On the high-desert, Oregonian woodbench of spruce and maple magician Andrew Mowry, a gorgeous two-point mandolin. It's no secret, with the amount of time invested in complexity and labor diverted into creating tone instead of the scroll (the proverbial $1200 strap hanger), Andrew feels he can offer a more affordable compromise between the F5 and A5 styles.

He tells us despite the arguable lack of solid industry consensus on tonal differences between F and A bodies, his Florentines tend to have a little more bass, and perhaps offer a tad more volume, possibly attributed to the structure of the headblock. In this case, his two-point is designed similarly so the tonal capabilities run in close company.

The veteran player will also appreciate significantly less weight because of this (and his recent switch to using carbon fibre neck reinforcement bars), adding to extended player comfort. Mowry tends to voice his two-points for jazz, which of course, put him on our radar. We're looking forward to the opportunity to review this instrument in our Builder's Spotlight after final sanding, color, finishing, and assembly in another month or two. Meantime, we have some interesting "in the white" pictures for you to enjoy:

Mowry Face
Mowry Horn
Mowry Back
Mowry Headstock

Visit website: Mowry Strings

Posted by Ted at May 13, 2007 8:20 PM