We've been infatuated with some of the design prowess of SoCal builder, Steve Sorensen, including the commissioning of our own signature Sorensen Sprite JM. His latest detour has been a new vision of the headstock on a glorious 2-point, aptly name the FX Blade:

His thoughts published in a recent Mandolin Cafe thread:

A fancy "strap holder" which was sleek and modern but maintained F body balance.
A built-in armrest as found on many new guitars designs.
"3-D binding" which highlighted the form of the instrument, protected the edges and didn't require bending plastic.
A headstock which was attractive, had F-style mass but was sleek and didn't get complicated with scroll work.
Comfortable tuning and easy neck adjustment. (The prototype has Alessi tuners and a two-way truss rod.)
Tone and playability in the "modern-bluegrass" mode with a powerful chop and clear, even response across the neck.
A James tailpiece modified to fit the style of the build.

Read more:
Sorensen SXS mandolin
Blueburst Sorensen Sprite JM mandolin
Sorensen Strings

Posted by Ted at May 13, 2015 5:58 AM