2004 Will Parsons F5 Mandolin

(Serial No. 210704) Will Parsons has been hand building mandolins in West Virginia for decades, mostly using locally harvested tonewoods. He has figured out how to make them sound right. This one has a dark sunburst finish, walnut back and sides, spruce top, flat ebony fretboard with a 1 1/8 inch nut, abbreviated fretboard to eliminate pick click, Schaller tuners, and a pearl logo. Like many southern US mandolins, the finish has been removed from the back of the neck to help speed the picking. Its fitted with a new Cumberland Acoustic bridge but the original bridge built by Will is in the case pocket. The frets were dressed and the mandolin was just set up by my luthier Jerry Ray. The big scroll on the peghead has been professionally reglued and the mandolin shows minor playing wear and the usual nicks and dings of an instrument used to make music. Good volume and tone, nice cut and drive with the walnut giving a tone a little darker than a maple back mandolin. Comes with a nice shaped hardshell case.

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