This Ron Belanger Celtic Bouzouki was built during 2007 in Orillia, Ontario and is in overall good condition with a great sound. Pairing a Sitka Spruce top with Mahogany for the body and neck, this lovely piece uses Ebony for the head plate, bridge, and fingerboard. The rosette is a nicely contrasting section of Spalted Maple.
Mandolins
The Gibson F9 mandolin is a ‘no frills’ model featuring a carved and tuned spruce top and flame maple back, flame maple sides and neck, and an Ebony fingerboard, bridge and head plate with Mother of Pearl script Gibson logo. Only the top is bound, and the instrument sports a satin finish in a vintage brown tint. As stock, there is no pickguard.
Here we have the brand-new Fintan McEnroe FinMc MC16 F-style mandolin from Fintan McEnroe, working in Toronto but originally from Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, Ireland. The ‘16’ in the name refers to the mandolin serial number and production sequence. This fine instrument was very recently finished, in January of 2023.
Here we’re looking at a 2007 Weber Bitterroot A-Style mandolin, built in Logan, Montana during 2007. Weber moved from Logan to Bend, Oregon in 2013. The Bitterroot A-Style series features thin, minimal decoration, wood figuring and finishing yet with Weber’s full build and materials quality.
The Rigel A+ Deluxe mandolin is now built by Peter Langdell in Jeffersonville, Vermont and has a unique, patented construction (U.S. Patent #D383481, awarded September 09, 1997). Rather than being bent from flat pieces in the traditional manner, the Rigel A+ Deluxe sides are carved from a solid block that supports the top and back. The back is full sized but glued on, while the top is a circular plate, somewhat like the resonator on a reso-phonic instrument.
Here is a Wes Lambe A-Style Mandolin, #26 in Sunburst and built during 2005 in Chapel Hill NC before Lambe’s move to Hillsborough NC. Wes Lambe has been building professionally since at least 1997 and his instruments are highly respected – and hard to get. At the moment, he has closed his order book to deal with existing orders.
Make no mistake about it, the Kentucky KM-1000 Master Model mandolin is a serious contender in the professional mandolin field, with all solid wood construction, true carved, graduated American Red (Adirondack) spruce top with tone bars, true carved graduated Northern Michigan maple back and sides, Loar style bridge, engraved tailpiece, inlaid peghead, thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish and precision Gotoh 14:1 reverse tuners!
Here we have a Weber A14-F mandolin, an A-style, 14 inch scale, F-hole version of Weber’s Bitterroot model. This mandolin features a carved & graduated spruce top with tone bars, lightly figured maple back & sides, a maple neck with radiused ebony fingerboard, ebony Weber bridge, cast Weber tailpiece, raised fingerboard extension, full 14″ scale length and ivoroid top binding! This instrument is set up to play as smooth as butter and with the maple back & sides in combination with the delicately voiced top and tone bars
Here we have the Fintan McEnroe Fin MC14 F-style mandolin from Fintan McEnroe, working in Toronto but originally from Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, Ireland. The ‘14’ in the name refers to the mandolin serial number and production sequence; the Fin Mc 8 mandolin was sold recently. The Fintan McEnroe Fin MC14 is a traditional F-Style mandolin, with a carved Sitka Spruce top and Curly Maple for the sides, neck and carved back.
The Kentucky KM-1500 Master F-Model Mandolin – Vintage Sunburst uses the finest, most highly figured Michigan Maple combined with the whitest, most fine-grained Adirondack Spruce. These solid woods are meticulously hand carved and graduated — just as were the fabled originals of the early ’20s — to achieve the finest tone quality and volume possible in a new instrument.
Trinity College mandolins are designed for traditional Celtic music, though they are used in a wide variety of other styles, too. The traditionally styled body of the TM-325 Octave Mandolin is complimented by an elegant snakehead peghead with the new Celtic-inspired cross. Its rich, mellow tone and great projection will surprise you!
The Eastman MD605 represents great value in a quality A-Style mandolin, built with solid woods and wrapped in a gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish. Introduced in 1905 and based on Orville Gibson’s patent merging violin family techniques with guitar and mandolin construction, the A-Style mandolin has a distinctive teardrop shape and a carved top and back, with either F holes or an oval hole; the F hole provides somewhat more top end. Compared to the F style often seen in bluegrass bands, the A Style body shape has more pronounced midrange and fundamental, and a less percussive attack.
Eastman El Rey ER-M Mandolin is very cool instrument that shares DNA with the Eastman archtop El Rey models, creating a contemporary looking electric mandolin. The Eastman El Rey ER-M features a solid one piece mahogany sides and back with a solid maple top. The mahogany provides enhanced mid range warmth and the maple top has a focused note fundamental with clear top end snap. The two f holes provide a bit of traditional mandolin looks but the single cutaway and lower bout design really give it that jazz box feel.
The Eastman MDC805 Mandocello is a wonderful, rich sounding instrument that works well as a solo, ensemble or accompaniment instrument in a wide range of styles and genres, from Celtic to Classical, Latin and back again. The Mandocello had been in existence for some centuries in Europe, beginning with flat back and then bowl back. However, in 1905 Orville Gibson’s company began producing mandolin family instruments, including Mandocello models that drew from his blending of violin and guitar concepts.
The National RM1-E A-style mandolin hearkens back to the early days of Resophonic instruments, when the concept was being applied wherever more volume was needed.Here we have the Maple-Walnut version, which isn’t just a great ice cream flavour. Walnut was used as an instrument wood for centuries, and brings a slight mellowness to the tone.
This Capek F5 Basic Mandolin model, and it is impressive. The build quality is very high and the instrument sounds great and plays extremely well.
The MD515 was the mandolin that re-shaped the entire mandolin market in my opinion. a couple of years ago it was unthinkable that an all solid wood, true hand carved & graduated f-style mandolin could be offered in the under $1600.00 price point.
After the success of Eastman’s line of handcarved, solid mandolins it was only a matter of time before the master luthiers brought their skills to bear on other members of the mandolin family. The Eastman mandocello utilizes all the best features of a great Eastman archtop guitar. By accenting the lower fundamentals with ringing archtop overtones they have produced an instrument that matches and perhaps surpasses any mandocello in the market today!
Eastman Strings was founded in 1992, yet it is already an integral part of the long and glorious history of one of the most fascinating musical traditions the world has known. Through our violin and bow making activities, we at Eastman Strings are attached to a tradition nearly 500 years old, and we strive to maintain a level of artistic and commercial achievement worthy of our predecessors.