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From: Carl Dickey Hi Folks, About a week ago, I received Peter Coombe's latest effort. It's an A5 with a Swiss Pine top. Back, sides, neck and fingerest are highly figured Tasmanian Blackwood. Rock Maple is used for the body binding. Fingerboard binding, tuner knobs and peghead overlay are in Ebony. A Brekke bridge, and a Price tailpiece were included as was a Presto case. How we came to select this particular combination of timbers is a fairly long story, but suffice to say that we put a fair amount of thought into it. The selection of the Brekke bridge was also a calculated decision. The process we went through to specify my mandolin was interesting, educational and left me with the feeling that I contributed to the creation of a unique instrument. The instrument is an extraordinary piece of work in my opinion. The Tasmanian Blackwood back is beautifully matched with great figure. Peter finishes his mandolins with French polish which in my opinion brings out the best in the timbers. The Ebony fingerboard, fingerboard binding, peghead overlay, and tuner knobs are in striking contrast to the gold hardware and red/gold coloration of the Blackwood. Needless to say, it looks damned nice and I'll put some photos up of it in the near future. It's the best sounding, best playing mandolin that I've ever experienced. The intonation is just superb. Peter says that this is the loudest mandolin that he has ever built. It is certainly theloudest mandolin I've played. All strings are very balanced. The G string is rich. The E string sings brightly. D & A strings sound just as good. This evening, the instrument really opened up. It sounds incredible. Peter Coombe builds great mandolins. I feel that his prices are very reasonable. Last I heard, his waiting list was surprisinglyshort. I highly recommend him to anyone looking for a very high quality, custom built mandolin. Thank you Peter!
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Disclaimer - any individuals suffering from MAS read the rest of this mail at their own risk! Hi all! The day arrived. It started like any other - I got up, had coffee and breakfast and went to work. Then it all changed. I got paged from the office at 10:45 - there was a parcel waiting for me, "and its damn big". With great trepidation, I went to the office, and there was a big box there, with the wonderful words "Fragile: musical instrument" written by hand on the side. This was it! I carried the box back to my office, and carefully pulled off the case. Inside, packed in foam, foam balls and plastic was a white Presto case. Inside a mandolin. A Coombe mandolin. Number 83. This mandolin is AWESOME! Its an A style, oval hole mandolin. Top is Engelmann, the back and sides gorgeous flamed rock maple. Ebony fingerboard and trims. A spectacular Birdseye maple pickguard. Gold hardware, Brekke bridge, Abalone inlays. The construction is fantastic, and it looks like it shouldn't be played! I will take more photos soon, but for now there is a photo here: Now I said it looks like it shouldn't be played. But it should. And it will. And it has! And the sound? Like it looks - FANTASTIC! It is very clear, and has great sustain - as my wife puts it "Its heaps louder and sounds nicer than your old mandolin". It is very strong in the base, and I can get the G strings to distort slightly if I hit them *really* hard. The treble doesn't have the same strength, but rings like a bell. The tone is not as rich as some mandolins I have heard, but it is up there - and I expect this to develop with time. This is a keeper, I love it, its not going anywhere! I replaced my Washburn mandolin with this - its definitely a big step up. I got it to play, and to have as a reference mandolin for the ones I am/going to build. This sets the bar high! Anyway, too much typing - I have playing to do! I will try for some sound files in the next week or so. To Peter - a big thanks! This is the mandolin I wanted! To anyone considering a mandolin from Peter - do it! You won't be disappointed! Matt Matthew O'Brien Mafu Designs, Web design and photography.
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