Incredibly accurate copy of f5

[JHo]

I agree with JBMando, and it seems to me that most of the people here wouldn't make fun of anyone for whatever they're building. People generally seem very supportive of others' building efforts and it seems that many here would much rather take a moment to help someone avoid some silly building mistake then laugh at them for making such mistake. And frankly I think it's cool to be building anything, especially instruments, but it's even cooler when they're really usable, and better still if they sound good. I suspect, as previously mentioned, that the reclusive Mr. Heimer did have some woodworking skills, but just lacked the knowledge particular to building usable instruments. The peculiar tuner setup as well as the thickness of the top would make me think that. This thing needs a name. How about "F5 choppy"?

[mandocaster]

Poor mister Heimer. Whenever this thread comes up (is this round three?) I think if the title of the auction was "Funky Lumpy Old Doweled-together Oddity", we wouldn't have taken the time to make fun of it. If I had posted a picture of it in the "pictures" forum and said "here's my first attempt at woodworking. I know it's funky, but it was fun to make", would you be as merciless? #

(It goes to show you what a fire-starter the phrase "Gibson F5 copy" is, though I doubt the seller knows that.)

I think "fire starter" is an interesting turn of phrase in reference to this mandolin.

[TomTyrrell]

I really do like the concept of this mandolin. I have copies of the photos just in case I decide to build one. I can't even bring myself to pay $200 for the original.

[markishandsome]

This has nothing to do with members building anything from scratch, and if you seriously think that this community would ridicule a member's work because it falls short of excellence, you haven't been reading the same forum I have.

You didn't read my post. I have had my work ridiculed here. Here's the link. True, this thread was not started by Heimer, who is probably not a member (though he may be). But I think these threads where we pile ridicule on an unusual instrument give a few bad apples the idea that making fun of other members' work is acceptable behavior. Maybe I'm wrong and there will always be a few jerks no matter how respectful everyone else is. And I agree that this thread is pretty funny. Maybe I'm just a wet blanket. I didn't mean for this to turn into such a sermon, I was just trying to interject a different opinion. Carry on!

[MikeEdgerton]

From the thread you posted the link to:

"I would hope that anyone that wants to criticize this effort has a picture of the last mandolin they built from scratch to post. I'm betting they don't. Congratulations on building something you wanted to build."

The guy that wrote that was a true genius. Beyond that it would appear that although one person made what I would call a rude remark that the rest of the community seemed to weigh in in your favor including a couple of builders. You shouldn't feel bad about that thread at all.

[Jim Broyles]

Wow, if you think you were ridiculed in that thread, you might just have issues. Even the one who said it was one ugly mandolin, might have been referring to the shape of it, because no matter who made it, the wide horned cutaway could be considered funky looking to some. Other than that one comment, everybody was very supportive and encouraging, if you ask me.
Again, I iterate - the ridicule we are piling on is aimed at the eBay seller, not the mandolin. Nobody would have said much if the builder had listed it as his own work. There is such an eBay maker/seller, whose work is, well, different, and nobody says a thing.

[Gutbucket]

Hey markishandsome,(why was that so hard to type), I joined the cafe after you posted your mandolin pics. And this is the first time I've seen that mandolin. I think that is one of the coolest ideas for a mandolin I've ever seen. I wonder how many other builders might have thought about that style but gave up on the idea because of the difficulty involved. Kudos to you for following thru.

[markishandsome]

Other than that one comment, everybody was very supportive and encouraging, if you ask me.

Which is exactly what I said earlier:

while most posters had nice things to say, a few did call it ugly and criticize the workmanship

I had originally considered the the yellow submarine comment which directly followed the ugly comment to be rude also, but looking back on it it's hard to tell what they meant. Maybe ugly was even meant as a compliment, like "you so bad!" I think the cafe is great and it's members are very supportive.

[markishandsome]

I think that is one of the coolest ideas for a mandolin I've ever seen.

Thanks, glad you liked it! It sounds pretty good too. I'd like to revisit that body style after I have a few more builds under my belt and really do it justice. I've learned a lot since then, mostly thanks to the cafe. Right now I think my next build will be a Heimer copy, minus the dowels.

[Gutbucket]

Widen the F-holes and you'd have a cool birdhouse. Or at the very least, a one time use ash tray

[Joel Spaulding]

Sold for a whopping $224.51. Someone got the deal of a lifetime!(cough)

[Bernie Daniel]

OK that beautiful F5 copy is now in the hands of some prodigy or a master mandolinist -- I am glad that is settled! #I've been wait to correct a serious misconception.

dmarie: But you could cruise the main drag in a Pacer and play the mando instead of the CD player...babe magnet fer sure!

Yes you could cruise the main drag in those things -- we did that at an H.S reunion once -- and even bought a burger and fries in it. #But there was no CD player. OK?

There were two older women who excitedly flagged us down too. #They wanted to tell us that the left rear was low on air.

[Gutbucket]

I was hoping some one on the Cafe would have bought it. I wanted to see it on YouTube. It might have made some of us eat our words. I'm getting use to the taste of Crow.

[Joel Spaulding]

I suspect we have not seen the last of this masterpiece....

[JeffS]

If you put that mandolin on display here between the lyre and "Thor's Hammer" hanging on the wall I doubt many people would even bat an eye.

I think it is a nice looking piece of folk art that any serious collector would be crazy to pass up.

[Jim Broyles]

Sold for a whopping $224.51. Someone got the deal of a lifetime!(cough)

Well, three people actually wanted it for some reason. The winner even sniped it. Who knows what they were willing to pay for it? Maybe they want the old Klusons and some scrap cherry.

[allenhopkins]

I think it is a nice looking piece of folk art that any serious collector would be crazy to pass up.

However, I'm guessing you passed it up?

With regard to mark-i-h's points, I agree that #we should be respectful and even a bit charitable when a novice builder exhibits a first, or early, effort. #Even the weird object under discussion in this thread is a lot better than I could do.

What provoked the mirth was the way the seller attempted to list and describe it, from calling it an awesome mandolin that evokes early Orville Gibson instruments, to saying "not a screw anywhere," then answering the first question about removing the pickguard, by saying "it uses wood screws." #Without even going back to the thread about mark-i-h's mandolin, I will wager that his was infinitely more respectful of the accumulated instrument-building knowledge of the past decades.

The eBay instrument was indeed a piece of "folk art," and as much as one could tell from the photos, unlikely to be the excellent musical instrument its seller promised. #It sort of reminded me of the anecdote of the backwoods sculptor, who when asked how he carved an elephant out of wood, said, "I just took a tree and cut off all the parts that didn't look like an elephant."

If Matt Heimer were a member of the Cafe, and had posted pics of the instrument he built asking for comments, I'm sure he would have heard some that were constructively critical. #He wouldn't have been ridiculed, in all probability. #The huckster who's trying to pass off #this instrument by invoking "Gibson F-5," and describing it in undeserved superlatives, is getting the ridicule I think he really has coming.

[David Newton]

I saw this thread too late, I was going to bid, but it already was gone.

I would have paid 150. for it, and got a good looking cloud tailpiece!

I figure this is folk art, I like that sort of thing.

[catmandu2]

You have no idea how tempted I am to go for this sucker.

No doubt--you would want to add the "Heimer Puffy" to your list of distinguished instruments.

[Bill Snyder]

If you put that mandolin on display here between the lyre and "Thor's Hammer" hanging on the wall ...

Thor's Hammer is an airplane.