Mandolins Luthiers

Johann D. Brentrup handcrafts mandolins using Engelmann, West Virginia Red, German, and Italian spruces, and maples ranging from well-flamed to finest old tonewood. He offers six models, including Model 21, Brentrup's rendition of the "A" style mandolin.

The standard models are bound in tortoise shell celluloid, resulting in a beautifully understated instrument. Ivoroid binding is an option for a strictly traditional mandolin. The website includes a sound samples page with demos of five mandolins.

Liddy Mandolins are hand crafted from the finest wood available. They offer two different models: the F Style and the A Style. The F Style top woods are available in Adirondack, Engelmann or Sitka spruce, and the back, sides and necks are made from American sugar or red maple. The top and back plates are individually tuned and the guitars are hand rubbed with traditional cremona or tobacco sunburst finishes. The A Style comes in blonde, cremona, tobacco or cherry sunburst, and the woods are either spruce or maple. They also have traditional Fleur de Lis headstock inlays.

The Macica mandolins are made from only the finest quality of European solid spruce and maple. Each one is hand carved and shaped to fit exact specifications. His mandolins have mother of pearls finely inlaid on the headstock, finishes of lacquer or Venetian varnish, a fully carved neck that is laminated with three fine lines on the inlay and a flat or arched fingerboard.

Jonathan Mann offers acoustic and electric mandolins. His acoustic mandolins come in three styles: the A-7, the F-7, and the Two Point. They all incorporate his “neck-thru” patented construction technique. Some standard features are: hand graduated tops and backs, banjo size frets and ebony fretboards. Top woods include: Sitka, Engelmann or red Spruce and curly or straight grained redwood. Back and side woods include: curly maple and quilted mahogany. His electric mandolins come with 4, 5, or 8 strings. They all have hallow bodies and are made with only the finest woods. Some standard features include: an ebony fretboard and bridge, gold hardware and abalone line style position markers. The top wood is flamed maple and the neck woods are either curly maple, walnut or maple. He also offers special features to his electric guitars such as a wrap around tailpiece.

Martin Edwards is a fine maker of mandolins.

Michael A. Lewis has five types of mandolins. The Ritz series mandolins have a body shape of an arch top guitar, but smaller. The F model is closely based on the Gibson 5 models that were made from 1922-1924. The DS model is a symmetrical 2 point body design that is made with a slim snake head headstock. The DC model is an asymmetrical 2 point body design. The custom octave mandolin is trimmed with high contrast ivoroid bindings. Top woods are available in redwood, Sitka spruce, Engelmann spruce, red spruce. Woods available for the backs, sides and necks are maple, walnut, rosewood, mahogany and bay laurel.

Dart mandolins are hand carved to create an arch-top. They make mandolins, mandolas, mandocellos, and octave mandolins. They also have three styles: F-4 style, A-5 style and F-5 style. The F-4 has flamed maple back and sides, a spruce top, an ebony fretboard, a peghead overlay and a sunburst finish. The a A-5 has a triple layer binding on the body, fingerboard and peghead. The F-5 has a spruce top, maple back and sides and diamond pattern fret markers.

Morici custom builds two styles of mandolins: Style 10 and 10-E. The style 10 is made with an x braced soundboard and hand tuned tone bars. The neck is mahogany with carbon fiber reinforcement, the fingerboard is Madagascar rosewood, the back and sides are mahogany and the bindings are handmade. The Style 10-E is an electric mandolin that is available in four or eight strings. Its top plate is maple or walnut and its tailpiece is nickel plated brass. Optional woods and materials are available.

Triggs is a fine manufacture of mandolins with Schaller or Gotoh tuners

Weber offers over 20 different models of mandolins in three different styles: the F style, the A style and the flats. They also offer many different models of mandolas, octave mandolins and mandocellos available in the same styles. Many different woods are available: spruce, Sitka, Engelmann, curly maple, mahogany and walnut.

James Wiens specializes in replicating the Lloyd Loar-signed instruments of the 1920’s. He builds three different models of mandolins: F-5, H-5 and P-5. The F-5 is a tribute to the classis master model, it has almost every detail of the original. The H-5 is a lower-tuned member of the style 5 mandolin family. The P-5 is compact and made after Piccolo.

S-5 Sawchyn scroll model mandolin, featuring traditional design, with bound ebony pickguard and cast tailpiece. The O-2 Scroll model has an oval sound hole and is a very elegant, sweet sounding instrument. The AN-84 "Beaver Tail" is a great entry level flat top and back mandolin with solid wood construction, "X" braced top, round sound hole, and a beautiful satin lacquer finish.