My Skip Kelley F5 #40

[Cheryl Watson]

I have a new mandolin, a 2012 Skip Kelley F5, #40. I just had a pickguard installed that I had custom made by Doug Edwards to match the flamed maple burst armrest he had previously made for me. It's still quite new, but it is already quite strong. I don't have to dig in hard to get good volume and tone. It has a traditional tone, a powerful bottom end, clarity, and strong volume up the neck, a good solid chop too. The fit and finish is very good although not Collings perfect, but Skip does not use CNC.

The fretboard has a slight radius of 16", nut width of 1 1/8", an Adirondack top and one-piece red maple back from Ted Davis' stash of wood, and a varnish with French polish finish. It's a very lightweight mandolin which I tend to prefer.

I hope everyone who is interested can view the pics. It has a more cremona (orange tone) where you see some yellow in the pic of the maple back. Sunbursts sure are difficult to correctly photograph!

I'll be doing a recording soon on Soundcloud.

[Ken]

Very nice, really like that back, and the pickguard looks great.
Ken

[Toycona]

Beautiful! Congrats!!

[Clement Barrera-Ng]

Congrats indeed. The one-piece back is outta this world. Bet it sounds superb.

[Bigtuna]

Very nice! If it sounds as good as it looks you must be happy.

[Fretbear]

Gorgeous; the bottom part of the back looks like a landscape of ocean waves, with the brightest part of the sun(bursting) out of a river valley in the mountains. The size and shape of that pickguard is perfect, I always found the traditional F5 guard excessively large.

[Steve Sorensen]

Wow! Nice! Skip does some beautiful work . . . and it sure shows in #40!
Steve

[tburcham]

Congrats Cheryl! I haven't had opportunity to play one of Skip's mandolins, but based on the many comments here on the Cafe, they are just fabulous instruments. The flame in the back is striking. I love the maple pick guard and armrest. Enjoy!

[usqebach]

Cheryl,

If memory serves, you've had some other premium quality mandolins. How does this one compare? I'd appreciate naming names for reference purposes if you don't mind.

Jim

[Cheryl Watson]

Jim, yes, I have owned a few premium mandolins. I owned the first Kimble F5 (partially made from a kit) and I only sold that one to a friend so that I could get a newer Kimble. That #13 is still a really nice sounding mandolin and I get to play it every so often. I had a Lloyd LaPlant F5 which was gorgeous. It was a bit heavy for my liking but I only sold it when the economy hit me hard and I needed money really badly. That one had a nice woody tone.

When I recovered financially, I bought an Apitius F5 that was lightweight and had a gorgeous complex tone (although not loud enough to be a jam mandolin) and I planned on keeping it but it kept aggrevating the first joint of my fretting index finger. Next, I got a Lon Williamson F5 (which I still have) and it has a huge frequency range from low end to top end. It's tone is complex and pretty but again, not a jam mandolin. I sold the Kimble #13 to get a newer Kimble A5 which was aggressive and clean with a dry tone. It had a lot of depth although dry in tone. Definitely not one dimensional. It served me well as my main mandolin on stage in a bluegrass band and in jams. The top end and midrange were stronger than the bottom end and it cut like crazy. The midrange and trebles could compete with banjos.

I got the F5 bug again, and was no longer playing in jams or in a bluegrass band, so I wanted an F5 with a more complex tone and I got that in the Kelley. The A strings and especially the E strings are not as aggressive as the Kimble A (2009) was, but the bottom end is more responsive and more prominent than the Kimble. It's a give and take, I guess. The Kelley has a tone like a very good Gibson or Daley although it is still green and I expect the E and A strings to develop over time. I did have to add a pickguard to the Kelley since it did not come equipped with one, and I had the string spacing at the bridge changed more to my liking. The Kelley F5 does well in a jam but it is not as aggressive as the Kimble was. It's not a banjo killer but that is not what I need right now. I play a wide variety of music and the Kelley seems versatile. It will be interesting to hear how it breaks in. I've owned several new premium mandolins and have witnessed them breaking in, so I expect that it will change over time.

So now I have the Kelley F5 and the Williamson F5. The Kelley is overall, the stronger of the two in the midrange and it has a more cutting projection, but the trembles in the Williamson (2003) are fatter and more responsive. Both the Williamson and the Kelley have a very responsive bottom end but the Kelley is a bit more powerful. Both are relatively loud mandolins. The Kelley's chop is a bit stronger. Both mandolins are very responsive and you don't you to play them hard to get really good tone. And that is my honest comparison with tone and responsiveness.

All of these mandolins have had very good playability. The best fit and finish were my Kimble A5 and the LaPlant F5 (I think 2005) followed closely by the Apitius F5 and the Kelley F5. The Williamson (it was only his #3) came in about the same as the Kimble #13--very good but not really perfect. Both Will Kimble and Lon Williamson have excellent fit and finish with their later work.

I would like to also own a Monteleone, Dudenbostel, Nugget or a Gilchrist one day (like many of us).

[usqebach]

Cheryl,

I asked for detail, and boy howdy did you give it!

Thanks!

Any idea why the Apitius caused the index finger trouble. Of all those you had, that's the one I would most like to have. I really want an A-model. I've only seen one listed in 3 years, and I was too "green" to quickly pull the trigger, so I missed my chance.

Would love to hear a clip of the Kelley!

Thanks,

Jim

[Cheryl Watson]

Jim, I am quite certain that the Apitius caused stress in that joint because I found out that I cannot play a flat board with a very slim, low-profile neck. It was certainly an odd thing.

[usqebach]

Good to know.

Thanks!

[Mandobar]

Cheryl, nice mandolin. I hope your Kimble got a good home. By the way, I like that mandolin strap.

[DataNick]

Cheryl,

Congrats!

Dovetail neck joint or bolt-on?

Parallel or X-braced?

Sounds like you know your mandos and will enjoy this and best wishes in your endeavors to aquire the others you listed as well...


Cheers!

[Cheryl Watson]

That strap was made custom for me by Randy King of King's Custom Straps. It has a small shoulder pad section woven into the main braid which is brown/black. The braided leather, ends, and lining of the shoulder pad is deerhide and the top section of the strap is embossed cowhide. They are GREAT straps!

The Kelley F5 is dovetail, I believe, and parallel tone bar braced for certain.

Oh... and it has a virzi tone producer.

[Charles E.]

Cheryl, congrats on your new instrument. Skip is always so supportive and positive about other builders work in the "mandolins in progress" thread, but seeing this I think he deserves a "job well done!" shout out.

[Grommet]

Cheryl-
Very interesting to get your take on a wonderful group of instruments. Skip's #40 looks absolutely great. Just re-listened to the clips on your site. Look forward to hearing your next with the new mandolin.

Scott

[dang]

I would like to also own a Monteleone, Dudenbostel, Nugget or a Gilchrist one day (like many of us).

count me among the many!

[Cheryl Watson]

This soundcloud file (a Christmas tune) is the Kelley F5, the first few days I owned it, when it was brand spanking new, but I will do another recording soon.

https://soundcloud.com/cheryl-j-wats...-rock-mandolin

[pefjr]

That is a beautiful mandolin, though I am not so sure it is not your play that makes the sound good. You mention string spacing, something I have been experimenting with. What is the spacing "more to your liking"? I brought the bridge spacing in on one mandolin because the board was so narrow, and got a big boost in tone and volume, sorta by accident. Since then I prefer the more narrow spacing of about 1 7/16".

[Carleton Page]

You sold the Kimble?

[Cheryl Watson]

The E strings were too close to each other, and to a lesser extent, the A and D strings. Just a tiny bit of a change makes a big difference with string spacing. The overall width of the strings on the bridge top was fine.

Yes, I traded the Kimble. I would have liked to have kept both. Both mandolins sound great, just didderent.

[Cheryl Watson]

Here's the sound sample I promised of Kelley #40. My strings are broken in but not dead yet and I'm using a Blue Chip TAD 60. Oh, and correction, above: I typed "didderent" and I meant "different." I'm not such a great typist.

https://soundcloud.com/cheryl-j-wats...012-sound-test

[shortymack]

Sounds and looks great! Congrats and enjoy that beautiful instrument.