Mitch sharing his experiences with Dammann Custom Instruments and his Five-Course Mandocellos. Be sure to check out Mitch's wonderful CD, The Dancing Mandocello: https://www.amazon.com/Dancing-Mandocello-Mitch-Nelin/dp/B01N79LY7S https://www.DammannInstruments.com
A fantastic instrument!!It adds a texture like no other stringed instrument and the craftsmenship on the Dammann Mandocello is unsurpassed.
- Johnny Z of The Malibooz
Those of you who have been to a Brother Adams show know that Jairimi Driesenga and his bass, "Princess," are connected -- It's his soul. The instrument is a big part of our sound, our style, and our presence... It's hard not to notice the magic those 5-strings bring to the stage and we get questions about Princess at almost every show...
Check out Jairimi killing it here.
Learn more about the SP model, Charity, plays here: http://mandocello.org/spmodel.html http://www.mandocello.org
Hi Ralph,
Great to hear from you. The mandocello is just superb. Ray has shown immeasurable patience with me in setting it up to my picky/pesky specifications, and the instrument continues to grow richer as it's played in. It has such an amazing, rich tone, with excellent clarity and note separation. An absolutely luscious tone color and terrific response. I'm using a lot of superlatives here because I've played a lot of high-end acoustic instruments in the last 40-or-so years, and your five-course mandocello is right there at the top of the list. The skill that Ray put into the top just makes it sing--Sitka and mahogany is a marvelous, time-tested pairing, and the bear claw provides that extra stiffness to take what would have been a great top and push it toward spectacular. But it's not just the wood, it's Ray. He did some serious voodoo with the carving and the bracing of that top. And using a fixed bridge instead of the standard tailpiece really connects the instrument with itself. There's no wasted, reflected tone there; the inset bridge lets the notes germinate on themselves and affords a more organic, holistic sound--it's something that comes from within the instrument, not something that is thrust upon it by a clanky metal tailpiece. Ray Varona is a true top-tear craftsman, and that's not even getting into his visual aesthetic, which I could write a page about. In short, I couldn't be more pleased.
Best,
Jamie Miller
You can hear Jamie playing some of his compositions here:
Stride,
Field Of The Lord
Cathedral
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