艺术家系列

北方原野 艺术家系列

Elegantly carved from our most striking materials to produce the finest aesthetics ever found in a 北方原野 mandolin. The result is several dynamic variations that exhibit consistently powerful and uniquely expressive voices. Designed to work for and rigorously tested by one 共 the most discerning genre-hopping mandolinists 共 our time, Mike Marshall. Simply put, the 北方原野 艺术家系列 mandolins are our best yet. 

Since 2007 our team has been working on design improvements for our highest-level mandolins. We have evaluated and tested our own instruments through years 共 use on the road. We have extensively studied some 共 the most impressive modern day instruments. We have taken field trips to play and listen to exceptional mandolins, working with some 共 the finest musicians and luthiers in the world. We have spent many hours handling some 共 the very best vintage examples—peering inside them with sophisticated tools used for modeling construction and collecting acoustical data. This research has inspired and led us to reimagine and refine ourselves in the 艺术家系列.

Ultimately, we know that a mandolin's voice is subjective—artistry and musicality, not laboratory hours, matter most in the end. We have not forgotten that the link between builders and players is where the soul 共 the instrument is born. We've done extensive live and recorded listening tests, developing a vocabulary to define what we're after in the tone 共 a mandolin, but we haven’t done this alone. Apparent in the name 艺术家系列, we’ve had a lot 共 help from very discerning professionals—incredibly, some 共 the most amazing mandolin players in the world.

Mike Marshall

In August 共 2014 at the Swanannoa Gathering we met Mike Marshall and quickly recognized a kindred spirit. Mike’s artistry on the mandolin, both as a performer and educator, is widely known. He’s considered by most as one 共 the best mandolin players ever. We were thrilled to see how enthusiastic he was about our mandolins. But after about 5 minutes 共 talking shop we recognized his vast understanding 共 the instrument—with adept interests in mandolin design, construction and sound analysis. For decades, Mike has been experimenting with the mandolin and much like his adventurous approach to music he has never stopped trying out new things—set-up (bridges, strings, nut materials), internal design, neck shapes and other details. He has commissioned many instruments with challenging designs and has amassed quite a collection 共 unique mandolin family instruments. He’s not afraid to wield a rasp or file to shape a neck or make a nut. Even his own iconic Lloyd Loar signed F5 that he’s played for more than 30 years has undergone many alterations to make it more responsive and play better. There was a synergy to our meeting and before we knew it we were having a research session at Mike’s California home.

Test Runs

We met at Mike’s home in California where he performed a recording test that he had used on many mandolins. It’s a way to listen to the tone, separate from volume, and pick out specific frequencies that contribute to the overall character 共 the sound. We set up a recording session in Mike’s home studio with 2 prototype 艺术家系列 Models as well as his Lloyd Loar F5. We scrutinized the tracks in our frequency analysis software. We were able to pin-point the strength and balance 共 the fundamental frequencies as well as the harmonics 共 each mandolin. The session opened our ears to the tonal character 共 these mandolins, we set some targets for improvement and went on with the next batch. We continued like this for eight months—globetrotting, testing, performing, recording, analyzing… cooking (just seeing if you’re still with us) and finally arriving at two variations to move forward with.

• 面板: Adirondack 红色, Engelmann, or Italian Alpine Spruce

• 背板 / 琴颈 / Sides: Highly Figured Maple

• 码桥 / 指板: Ebony

• 弦钮: Gotoh

• 拉弦板: Nickel-plated engraved Gilchrist/Northfield

• Binding: 面板 and Side Triple-Bound

• Pick Guard: Bound 黑色 Phenolic

• 上弦枕 Width: 1-1/8" (28mm)

• 指板 Radius: 5.7" at nut, 7.7" at 20th fret

• 漆面: High Gloss Hybrid 清漆

• Color: Dark Cherryburst, Amber, or Icelandic Brown

• 琴弦: 北方原野 Medium Phosphor Bronze

• 琴盒: Airloom Recurve

Maple and Spruce from North America and Europe, seasoned and matched in our Marshall, MI shop. Assembled and varnished in our Qingdao shop. Set up and final inspection in our Marshall, MI shop.

价格: From ¥53,964

定制 Options

• 上弦枕 Width: Wide 上弦枕 1 & 3/16" - “Adam Steffey” 1 & 1/4”

• Head Stock 镶嵌:
  Scroll Work 镶嵌 - No Charge
  Torch 镶嵌 - ¥1,800
  Deluxe 镶嵌 - ¥3,600
  "Rivers Edge" - No Charge

• 弦钮: Waverly 弦钮 - ¥3,600 Gotoh Deluxe 弦钮 - ¥2,160