2006 Lyn Elder F-Style Carved-Top Mandolin

April 11, 2020

2006 Lyn Elder F-Style Carved-Top Mandolin

I've met Lyn and worked on a few of his instruments over the years. He built this one for a friend of his back in 2006 after he moved to Bristol, VT after years on the West Coast (as I recall). It's his first and only mandolin and he based it off of a StewMac F-5-style kit project, though he upgraded the wood throughout.

I've gotta say -- for a first bluegrass-style mandolin? He really nailed it. This guy sounds a lot like a Collings, though with slightly more pop in the mids and a creamier high-end when you hear it in the room. It handles beautifully after setup, too, with a big C/V neck shape and a ~12" board radius. The owner wanted flatwound strings on it and supplied a set of D'Addario FW74s -- though I can't help but wonder how much bark this would have with roundwounds!

My only work was to give it a fret level/dress, setup, and add side dots.

Scale length: 13 7/8"

Nut width: 1 1/8"

String spacing at nut: 15/16"

String spacing at bridge: 1 1/2"

Body length: 13 5/8"

Lower bout width: 10 1/4"

Side depth at deepest: 1 3/4" +arch to top/back

Top wood: solid spruce

Back/sides wood: solid flamed maple

Neck wood: flamed maple

Fretboard: ebony