|
Buying a custom-built mandolin is a leap of faith. Sometimes that faith is rewarded. Above is my new custom Lawrence Smart F-5. Click on the link for "Photo Albums" on the navigation list for more photos.
I first became aware of Lawrence Smart about five or six years ago through a conversation with Don Musser. I was buying some maple from Don to start building mandolins. We were discussing current builders and Lawrence was high on his list of favorites. We were talking about how much mandolins were selling for (a Gilchrist was nearly $5,000+, an amazing sum at that time). Don felt that Lawrence was building a great mandolin and was a great value. I filed that info away, since I was already waiting to receive a mandolin that I had custom-ordered from Ray Dearstone.
About two and a half years ago, I made the acquaintance of Arthur Stern and had the chance to play his two-point Smart A-style. I was smitten with both the workmanship and tone, but what really impressed me was how easy it was to play. This wasn’t just a case of good set-up or low action. Every element of this mandolin was in balance: neck angle, string tension, spacing at the nut and bridge. All the small and subtle details were dead-on and the responsiveness was outstanding.
The always-smoldering coals of mandolin acquisition syndrome started to flare. I had several long phone conversations with Lawrence and he patiently answered all my questions. Lawrence was humble to a fault, but it was also obvious he really knew mandolins. I took the plunge, placed my order with Lawrence and settled in for a two-year wait to work through his backlog. We’d pass an email or two back and forth every so often, but not much was going to happen until he was ready to start building my mandolin.
Last Spring the anticipation started to build when Lawrence contacted me and told me it was time to start getting into the details. We had a number of conversations, culminating with a trip Arthur and I made to visit Lawrence in McCall, Idaho. We had a great weekend of picking, talking mandolins and feasting on fresh steelhead.
Lawrence has been great to work with. Some luthiers strive to develop a signature sound, look and feel and to deliver that specific result consistently. Others try to faithfully reproduce modern versions of the classic Gibson Lloyd Loars. These are completely valid approaches, but Lawrence takes a slightly different tack. While working within traditional designs (hard to improve on the classic F-5), Lawrence focuses on delivering the tone envisioned by his customers. The better a customer can articulate what they’re looking for, the more excited Lawrence gets about the challenge. I can’t claim exceptional communication skills in describing mandolin tonal characteristics. I don’t think Lawrence claims to be a mind reader. However we arrived, it’s safe to say that Lawrence exceeded my expectations and hit the target dead center.
The specs on the Smart are traditional. Classic F-style design, but a few nice twists such as the smaller ebony pickguard and the ridge on the back at the upper point, (one of Lawrence's signature touches). Another nice detail is adding the Loar-style reverse side binding in addition to the more common triple-bound binding on the top and back. I snagged a set of Waverly tuners before they ceased production and that’s one of Randy Allen’s new “Traditional” cast tailpieces (highly recommended!)
I chose Engelmann spruce for the top plate. Lawrence cuts his own Engelmann near his home in Idaho. Even though I was looking for that classic Bluegrass Tone, I felt it was more important to go with the type of spruce with which Lawrence felt most comfortable. He knows Engelmann well and the results certainly prove that. This mandolin purrs when you caress it and roars when you whomp it. It’s amazing in a brand new instrument to have both the complexity, sweetness and sustain ---AND the power to cut through in a jam. What’s even more amazing is for that to be present in the same mandolin. This is a loud mandolin, and not a bit harsh or strident.
The back, sides and neck are quartersawn red maple that I purchased a couple of years ago from Old Standard Wood in Fulton, Missouri. Lawrence uses a lot of Big Leaf maple since it's local and abundant, but he thought this red maple set was great wood, so we decided to use it. For trivia buffs, this red maple set and the red maple set used by Lynn Dudenbostel for Chris Thile’s Dude F-5 came from the same log. Gotta be the wood? You can’t prove it by me---little chance of my playing being mistaken for Thile's, not to mention 30 years older and more than a few pounds extra. The maple was really heavy and dense. Of course, the great figure is obvious.
I think Lawrence’s sunburst’s are superb. The color and shading transitions are so subtle. Lawrence makes his own spirit varnish from super blonde shellac, seed lac and sandarac. He sprays the bodying coats then levels before French Polishing. Someone once told me that Lawrence builds new mandolins that look and sound old. Now, I knew that sounding old was a good thing, but looking old didn’t seem so impressive. Now I understand. The patina that develops over time on a finely finished antique contributes a great deal to its aesthetic value. Lawrence creates the same effect with a finish that has luster and depth, but none of the plastic-like gloss of lacquer.
So how does it sound? Well, just outstanding. Everything I hoped for, and more. It’s been great to hand the Smart over to some friends who are highly accomplished mandolin players, then stand in front and listen to them wail on it. One friend in particular has a very strong right hand; capable of pulling more volume from a mandolin than anyone I’ve ever heard. He has owned a number of Loars and presently has a couple of great ones. He plays them hard and they really respond and refuse to be overdriven. In his hands, they fully live up to their legendary tone. I can’t drive ‘em like he does, but he drove the Smart and it responded in kind. I was surprised the way the Engelmann responded, he played it hard but it didn’t break up at all. Lawrence told me that was where he intended to steer the tone, and that he would choose top wood that was perhaps stiffer than normally associated with Engelmann. That’s where art, knowledge and experience combine and the result to my ears is wonderful. Not much else you can say, you’ve just got to hear it.
Lawrence Smart is building world-class mandolins. That’s my opinion, but he sure proved it to me with this mandolin. I’ll never need another mandolin. No, I’m really not kidding........Seriously, I mean it............why are you still chuckling at that comment?
Check out Lawrence’s web site at: Smart Musical Instruments http://smart-instruments.com/, or click on the Link above.
cheers,
'Geek
November 2003
|
Back to Home Page