(Serial No. 1188) Medium red brown sunburst lacquer finish. Audey builds a fine looking and fine sounding mandolin. Build quality is top notch, as good as it gets. This is the Country Boy model RA5. The Country Boy is built the same as the top of the line A5 from Ratliff, with a satin finish, not as much trim, with a single bound top and unbound back and headstock. It still has all the design features that give Ratliffs their tone and power. This is the classic A5 style mandolin with the long neck, f holes, and the elevated ebony fretboard with dot inlays. Nut width is 1 1/8 inch. It features a flamed maple back and sides, and a maple neck. It also features a hand-carved Adirondack red spruce top and is top bound only. Tradional flat fretboard thats slightly shortened to eliminate pick click in the sweet spot. Decal logo. The previous owner added a strap button and a nice ebony pickguard, A Shatten pickup, and removed the finish on the back of the neck to allow you to play faster without sticking to the finish on those hot summer days. Fit and finish is as good as the big builders, and the sound is there. It has that woody bluegrass bark and the excellent volume and tone that these mandolins are known for. Check out the video Audey posted of this very mandolin: click here. Here is another short video clip of luthier Richie Dotson picking some bluegrass with the mandolin before it was sold. Comes with a Travelite foam hardshell case.
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