What is it that's so alluring about the primal simplicity of a flat top mandolin? We've enjoyed the custom Gyspy's Music Octave Mandolin acquired earlier this year, but Arizona-based builder Walt Kuhlman also makes a variety of stringed beauties that run the gamut, mandolin, mandola, 10-string, each individually made with care and love for wood and player. His most recent ergonomic deviation: a lovely cutaway version.

Cart these to a festival, sling on an intercontinental flight, or just play in the quiet privacy of your own front porch, the flattop appeals to Celtic, Classical, and all varieties of Cerebral Folk stylings. So versatile, so adaptable to the individual personality of the player, they seem to put the attention on the music rather than the instrument itself, like a woman's stock "little black dress" waiting for the complementing pearl necklace or diamond jewelry. Sure, they have their own subtle visible beauty, but it's the sound, the focus on the expression of the soul that makes a flattop the perfect companion.

You certainly can go as deep as you want with the cosmetics with a custom order. Some of the woods Walt used at a recent exhibit we witnessed were dazzling in their own right. From the familiar, Maple, Mahogany, Ebony, to the more exotic American Black Walnut and Purpleheart, these instruments begged to be played.

Ah... so many mandolins. So little time.