Eye candy or eyesore?

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 16 Jul 2005 4:31 pm

Waddaya think?
http://www.rigelmandolin.com/This%20week.html

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 16 Jul 2005 4:39 pm

Really, I don't think Bill Monroe would approve.

Kinda far-out for a traditional grasser, but they might be okay in a band that did "funkadelic-kelzmer-rap-spiritual" music!

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 16 Jul 2005 6:29 pm

They look like well built instruments.. I kind of like them actually! bob

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 16 Jul 2005 6:37 pm

They look like well built instruments.

Bob you are a master of understatement. Rigel makes some of the finest mandolins in the world. The are all hand made, and although some of their models are not exactly traditional, many of the Bluegrass community's top players are now playing them.

I have one myself, which I bought after my vintage Gibson broke. It is A LOT better than the Gibson was.

Mine is a traditional A shape, but it is stained blue. It is quite conservative looking compared to these, but very pretty.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 16 Jul 2005 6:45 pm

Mike, forgive my ignorance of the Rigel brand.

With the plethora of luthiers/manufacturers out there today, I probably wouldn't know more than 25% of the names anymore.. I think the Rigels pictured are pretty sharp! bob

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 16 Jul 2005 7:08 pm

.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 16 July 2005 at 10:28 PM.]

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 16 Jul 2005 8:30 pm

Forget the weird colors for a moment and just look at the SHAPE of the mandolins. Not at all traditional.

When Rigel first introduced these non-traditional shapes, they were met with a lot of resistance from the bluegrass community. That changed very quickly when people became aware of how good they are. One person described it perfectly. He wrote that the first time he saw one, he was turned off by the way they looked. The second time he saw one, he was impressed by the way they sounded, and the third time, he bought one.

Of course they also make traditional shapes and styles of mandolins as well.

Up till now, Rigel only made mandolins. The recently made their first guitar. I can't wait to see it.

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 16 Jul 2005 9:23 pm

.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 16 July 2005 at 10:28 PM.]

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 17 Jul 2005 6:03 am

I'll take the one with flames.

Larry Hamilton · Post by **Larry Hamilton** » 17 Jul 2005 6:21 am

Personally I like the sunburst look, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They are all unique and have a beauty of their own. IMHO.

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Keep pickin', Larry

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 17 Jul 2005 6:41 am

I love when luthiers and builders go beyond the traditional. They can stretch their imagination and exercise their creativity which keeps them stimulated and interested. I'm sure most of them can crank out traditional instruments in their sleep. Going outside the box keeps them thinking and on their toes.

It's good for the instrument, it's good for their business, and many times things that enhance and/or affect tone are discovered and incorporated into the building of their standard instruments.

Mike, I like your mandolin very much. The traditional A style in non traditional shaded blue. It shows that you have panache'.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 17 July 2005 at 07:48 AM.]

Terry Edwards · Post by **Terry Edwards** » 17 Jul 2005 4:27 pm

I like the wood sunburst mando - it has a unique non-traditional shape. Very cool.

The shapes that look like electric guitars are non-traditional for mandolin designs, however, they are not being creative when they look like miniature electric guitars. I don't like them. Just my taste.

The Rigel mandolins I have tried play and sound fantastic. Workmanship is outstanding.

Terry

Bruce Meyer · Post by **Bruce Meyer** » 17 Jul 2005 5:22 pm

Thanks for starting this thread, Mike. For a couple of weeks I'd been reluctantly thinking about selling my Rigel G-110. This convinced me not to. It's a great looking and sounding mando.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 17 Jul 2005 7:17 pm

Interesting instruments. I checked out the prices. I think they are overpriced. The classic features of the F series Gibson have been done away with thus making the mandolin easier to build ie. the scroll on the upper bout and the other body features that you should get with a $5K instrument. I am all for new designs and such, but when you still charge the big money for what you don't get then I don't go for that. Just my opinion.

George Redmon · Post by **George Redmon** » 17 Jul 2005 8:11 pm

Really, I don't think Bill Monroe would approve.

....if it meant a kid would learn mandolin, no matter what kind of music the kid played...yes Bill would!

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Whitney Single 12 8FL & 5 KN,keyless, dual changers Extended C6th, Webb Amp, Line6 PodXT, Goodrich Curly Chalker Volume Pedal, Match Bro, BJS Bar..I was keyless....when keyless wasn't cool....

Leigh Howell · Post by **Leigh Howell** » 18 Jul 2005 6:44 am

I think they look great!!

Leigh

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 18 Jul 2005 8:20 am

Mike, they're cool to say the least. I don't think however that they would go over very well where I live. As you know, I came from southern California and moved to southern Virginia almost twenty years ago. The bluegrass community here is very traditional and conservative in their tastes. I really miss the free spirit of the SoCal music scene and musicians. At a bluegrass show I once asked another mandolin player why the guitar, banjo, & dobro players used capos but the mandolin players didn't. I'd used one in SoCal quite a bit and it went unnoticed. He answered "It's an unwritten law". I just don't understand that mindset. My next mandolin purchase will definately be a Rigel and maybe one with a flame job. I think they're gorgeous! JH in Va.

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It's all on 12, who needs 20!

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 18 Jul 2005 8:43 am

I admit, I'm prejudiced about these mandolins. When my vintage Gibson broke, I looled at several high end brands, including Weber, Breedlove and Collings (all of which are excellent) But I felt that the Rigels spoke to me in a way the others did not. The way they felt and sounded, I don't know how to describe it, but there is something special about them.

And the mandolin playing community knows it. The company is doing very well, and thier mandolins are becomong increasingly popular, even among the ultra conservative Bluegrass community.

Bill H, with all due respect to the many luthiers who copy the Gibson F style, the scroll itself is purely decorative and does nothing to enhance the sound. What you're paying for with any mandolin is the quality of the wood, the workmanship that goes into the instruments, and the sound they produce.

In Rigel's case, the sides of the mandolins are radiused. They are carved. Most luthiers bend a flat piece of wood to make the sides. However much easier it might be to make a mandolin without a scroll, making the sides this way conpensates.

Jim Hinton · Post by **Jim Hinton** » 18 Jul 2005 10:33 am

If they sound as great as they look, heck yes, I like them a lot!

I know the traditional look is dominant, but individual taste in appearance is as important as playing styles.

In short, if the sound is good, why not have a custom appearance?

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 18 Jul 2005 4:18 pm

Here are some more pictures. Check out the "spider" at the bottom of the page.

http://jazzmando.com/rigel_custom_gallery.shtml