This gorgeous, nearly new condition mandolin has just come back from Sound to Earth where it was rehabilitated and received a stern talking to, and now it is a super-fine example of the oval hole A-style with a Brekke two-piece ebony adjustable bridge, a “Wood Nymph” vibration dampener and a semi-circular ebony armrest which encapsulates the tailpiece. Its fingerboard is cantilevered; its black- bound ebony board is inlaid in 7 positions with small diamonds; the black overlain headstock bears a “The Weber” script logo in ivoroid and the tuners appear to be Grover (wait – did your voice rise a little bit at the end of the word – and did you take a momentary glance at that garbage can over there? If so you’re one of us) with pearloid buttons. The top is high-grade Sitka spruce finished in a light (iced tea) ‘burst, and the sides, back and neck show a modicum of curly figure.
Here are the specifications, based on (but not quoted verbatim from) the Weber website: Behold, oh itinerant pilgrim – thou wretched footworn wanderer meandering through Death Valley in the summertime wearing clothing that resembles that of the loser at a boxing contest with a hungry lion at an amphitheatre near you. We present a mandolin that is nothing less than stunning, whose l looks surpass that of a morning sunrise over the downy hills of Fort Lee, New Jersey. Indeed it is the lofty (no, not lefty) Gallatin, named after the river that runs right outside our door – well, not our door, actually, it’s their door. This model, color and capability is nothing less than beloved by musicians of all varieties (we’ll let you deal with that notion) for its punch, clarity and playability. Yea, verily, the Gallatin is an innovative instrument with traditional integrity. Its body size is that of the Traditional A but if anybody needs to refer to this as an “A-hole” they can leave the room right now. The top is hand graduated (finally, after 8 years in college) and tuned solid spruce; the sound hole – which are normally f-holes but one can special order it in the oval hole and that’s you see before you. The bracing is quite bracing, being hand-scalloped spruce tone bars; the Back/Ribs/Neck are all Maple; the peghead veneer she is Tapered A Shape in unbound ebony; the peghead inlay is of the 'The Weber' script persuasion; the fingerboard is black bound ebony; and, my dear, it is radiused; the scale length, as is standard for a mandolin, is 14”, the nut width is 1 1/8th”, the fret markers are mother of pearl diamonds, the frets (we knew you’d ask) are .080 nickel-silver; the truss rod is dual action and, like ourselves, adjustable; the color is “faded leather sunburst.” Its finish is nitrocellulose lacquer; the hardware is cast Weber stainless steel tailpiece with nickel Grover tuners; the case is the deluxe hard shell but then you knew that, the shipping weight is 12 pounds and so is my granddaughter; at least for right now. The price of a new one without any of the options that this proud beauty displays is, usually, $1,659 and then add the adjustable bridge, the shaded finish, the armrest and the fact that it shows virtually no sign of use at all. It is a bah-gin at. . . .