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Mandolin Evaluation
Part 1
 Evaluation involves consideration of four areas:
Part 1: Construction
While construction isn’t everything,
examination of a mandolin before
playing it can tell one a good deal
about its quality, its likely origins, the
philosophy of its makers, and its
possible flaws and strengths.
 Wood: Mandolins seem to come in a wide range of wood. Various spruces
for the top. Usually maple but also mahogany and sycamore for the backs.
Other similar woods likely substitute without much notice. No doubt an
adequate mandolin could be constructed from wood found on the street.
The more power and precision demanded, the more the wood counts.
While tonal characteristics can’t necessarily be seen, makers will generally
choose better looking wood for better instruments. Certainly a modern
production mandolin shouldn’t use pieces grafted on to lengthen a too-
short back or obvious resin pockets in a top.
  Body Wood: While lots of different woods have been used, mandolin
bodies less the top are usually made of maple. Maple is typically fairly hard
wood, adding brilliance to the sound. Other woods (e.g., mahogany,
poplar, sycamore) generally give a softer sound that works well in some
styles requiring or using a less punchy response. Maple in mandolins
typically has pronounced "figure" of great beauty. Most use flamed maple,
but quilted and birdseye maple are spectacular as well. Flamed or curly
maple exhibits tiger stripes. Quilt patterns look like a patchwork or like
intersecting sets of waves. Birdseye figuring looks like lots of little eyes in
the wood. A given piece of wood may exhibit all of these figure types.
Figure doesn't have anything to do with tone.

For intense, powerful play, the moderately firm maples from North America
and Europe are generally best. Put Bosnian and Italian maple at the top. In
North America, put Northern Red Maple up there, and perhaps put hard
sugar maple at the top. A warmer, softer instrument is often made of poplar
or big leaf maple. Oriental maples are a bit of a mystery, but some are
clearly superior tonewoods.

Backs can be made of one piece of wood or two pieces bookmatched. It
doesn't make any difference. Neither does the cut of the wood make a
great deal of difference so long as the maker works to wood characteristics
as well as numbers. Perhaps at the highest levels, quartersawn wood with
grain reeds perpendicular to the back's plane may be better because it
offers the greatest stiffness for a given mass. But this is far from certain.
  Top Wood: Spruce is strong for its weight and vibrates easily, making it
ideal for the top. Good spruce gives the right balance of warmth and
projection. For intense, powerful play, good quality alpine spruce from
Europe and red spruce from North America seems preferred. Sitka and
Engelmann also work fine. For student instruments, I suspect that Home
Depot pine might work fine if selected really carefully. In very general
terms, uniform 1 mm to 1.5 mm spacing seems to consistently sound nice
and respond well, but the exceptions are legion.
  Construction Types and Methods: Construction generally falls into the
traditional versus innovative. The traditional methods are well known. Hand
carving all parts. Hand fitting the neck into the body via a dovetail joint. Use
of acoustically transparent hide glue. Brushed on finish leveled with
abrasives and compounds. Many mandolins are still made this way, or
have minimal innovations applied.

Innovative methods include computer controlled machining, sprayed on
finishes, and simplified neck joints. For example, a computer controlled
carver can get a mandolin plate very close to finished in short order. Necks
may be bolted on with a simple tenon & mortise.

One has to wonder whether the emphasis on tradition matters much in
performance. Certainly a bolted on neck is easier to work with should
problems arise. But there’s great attraction to traditional techniques. While
the carved mandolin is a relatively new thing (at least compared to violins),
the methods used in the 1920s draw directly from those used for hundreds
of years. Given the troubles that sometimes arise with new approaches
after a few decades, sticking to proven methods isn’t unreasonable.
  Construction Quality: A smooth glossy finish can cover a wide range of
glitches. A rough, hand laid varnish finish may highlight crisp smooth knife
work. Thus the first glance may not tell all. Examine the outline of the
instrument. Look for glitches in the smooth flow of lines. Examine wood to
wood joints. Binding. The details of inlay. Look inside with a mirror if you
can. Then consider whether the construction is the result of marginal
quality control on a production, the product of skilled hands working by
eye, or a result of machining processes. Sloppy construction generally
suggests future problems. Distinguish wood construction from finish.
Usually different people are applying the finishes. And different tastes
govern finishes. But bad construction is bad construction.

Consider, too, that many in the US have become accustomed to glossy
precision as a mark of quality. This isn’t really the way to look at hand work.
In the violin world, one expects to see a surface finish on the wood made
with a sharp scraper. Knife cuts often remain visible to a keen eye. These
are good things. Anyone can smooth a surface with sandpaper, but dust
gets jammed into the wood and hurts the translucency of the finish.
  Fittings: A good mandolin should have reasonably good quality fittings.
The tailpiece should function easily. If it has a cover, the cover should
come on and off without trauma. This is worth checking. The tuners should
be strong and well made, rather than cheaply stamped ones with lots of
slop. The bridge should be strong, well made, without lots of slop anywhere.
  Finishes: Mandolin finishing systems seem to fall into either nitrocellulose
lacquer or the wide range of concoctions called “varnish.” Varnish seems
to be more highly regarded for tone, but is softer. Varnish is very nice, and
the inevitable wear generally looks good. Mandolin makers don’t seem to
care about wood treatment, sealers, ground coats, and the numerous
other aspects that violinmakers obsess over. In my experience, varnished
mandolins have a more sophisticated sound and slightly more supple
response.

Proceed to part 2: | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 |
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