:carbon fiber is a superb material for mandolins.
If any of our gentle readers are interested in participating financially in what I think is some of the most exciting work taking place today in acoustic stringed instruments, please contact me by phone at 802-644-5607.
#Regarding graphite bridges: we'll stick with ebony initially, but I would be interested in trying graphite as well. Tone is critical, of course.
# # # # # # # # # # # cheers, Peter

**Don Grieser** · Dec-06-2006, 10:51pm

Really cool, Peter. Congrats. Can't wait to hear some clips of it.

**Mattg** · Dec-06-2006, 11:20pm

You are in good company. Rainsong has been making carbon fiber guitars for a few years now. They are cool sounding guitars and are very durable. Lorenzo Pimental, an excellent builder in Albuquerque, helped with the design. This was interesting to me as the Pimentals have been traditional builders of classical guitars for years.

**Bob Denton** · Dec-07-2006, 12:28pm

Originally Posted by (Peter Mix @ Dec. 06 2006, 21:13)

#Regarding graphite bridges: we'll stick with ebony initially, but I would be interested in trying graphite as well. Tone is critical, of course.
# # # # # # # # # # # cheers, Peter

I ecently upgraded my CA Legacy to a carbon nut and saddle from the original Tusq, and there was a marked improvement in tone, I assume primarily from the saddle.

I would suggest crafting at least one bridge from carbon stock just for the comparison. It wold appear to be an ideal material.

Cya!

**WireBoy** · Dec-08-2006, 1:28pm

Hmmmm, can't beat having Kathleen Turner at your finger tips...

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