I make two versions of mandolins—a scroll head type, and a standard head type—both based on the old Lyon & Healy instruments built about eighty years ago. I was originally attracted to the design because of it’s asymmetry. I particularly liked the stylized scroll peghead.
I’ve made a number of structural changes from the old design borrowing from some of the advancements made in mandolin design from the Gibson F models. One major difference is that, on my instruments, the fretboard is elevated over the face of the instrument allowing for a more responsive face.
Also, rather than have a simple cross brace directly under the sound hole, I have an offset X brace as found in high end acoustic arch top guitars. I’ve retained the ebony center strip that runs down the center of the neck but I have added ebony points whereas the originals just had the ribs meet at the edges. I made that change after looking at a number of the old original models and noting that many of them had sides that were opening at that critical area.
Arching of the plates is mainly determined by what the wood tells me as I’m carving it but it comes close to that found on the Lloyd Loar Gibsons. However, my graduations are generally a bit thinner. I attribute that to the Red spruce I use for the top and the X brace design. The result is an instrument that blends the sweetness normally attributed to Gibson’s A models and the volume and punch of their F models.
| Scale length: | 13 7/8" |
|---|---|
| Overall length: | 25 3/4" |
| Width: | 10 1/4" |
| Depth: | 2 1/2" (approx.) |
The instrument featured here was built for a customer who lives in Japan and wanted a scroll identical to the old Lyon & Healy mandolins. This model also features a propriety cast “Banner” tailpiece.
Base price of this instrument is $5400.
“My Hirsch mandolin is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever owned. When I first got it, I literally spent hours just looking at it, turning it this way and that, marveling at the subtle complexity of the shapes. And it doesn’t hurt that it has a sweet, sweet sound. It just rings.”—Davey Leslie
The instrument pictured here is the one Keb’ Mo’ commisioned me to build after I delivered his Dreadnought guitar. While I don’t get many requests for the scroll peghead—probably because it adds so much time to the building process and the resulting cost—my take on the standard peghead works well with the body design. Keb’s instrument has decorative purfling on all the binding, but I am often asked to build this instrument with simple ebony binding. This retains a very clean look without adding to the cost as on a purfled instrument . Also, a standard cast Allen tailpiece is used. This instrument has all the same dimensional statistics as the scroll model.
Base price for this instrument is $4,600.
About a year ago, I had the pleasure of talking to the apprentice who worked directly under Mr. Zorsi, the original Italian designer of the Lyon and Healy mandolins. Along with sharing some building tips that I had to promise not to share, he did give me one tidbit that I can share. He told me that it wasn’t by chance that this mandolin looks a bit inspired by violins. In fact, some of the originals even had soundposts in them!
