King Billy/Blackwood flattop mandolin

[peter.coombe]

This is my first instrument made from some Blackwood I purchased from Distinctive Timbers in Tasmania. I posted about this a while ago and there was some vigorous discussion about pricing, the perils of Ebay etc. I was pretty happy about the quality and the price, although it was probably some of the most expensive Blackwood I have bought, you can see why from the pictures. Not only that, but this is one of those instruments you finish and get a bit of a shock. What the .... have I done this time? Amazing sound! Bugger me, but this thing sounds better than any other I have made with this wood combination. What the .... is going on. Maybe it was the built in "feature". Features sometimes can teach us a lot! Maybe not, the bridge manufacturer changed the design slightly. Dunno, but hopefully I can reproduce it again many times!.

Peter

[GregL]

Hi Peter,

Wow! That's gorgeous!
What is the binding? - whatever it is, it looks good with the Blackwood!
How did you find the King Billy to work with?

Thanks,
GregL.

[kiwigeo]

The Master at work. Nice one Peter.

[needsmorecowbel]

Insanity...So good

Stu

[Nick]

Make no secret of the fact that I'm a blackwood fan. This feeds my habit beautifully Peter, those sides are 'lush'. Glad it sounds as good as it looks Is this a commission build or a spec? If it's a commission, lucky customer

[peter.coombe]

This is a spec build that will probably end up in the local music shop. I make one every year for the holiday season and they have all sold so far. There is a huge influx of tourists from Sydney and Melbourne straight after Christmas and they have more money than the locals.

The bindings are Indian Rosewood. Yes it does go well with Blackwood and is easy to bend. Gidgee and Ivorywood also look great with Blackwood, but Ivorywood is virtually impossible to get and Gidgee is not so easy to bend so I use Indian Rosewood in the flattops to keep the labour costs down.

The King Billy is nearly 20 years old. I drained the bank account on King Billy when they were still logging it because it was obvious the supply was not going to last much longer. Still have plenty left. That piece is an exceptionally good piece, clean and with the growth rings dead vertical. It came from a plank that was knotty on one side so I could not use it for an arch top mandolin, but the other side is great for a few flattops. It might be the reason why the instrument sounds so good.

[rocket]

Beautiful job Peter, the Blackwood is absolutely superb,, salivating just looking at those pics.
Rod.

[peter.coombe]

I have just done some sound clips. Here they are -

http://petercoombe.com/for_sale/Mandoli ... hiquin.mp3

http://petercoombe.com/for_sale/Mandoli ... rnpipe.mp3

http://petercoombe.com/for_sale/Mandolin177/bsa.mp3

http://petercoombe.com/for_sale/Mandolin177/rrtd.mp3