Design A Weber Instrument Giveaway

[Ed Goist]

Brett; this is a funny coincidence.
The reason I thought about the Maverick in the first place was because I saw the picture of the Webers at Sylvan that was posted to your Facebook page earlier today.
That picture had me drooling...of the six mandolins pictured, there was the Maverick, the Bighorn, and three A-styles. It may as well have had "Ed Goist MAS jump starter" as the caption!

[Jill McAuley]

Black Ice Bighorn with matching Black Ice pickguard and custom "claddagh symbol" inlay. Not sure if I'd go for oval or f-holes though, I'm really loving f-holes at the moment...

Cheers,
Jill

[Ed Goist]

Okay, Brett & Jill have inspired me...
Bighorn (f-hole), Ivory inlay, ivory top binding, ivory accents all around, MOP large diamond markers, Engelmann soundboard, Hand Rubbed Varnish finish, and this custom headstock inlay:
http://www.mybelvedere.com/Images/autodecals/tribalanimallarge/bull%20TAR_9.png
Great, now I'll owe over $1,500 if I win!

[Mary Weber]

OK, Brett. Show them a picture of what the inspiration is for the color of YOUR custom mandolin (that may someday be finished). I believe it's called 'Brindle'...

[Jill McAuley]

Ah, brindle is one of my favourite coat colours in dogs, I could definitely appreciate a brindle coloured mandolin!

Cheers,
Jill

[hank]

Thank you Bruce, Mary and Scott for the gift to our community. Would this be called a dream catcher?

[Mary Weber]

I tried to catch the color of an instrument we have here, that is almost like his, but couldn't 'get' the brindle with my little camera. Hopefully Brett will put in the picture if he gets a chance.

[Jim MacDaniel]

...If you win, go crazy! Maybe some tortoise binding, custom inlay, pickguard, armrest, bound f-holes, etc.

Brett and Mary, just how crazy can we get? Are there any boundaries or limitations to what you would take on? (e.g., a 10-string version of one of your mandolins; a red cedar over rosewood Alder with carved top, flat-back, wood bindings and custom inlay; an all blonde spruce over maple Bighorn with maple fretboard, maple headstock overlay, and custom soundhole(s); an 8-string or 10-string mandolin scale neck on an Alder body? )

[Brett Byers]

Jim,
None of those specs seems too far out, imho. We have done a few ten string instruments, we have done some rosewood Alders (that were very impressive), we've done lots of wood binding and custom inlay, we've done a few custom shaped soundholes. Our Sweet Peas have maple boards, and we've done quite a few maple peghead veneers. The only one that would be questionable would be the carved top, flat back Alder. Ultimately the decision regarding what we will or will not attempt is up to Bruce, but he's pretty open about stuff like that. If he thinks a certain customization would be detrimental to the structural integrity, playability, or tone, he may recommend an alternative. But the whole point of this contest is to let someone design the Weber instrument of their dreams, and we welcome challenging and creative ideas.

[Brett Byers]

OK, Brett. Show them a picture of what the inspiration is for the color of YOUR custom mandolin (that may someday be finished). I believe it's called 'Brindle'...

Ok, here's the original inspiration for some of the "double stain" finishes we now offer, some of which are referred to in-house as "that Lucy brindle color". Lucy is the 4yr old Mastiff on the left. Titus, on the right, is a new addition to our family. He's a 1yr old male Mastiff that we just brought home from the shelter last weekend. They're already best pals. I guess I better get busy on the new "that Titus brindle color"

[Brett Byers]

regarding my personal mandolin, it is almost exactly like this Custom Elite that was ordered by Trevor at The Acoustic Music Co. in the UK. It has an Engelmann Spruce top w/ bound F-holes (my personal favorite choice for top wood, if the f-holes are bound. Binding the holes on an engelmann top stiffens it just enough to really make it explode with tone), black/white/tortoise binding on the top, back, sides, peghead, neck, and fingerboard. It will have this same color, with a hand rubbed spirit varnish finish. I have custom impressionistic fish-hook inlays for the fretboard markers, and I'll be making a custom pickguard with our "jumping trout" inlay. I spent quite a few hours digging through our wood piles and found the oldest, best piece of Engelmann I could find, and one of the oldest, craziest pieces of flame maple for the back. Should be a winner when it's done.

In order to make this rambling nonsense relevant to the topic at hand, I'll add that this is the kind of fun the winner of the contest will get to have. It can be somewhat maddening trying to nail down the perfect specs, but once it's done, you'll have an instrument that you can be proud to leave to your heirs.

[Ryk Loske]

must .... not .... think ...about .... mando cello ......... wash-rinse-repeat

Ryk

[George R. Lane]

I can attest to the binding of the f holes. Brett convinced me to do it with my Yellowstone and it is simply amazing, it takes only the lightest of touch and she (by the way her name is Isabella) sings with the sweetest tone and when you dig into her puts forth the most wonderful grumbling mid-tones. I sometimes gaze into her headstock and dream of green valleys and smokey mountains.

Uh, Sorry, I seemed to have gotten caught up in the moment.

Short answer - Brett is correct.

[Brett Byers]

George, I remember that conversation. When you were at the shop deciding on the specs for your Yellowstone you mentioned that you were going with an Engelmann top, and I went off on a diatribe about how you just had to have the f-holes bound. I'm glad you did. I played your mando a few minutes after it was strung up and it already had the signature tone that comes from bound f-holes on an Engelmann top. I'm sure you're putting a lot of hours on Isabella, and I imagine that signature tone is only becoming more defined. You should bring her with you next time you head down our way. I'd love to hear how she's doing.

[George R. Lane]

Brett,
Next time I head your way I will bring Isabella and my Vintage A, which sounds awesome with tomastiks.
I might even bring you a few of my special flies.

[bratsche]

I want to win a Bighorn oval hole mandola! (sigh)
This is the first instrument giveaway contest here that has me absolutely drooling...

bratsche

[hank]

George you and Brett are killing me with all this talk of trout fishing. I think spring fever is taking a toll on me. Could you post some photos of your girl friend Isabella and her grand mother Mrs. A? Hmmm, I already wanted bound F holes. Do you have a good thumpin bottom end as well with Engelmann?

[rsaunders]

bratsche,
I second that emotion! I feel like I did as a kid and took the Sears catalog to the outhouse right before Christmas! And reading these other posts makes me want to win that much more, as well as realize how hard it would be to decide. One thing for sure, mine has to be left-handed!

[George R. Lane]

Hank,
This will take youy to where I first posted photos of Isabella.
http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?63946-May-I-introduce-to-you

Sorry, I don't know how to make this a link

[Charlieshafer]

must .... not .... think ...about .... mando cello ......... wash-rinse-repeat

Ryk

no, it's ok, think mandocello. I'm loving my oval hole semi-custom vintage thing.

On another front, this has been going on for a while now... have I won yet?

[Dan Margolis]

Mine would have to have a custom inlay of a sandwich on it.

[Ryk Loske]

CHARLIE!!! I've pretty much worn out the Weber menu figuring out how i would do the same model. The lady of the house thinks i have a problem .... but she'll fight me to be first to play it when i win it.

Ryk

[Brett Byers]

Dan, what kind of sandwich?

[jasona]

Lovely! My GOM design will knock your socks off too!

[Charlieshafer]

CHARLIE!!! I've pretty much worn out the Weber menu figuring out how i would do the same model. The lady of the house thinks i have a problem .... but she'll fight me to be first to play it when i win it.

Ryk

OK, this afternoon I'll put some pictures up, just to give you an idea of what I did, which is anything but over-the-top. Very conservative, but with really nice wood. I did have them make an extra sterling silver truss rod cover, which I'll get engraved as soon as I get a design in my head. The rest is far less exotic than I first thought I'd go for when I started planning. I did have the benefit of having an old-school luthier guy telling me what I was thinking was wrong. I'd say I want a walnut back, and he'd reply "that's stupid." Going down the whole list brought the same response. At least he's a nice enough guy to explain why. Anyway, the important thing is the sound absolutely blows me away. Tons o' fun.