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Mandolin Body Shapes and Sound Holes

Mandolin Body Shapes and Sound Holes

By Michael Eck The simple fact of the matter is that you can play anything you want on your Weber mandolin, regardless of which you’ve chosen. If your hands are ready and you’ve done your homework and you have the right attitude, you can play jazz, bluegrass, folk, klezmer, classical, whatever you please. But it’s also true that certain body shapes and sound hole configurations lend themselves to specific musical modes, and tradition, too, plays a hand in how your eye hears...

The New Weber: Deflection Testing

The New Weber: Deflection Testing

The Weber team is focused on crafting the best playing and sounding traditional mandolins. As part of this process, they have developed and implemented a new deflection testing program at the custom shop in Bend, Oregon. It’s just one of the new advancements contributing to the best sounding and playing Weber mandolins we've ever built. DEFLECTION TESTING Stiffness of wood is very important in determining the sound quality and long-term stability of an instrument. Wood from the same...

Meet the Craftsmen: Ryan Fish

By Michael Eck Ryan Fish is the man who signs your new Weber mandolin. Look inside, there on the label, in a confident flourish, “inspected by Ryan Fish.” “I’m happy to sign our instruments,” Fish beams, joining a tradition sometimes spoken of in hushed tones. “I feel really good about it. I’m so confident in the job that everyone is doing here at Weber.” But Fish doesn’t start the day signing mandolins. Arriving at 6 a.m., he’ll be...

Lloyd Loar

Lloyd Loar

By Michael Eck Lloyd Loar. There are few words spoken with such reverence in the mandolin world; few names uttered in such hushed tones. As a popular touring musician, Loar already had a long artistic association with The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Manufacturing Company by the time he’d become an official contractor in 1919. Among Loar’s titles at the Kalamazoo facility was that of acoustic engineer. His deep studies and extensive performance work gave Loar a singular insight into the...

Behind the Scenes: Get to know owner Tom Bedell

Behind the Scenes: Get to know owner Tom Bedell

By Michael Eck The tale of Tom Bedell is unique in the world of music manufacturing, and for many reasons. Tom was, as he likes to say, the youngest person ever to show at the bi-annual National Association of Music Merchants gathering; and also, the longest to stay away! Bedell, with his wife Molly, heads Two Old Hippies, which embraces a flagship lifestyle store in Nashville as well as Bedell Guitars, Breedlove Stringed Instruments and Weber Fine Acoustic Instruments in Bend, Oregon. The...

Your Weber Mandolin

Your Weber Mandolin

By Michael Eck Bend, Oregon. It’s a growing city of 90,000, nestled in the shadow of the snow-capped Cascade Mountains. Juniper trees line the streets, scenting the air with cedar and gin. A sense of community, communion even, is evident everywhere, with nature and with people. Small, simple, beautiful homes reflect the region’s past as a logging town; modern sculpture dots the roundabouts that direct traffic flow. It’s a place of craft breweries, live music, outdoor sports...

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