Chris Stanley Mandolins Article in Vintage Guitar Magazine

Written by Steve Stone - All rights reserved

At the spring Dallas guitar show I ran into Charles Johnson of Mandolin World Headquarters (www.vintagemandolin.com). He was very excited about mandolins from a new builder named Chris Stanley. Charles offered to send me a Stanley mandolin to review. About a week after the show a brand new Chris Stanley V-5 #7 ($5700 list) showed up at my door.

At first look I wasn't bowled over by the mandolin. I'm accustomed to a top-echelon level of fit and finish such as on a Gilchrist, Nugget, or Gibson Master Model mandolin. The Stanley V-5 doesn't quite get to that level of finesse. Less than perfect small details on the Stanley included a few binding edge seams, finishing around the neck button, final fret dressing, bridge and nut slotting, and overall set-up. But all these small finishing issues became no big thing once I started playing the mandolin, because it has “the sound.”

What do I mean by “the sound?” I'm referring to the tone of a vintage Gibson F-5 from the Lloyd Loar period between 1922 and 1924. Now I'm not saying that this particular mandolin sounds exactly like a vintage Gibson F-5, but it does get closer than most new mandolins I've played, including many made by Gibson. What is the Loar sound? Let me quote from a description of the Stanley furnished by Charles Johnson, “Now, there's two camps on mandolin sound. The Loar F5 was made to play in ensembles, so it has a good midrange as well as bass and treble. Many modern mandolins are looking for a deep woody woof on the bottom, sometimes decent trebles, but usually lack in the mids.” The Stanley V-5 has the definition and projection through its midrange that I strongly identify as “the Loar sound.”

How does Chris Stanley get his new mandolin to sound so Loar-like? He sweats particular details. Chris has owned several Loars and Ferns, so he has spent many hours playing and examining them. He begins with the right kinds of wood – red Adirondack spruce for the top, big leaf maple for the back and sides, and ebony fingerboard, bridge, and headstock overlay. Stanley only makes varnish finished mandolins. He starts with lightly brushed on oil varnish and then uses hand rubbed spirit varnish for the final coats. Instead of spraying on his sunbursts he uses a combination of hand rubbing and spray, which gets results closer to the hand-rubbed sunburst on vintage Loars.

Instead of using book-matched tops Stanley purposely uses pieces that have tighter grain on the treble side than the bass side. He feels this gives his mandolins more even response, as well as being more historically correct. Many vintage Loars also sport non-book-matched tops. Another particular detail found on most vintage Loars involves their neck set, which is ever so slightly off-center. Some experts believe this was a random feature caused by variability in the neck-set jigs, but others, including Stanley, believe it was done on purpose to better balance with the scroll. Naturally Stanley's mandolins all incorporate the slightly off-center angle.

Most mandolins are assembled so when properly intonated their bridges line up with the center V of their f-holes. On Stanley mandolins bridges sit slightly behind this V. Again, this was done on purpose because Stanley believes this makes for a more balanced midrange. He explained to me that it is relatively easy to change this intonation point by moving the fretboard and nut slightly back toward the body, but very few builders bother.

After having the mandolin for about ten days I realized I wasn't going to be able to let it go, so I bought it. Soon after I sent it to repairman Bryan Kimsey (www.bryankimsey.com) for some minor alterations and fine-tuning. I bought a set of specially made Grover mandolin tuners from Gibson that can be easily installed to replace the Schaller tuners that came with the Stanley. The Schallers aren't bad, but I prefer the higher turning ratio and smaller tuning knobs on the Grovers. I also had Bryan remove the last seven frets on the fretboard extension and replace them with slivers of wood in the fret slots. This eliminates pick-click against the frets while maintaining the stock vintage look. To set up the mandolin optimally required removing all of the original frets, planning the fretboard slightly and installing all new frets. At the same time Bryan replaced the nut and refitted the bridge base.

When the Stanley returned, a little over a week later, it played much better. Fortunately it also sounds the same as I remembered from before its trip to New Mexico. Compared to my Gibson Varnish Fern the Stanley has a drier tonality, especially on chop chords. Both instruments have roughly the same amount of bass and treble, but the Stanley has more midrange energy. Compared to my Wiens mandolin, which is the richest darkest sounding mandolin I own, the Stanley has less bass, but far more midrange and slightly greater upper frequency extension. Each of these three mandolins possesses a distinctive and beautiful voice, and depending on the situation and music, each has its place.

For the past month the Stanley V-5 has been my primary bluegrass mandolin. I've used it both on stage and in jams. Its dry tone, powerful projection, and playing ease makes it a joy to play. While not for perfectionist collectors, Chris Stanley V-5 mandolins do deliver everything a serious mandolin player needs, at a very reasonable price. For more info about his instruments you can contact Chris Stanley by email at landho@g2a.net.

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