New A-4 Mandolin In The Works

[Lawn Jockey]

I am having Howard "Sonny" Morris build me a pretty special A-4 mandolin.

It will have a hard Western Red Cedar top, Brazilian rosewood back and rims, a solid (one piece) Brazilian rosewood neck and headstock, and a radiused Striped Ebony fingerboard. I have chosen Schaller Gold A tuners and a James (Gold) tailpiece. The top will have a subtle burst and the back, rims, and neck/headstock will be clear....all nitro finished.

The wood choices and the oval soundhole should lend itself nicely for Celtic influenced and folk music.

I was lucky enough to find a supplier who had an entire Brazilian log, and all three pieces will be cut from the same log (which is tagged 1947).

Howard "Sonny" Morris Mandolin Sessions interview, August 2008 (http://www.melbay.com/mandolinsessions/aug08/Mendel.html)

I will update this thread like I did for the last custom build with pictures of the raw billets.....all the way through completion.

[MikeB_18]

:eek:

Wow, sounds amazing! I look forward to hearing about and seeing the build.

[Lawn Jockey]

Mike, I should have detailed pics of the Brazilian by Friday afternoon. I'll post them as well as the Red Cedar that Sonny has set aside for me.

[walterw]

i have never seen rosewood used on a "real" mandolin. what does it tend to do sound-wise?

[Lawn Jockey]

i have never seen rosewood used on a "real" mandolin. what does it tend to do sound-wise?

Walter, AFAIK Martin used Brazilian rosewood on some of their flat-backed mandolins in the 1920's. The Martins sounded great but were not very loud (this was due to Martins style of building....they are NOT mandolin makers). Barry Kratzer (Bulldog Mandolins) built an F-5 with Brazilian back and rims, and an Adirondack spruce top and said the thing absolutely killed.

My take is that the BR will provide enough bark and extremely good note separation. I chose (hard) Western Red Cedar for the top for a "warmer" sound. I have already been told it will be a cannon. It will be excellent for the type of music we play and write (not bluegrass). I have been known to capo up to the third fret to get a little bite....this should do the trick.

Some more specs:

Bone nut
.080 fret wire
Brazilian armrest
Tone bar bracing

I will have pictures of the Western Red Cedar up later today...and I might have the pics of the BR billets too (hopefully).

The build will take about 8 weeks once Sonny gets the BR in shop.

[Lawn Jockey]

To hold you over, here is a slide show of the build of my Morris A-5 (http://www.slide.com/r/-IVNpkyl5D8ajm88ri_BV4F1iB6adaPy?previous_view=lt_e mbedded_url).

[walterw]

that morris A-5 is dead sexy! (i'm partial to bluegrass-grade A-styles.)

so that A-4 will likely be loud, throaty and sustainy, but not too bright, almost like a micro acoustic guitar? that would indeed be cool for that folk/celtic cittern vibe.

[Lawn Jockey]

so that A-4 will likely be loud, throaty and sustainy, but not too bright, almost like a micro acoustic guitar?

Walter, that's what I'm hoping for. I really think it'll hold it's own in any style music but will absolutely be suited for the type of music I/we play.

I have been told that the projection of sound should be huge due to the BR back.....and the oval sound-hole.

[PHLOW]

A flitch-matched BZ RW Mando-wow, can't wait to see pics of this one!

[Lawn Jockey]

I am having another custom Morris mandolin made. It is going to be an A-4 with Brazilian Rosewood back, rims, and a one piece Brazilian neck/headstock. The top is (hard) Western Red Cedar. Other specs include:

.080 Fretwire
Radiused Striped Ebony Fingerboard
Radiused Ebony Bridge
Schaller A Tuners (Gold)
James Tailpiece (Gold)
Bone Nut
Brazilain Rosewood Arm-Rest
Ebony Strap Pins
Tone Bar Bracing
Dovetail Neck Joint
Vintage Sunburst Top
Clear back, rims, and neck/headstock
Nitrocellulose Lacquer

It should be nice.....it should be a CANNON.......and there won't be ANY bluegrass played with it.

So, here are the first three pics of the Brazilian I have chosen......I will post pics of the Striped Ebony.....and Western Red Cedar in time....(maybe a couple of weeks down the road yet).

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/weleetkaoutlaws/Morris%20A-4%20SS%20Brazilian/BrazilianOne.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/weleetkaoutlaws/Morris%20A-4%20SS%20Brazilian/BrazilianTwo.jpg

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s314/weleetkaoutlaws/Morris%20A-4%20SS%20Brazilian/BrazilianThree.jpg

The Brazilian is still at the supplier.....and have to be sent to Howard.....then I'll get the other pics up.

[MikeB_18]

Looks good. I know I've never played a rosewood backed mandolin, let alone Brazilian, I can only imagine what it'll sound like. I love it for acoustic's and I know it's got to be loud.

Thanks for posting the pics and keep us updated!

[Lawn Jockey]

I'm not fond of the swirly features in this Brazilian.....but I do like the color. I also like the "birds head" figure (the knot is the eye).....it will be unique.

I'll try to get a picture up later of the whole log.

[MikeB_18]

I'm not fond of the swirly features in this Brazilian.....but I do like the color. I also like the "birds head" figure (the knot is the eye).....it will be unique.

I'll try to get a picture up later of the whole log.
A really nice piece of Brazilian is going to be tough to come across and stump wood always seems to be swirly. I'd have to see it cut and bookmatched to make sure I liked the look but I think it'll be okay.

Is that the only piece you have to choose from?

[Lawn Jockey]

A really nice piece of Brazilian is going to be tough to come across and stump wood always seems to be swirly. I'd have to see it cut and bookmatched to make sure I liked the look but I think it'll be okay.

Is that the only piece you have to choose from?


Well, this is definitely not stump wood....they have the entire log. I'll get the pics up later of the piece (same log) that the neck/headstock will be cut from. It has the same basic figure...........

I have a couple of other sources for the BR, but both ARE stump wood.....and show the glaring obvious signs of it. If it were for fingerboard alone I wouldn't mind. For back/rims that's a different story.

This older stuff is getting harder and harder to find. One guy wanted to sell me a shipping crate made out of BR that had nail holes in it....LOL

I'll be happy with this when it's finished. And at $800.00USD for the back/rims, neck/headstock......that's more than plenty for me.:worried