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Thanks for checking out my site. First, let me tell you that I don't build mandolins for a living. I own and operate Appalachian Music Shoppe in Boone, NC. I built my first mandolin in 2001. I became interested in building my own after I was unable to find a mandolin that sounded like I wanted it to. Mostly, what I found were mandolins that sounded good on the treble side but were weak on the bass side. Also, the chop chords were not loud and woody. I even played some high-end Gibsons, but I was not impressed. After doing a lot of research, I discovered a method of building that relies on "tap tuning" to determine the final dimensions and thicknesses of each part of the mandolins body. It is a very tedious and time consuming process, but based on what I know, it is the only way to insure that the mandolin will sound good, with lots of volume, great tone and a loud, woody chop that won't be drowned out by the rest of the band. It is easy to understand why most builders don't tap tune. It requires a strobe tuner that costs several hundred dollars. It also requires many hours to get the parts tuned to the correct note. All of the mandolins I have built have almost identical sound. |
