A recent visit to a shop with many nice mandolins has had me asking this question over and over for the past month. Let’s assume that a “good” mandolin is one that was made primarily “by hand,” as that has come to be understood (e.g. hand-carved top). Obviously the internal parts of any instrument have to be hand-assembled; the same with installing binding, etc. As far as I know there are no machines (yet) that a person can load up with wood and other materials, push a button, and out the other side pops a completed instrument ready to be strung up.
First of all, let’s ignore the entire issue of price difference. We all know that builders will charge what people will pay—simple as that. No harm done either way. So price should not really make an instrument good or great; it only makes one expensive or cheap[er]. I understand the contributing factors, such as labor and cost of materials; but for the most part, the price is what people will pay for the item.
What I’m more concerned with are the technical aspects of good and great instruments. For example, Eastmans and Kentuckys, brands that most here consider very decent instruments, have models that come with hand-carved, all-solid woods, hand-applied finishes, radiused boards, etc, etc. The same specs you’d see on a Collings, Weber, Gibson, et al. But on my recent visit I noticed the vast difference in tone and feel of a Collings and the Eastmans, in particular. I paid closer attention because I’ve always wanted a Collings instrument, and I own an Eastman instrument. My Eastman is a nice mandolin; it plays in tune, has a balanced tone, good volume, has the ease of playability that I enjoy, etc. But the Collings had all of these qualities as well. And each one was superior to the Eastman, some in slight ways, and others vast (volume especially). The Collings even “felt” better in my hands. I also noticed that the Gibsons just “felt” better than the less expensive, yet still “good” mandolins.
Does it simply come down to the builder adding personal nuances during the process? Slight tricks that cannot be seen with the eye necessarily? I have a Luthier friend that insists that it’s the quality of the tonewoods that makes the difference. He claims that with the right wood combinations a Stew Mac kit could rival any bench-built instrument from any maker, past or present. Do the Eastmans, Kentuckys, et al simply use inferior woods, though “solid” inferior woods? I know there is the occasional “import” that defies all the odds, but for the most part they fall just short of the Collings, Webers and Gibsons that we hear so much about.
I would really like to understand what ultimately makes the difference.
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