A Pair of Mandolins

Note: Over the last several years, my guitar building and repair business has taken on a small life of its own.  Requests for custom instruments and repairs have finally compelled me to create a web site specifically for my lutherie work.

Mountain Whimsy Custom Guitars

I recently completed a sort of brother/sister pair of mandolins.  The first, a Flatiron-style mandolin based on the old Army/Navy design.  The second, an octave mandolin.  Walnut back and sides, curly maple binding, ebony fingerboard and bridge, Rubner tuners.  The herringbone purfling on the flatiron adds a nice bit of bling.

I’ve long been a fan of the Army/Navy-style mandolins.  My first mandolin happened to be a mid-80’s Flatiron Mandolin built here in Bozeman, MT, many years before I moved here and started building instruments myself.  This build is certainly a nod towards those Flatirons, but with my own set of aesthetics.  

The octave mandolin was born out of a desire to add some new sounds to the acoustic trio that I play with.  Each session brings new realizations, opening an entirely new pallet of sounds and textures.

Octave and Army/Navy Mandolins.