The Gladstone Mandolin
Gladstone Mandolin
A Mandolin with 362mm Scale Length and 12 Frets to the body. It is a combination of Flat Top and Carved Mandolin design. The soundboard is semi-carved. The top is partially carved, but the underside is flat. Neck angle is set higher than a flat top instrument, but not as high as a carved one.
This Mandolin S/N Mando-EIRW003 was made by hand using the Materials and Processes listed below.
Back and Sides - East Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)
A world renowned tonewood, becoming more difficult to acquire. This set has the typical dark purple, brown hues, with near perfect straight grain. East Indian Rosewood has been used extensively on Musical Instruments since the mid-1960s as a substitute for the now-endangered Brazilian Rosewood.
Sound Board - Adirondack Spruce (Picea rubens)
Adirondack or Red Spruce is considered by many to be The Holy Grail of Soundboards. With too many desirable qualities to list all here. Just to mention a few, It’s louder with a higher ceiling volume, and more dynamic than Sitka Spruce and has less distortion when played aggressively.
Soundboard Bracing – Australian Designed ‘H’ Style
The Bracing elements are Sitka Spruce reclaimed from an old upright Piano.
Back Bracing – Traditional Cross Braced
The Cross Bracing elements are Sitka Spruce reclaimed from an old upright Piano.
Bindings, Headstock, Bridge, Fretboard - Ebony (Diospyros spp.)
Jet black, hard-wearing with a tight interlocking grain make this species ideal for these applications.
Headstock Rear – Birdseye Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii)
Bridge Style – Adjustable Floating Bridge “Brekke Bridge”
An Ebony Floating Bridge with a height adjustable saddle. The height can be set using the supplied 1.5mm Allen Key.
Neck - American Curly Maple (Acer spp.)
Curly Maple is an imported wood, one of the most popular woods for instruments. It is very stable and can be visually stunning. This neck has been cut, rotated, and rejoined effectively making it quarter sawn, increasing its strength and giving it that tiger stripe appearance.
Tail Piece–Gold Plated Brass
Gold Plated Gibson Style Tail Piece.
Tuners- Gotoh Mandolin Tuners
Exceptional high-quality tuners and recognized as such around the world,
15:1 ratio with Pearl Buttons.
Nut and Saddle - Northern Territory Water Buffalo Horn (Syncerus caffer)
The Nut and Saddle are handmade and fitted into their respective locations. The saddle is a firm fit into the Bridge but can be removed if needed. It has a line scribed along the soundhole face; this indicates the orientation of the saddle in the bridge. The instruments intonation has been set using the saddle, so it’s important that the saddle goes back with the correct orientation. The Nut has been slotted to suit the as fitted Strings. The Nut is also a firm fit; a small amount of CA glue has been put under it to hold it in place while changing strings.
Strings – D’Addario Stainless Steel
Strings are an important part of the sound structure. We have tested numerous different string types on our Instruments and found that on our Mandolins, D’Addario EFW74 ‘Flat Wound Stainless Steel” Strings far outperform any others, giving a Bright, Balanced and Full sound with loud powerful projection.
Finish - Hand Polished High Gloss Nitro Cellulous Lacquer
A hardwearing lacquer that is chemical resistant and easily repaired. Approximately 20 coats of Lacquer are applied over a 10-day period, after a week curing time, the lacquer is hand levelled using wet/dry sandpaper, micromesh pads and finally buffed to a mirror finish.
Pick-up System – KnK Two Spot Transducers feeding into a MiSi Battery-less preamp.
The preamp for this system uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme - allowing for the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. A 60 second charge using the Mi-Si Power Charger provides 16 hours of play time.
A Mandolin with 362mm Scale Length and 12 Frets to the body. It is a combination of Flat Top and Carved Mandolin design. The soundboard is semi-carved. The top is partially carved, but the underside is flat. Neck angle is set higher than a flat top instrument, but not as high as a carved one.
This Mandolin S/N Mando-EIRW003 was made by hand using the Materials and Processes listed below.
Back and Sides - East Indian Rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia)
A world renowned tonewood, becoming more difficult to acquire. This set has the typical dark purple, brown hues, with near perfect straight grain. East Indian Rosewood has been used extensively on Musical Instruments since the mid-1960s as a substitute for the now-endangered Brazilian Rosewood.
Sound Board - Adirondack Spruce (Picea rubens)
Adirondack or Red Spruce is considered by many to be The Holy Grail of Soundboards. With too many desirable qualities to list all here. Just to mention a few, It’s louder with a higher ceiling volume, and more dynamic than Sitka Spruce and has less distortion when played aggressively.
Soundboard Bracing – Australian Designed ‘H’ Style
The Bracing elements are Sitka Spruce reclaimed from an old upright Piano.
Back Bracing – Traditional Cross Braced
The Cross Bracing elements are Sitka Spruce reclaimed from an old upright Piano.
Bindings, Headstock, Bridge, Fretboard - Ebony (Diospyros spp.)
Jet black, hard-wearing with a tight interlocking grain make this species ideal for these applications.
Headstock Rear – Birdseye Huon Pine (Lagarostrobos franklinii)
Bridge Style – Adjustable Floating Bridge “Brekke Bridge”
An Ebony Floating Bridge with a height adjustable saddle. The height can be set using the supplied 1.5mm Allen Key.
Neck - American Curly Maple (Acer spp.)
Curly Maple is an imported wood, one of the most popular woods for instruments. It is very stable and can be visually stunning. This neck has been cut, rotated, and rejoined effectively making it quarter sawn, increasing its strength and giving it that tiger stripe appearance.
Tail Piece–Gold Plated Brass
Gold Plated Gibson Style Tail Piece.
Tuners- Gotoh Mandolin Tuners
Exceptional high-quality tuners and recognized as such around the world,
15:1 ratio with Pearl Buttons.
Nut and Saddle - Northern Territory Water Buffalo Horn (Syncerus caffer)
The Nut and Saddle are handmade and fitted into their respective locations. The saddle is a firm fit into the Bridge but can be removed if needed. It has a line scribed along the soundhole face; this indicates the orientation of the saddle in the bridge. The instruments intonation has been set using the saddle, so it’s important that the saddle goes back with the correct orientation. The Nut has been slotted to suit the as fitted Strings. The Nut is also a firm fit; a small amount of CA glue has been put under it to hold it in place while changing strings.
Strings – D’Addario Stainless Steel
Strings are an important part of the sound structure. We have tested numerous different string types on our Instruments and found that on our Mandolins, D’Addario EFW74 ‘Flat Wound Stainless Steel” Strings far outperform any others, giving a Bright, Balanced and Full sound with loud powerful projection.
Finish - Hand Polished High Gloss Nitro Cellulous Lacquer
A hardwearing lacquer that is chemical resistant and easily repaired. Approximately 20 coats of Lacquer are applied over a 10-day period, after a week curing time, the lacquer is hand levelled using wet/dry sandpaper, micromesh pads and finally buffed to a mirror finish.
Pick-up System – KnK Two Spot Transducers feeding into a MiSi Battery-less preamp.
The preamp for this system uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme - allowing for the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. A 60 second charge using the Mi-Si Power Charger provides 16 hours of play time.