CARBON FIBER? This Mandolin Sounds GREAT!
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- Can a mandolin without wood sound this good? 🪵🪵🪵 What do you think?
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My name is David, and I play the mandolin. I've played with multiple award-winning bluegrass bands across the world including Missy Raines, Mile Twelve, Cup O’Joe, and The Foreign Landers, and I curate the weekly mandolin video series #mandolinmondays hosted by the Mandolin Cafe. But most of all, I love sharing my love of the mandolin with others. I run an online mandolin learning community on Patreon, and I also make videos to share my thoughts, ideas, and general mandolin enthusiasm with other mando aficionados. Find out more at the links below:
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I've owned and played a Mad Mix "New Millenium" F5 Carbon Fiber Mandolin for about 10 years. It was created by Pete Langdell - formerly of RIgel, in collaboration with another notable luthier: Will Kimble.
I bought it directly from Will.
It is my "B" instrument. My main thing is an A. Lawrence Smart F5 (#124)
The main reason I play it less is that it has a flat, non-radiused fingerboard.
When I bought it, I immediately took it on a trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, where is sat for a lot of the trip in a black, Reunion Blues gig bag in the trunk of rented black Camaro. Impressively, it stayed in tune and was unaffected by the Hawaiian heat.
The one thing you didn't really mention in your vid is the fundamental concept that as good as these CF instruments sound and play, unlike an instrument made of wood - a Carbon Fiber mandolin will never get better sounding with age. It is what it is and will always be.....
When and if Armageddon happens, the only things left on earth will be cockroaches, SM 57 Microphones and Carbon Fiber musical instruments.... (And quite possibly, Keith Richards...) : - )
Such a fantastic video, wow! Thanks for demonstrating our Mandolin to its' full potential! You rock!
Klos will need to thank you for the uptick in sales they’re about to have
Nice to see someone other than the manufacturer show off the sound. :)
You can hear the ting-i-ness on the low strings a bit vs the sweetness of the wood on the low strings
Been waiting for this video! So great to actually hear it... what interesting possibilities! Sounds sturdy as promised, maybe the tone a little different but such a great alternative! Thank you as always.
I own a Klos carbon fiber mandolin and absolutely love it. Traveling with it, leaving it in the car, taking it out still in tune, no harm no foul. This was an accurate video. Thanks! And what a great mandolinist!
Thanks David! Can you see yourself using the Klös in a project?
This has been my dream mandolin for some time. Someday I hope to own one.
You make it sound so good!
Peter Mix was making cool carbon fiber mandolins around 2006 to 2012 and preowned ones are still selling for about what they originally sold for. No change due to humidity or temperature. The Kios sounds great too. Thanks.
I am so jealous! Thanks David for the heads-up. I love CF stringed instruments.
They needed a really good player like you to advertise these tbh
Well, wood is a fiber made of mostly carbon, so I guess it kind of makes sense that it works. It seems to sounds much better than a mandolin made of laminated wood; it's much more resonant. It doesn't sound like a solid wood mandolin either. It has a sound all its own. I like the sustain.
Carbon fiber is made from trees that have been breaking down into goo for over 300 million years (pitch). I would guess that after processing, the fibers would be maybe 10,000 times thicker than the polymers that make up newish trees (cellulose and lignin). So, I'm going to say, no.
Carbon and carbon are very different things. Coal and diamond are both pure carbon.
@ That is true. When this channel reaches 100K subs, we need David to demo a mandolin made of diamond.
@JohnHillEU Coal is about 84% carbon.
I have seen a lot of not so great reviews on this mandolin, but when David plays it, it sounds incredible. Hmm.
I love my Northfield 4th Gen but my Klos has a pretty nice tone to me too. Also, it's quite the cannon!
4th Gen #21 owner here. Top hole mandolins, for sure. What # is yours?
Very interesting. A very well done video review and I really appreciated the side by side comparison with your Apitius. Definitely a much brighter sound but maybe not as rich of tone?
The Klos is definitely a safe investment for any hard-working road musician, although it necessarily lacks a little bit of woodiness. Great playing on "Doc Harris Hornpipe", btw (6:22), remembering the late banjo genius Jimmy Arnold.
WOW! Awesome review. The instrument sounds amazing!!
Oh, great .... Something else I want :-). Thanks for the great review. The Klos sounds great. . I can hear a difference between the two, but not a lot.
Finally we have mandolin in tune! Yes it kicks the woody one 5-0! Amazing tone and easy to play! Thank you for the review that will change the world!❤
That mando would be excellent for busking!
Beautiful and sounds great! But wow, it's expensive!
Buy your Powerball tickets.
KLOS makes excellent stuff
Wow, this sounds fantastic!
Sounds a lot better than I would have imagined and I could really hear, and agree with your characterization that the wood has more complexity to the tone. The Apitius has something that I would describe as a killer high end cut and overall just phenomenal tone but the Klos really surprised me in its power and warmth.
David, that Klos mandolin sounds awesome. Could you provide all the specs on this specific mandolin? String spacing
Thank you always wondered about these.
Thanks for this video! I’ve always been curious about carbon fiber instruments. This sounds pretty great-probably in large part to the player, but still.
You could play a fishing rod and make it sound pretty good! Bridge, nut and fretboard over a box is all they are.
I've had a rainsong graphite guitar for many years. Once you get beyond the science fiction appearance, it's a great guitar. It's not super bright or super warm - more balanced in the middle with a touch of bassiness. It's smaller than a dreadnought but louder than most. And it has all the practical advantages David mentioned: it stays in tune even if the temperature and humidity change, the action doesn't change with the season ( winters inside my house get very dry), lightweight, great volume, it's great for playing or performing outside with the weather constantly changing. And I've never used it as a hammer, but it doesn't dent when you accidentally bump it into something. I tried to preorder one of those Klos mandolins but I missed the cutoff by a week and the price almost doubled - oh well.
Thanks for that informative review, David. Have to say I was pretty surprised at the quality of the tone. It might have been interesting if you'd done the comparison with your beautiful Apitius as a blind comparison.
Thank you for this review. It sounds amazing and I want one. I have been playing MM68s for over 20 years for live work . But after owning an Emerald carbon fibre guitar for a few months I’m a convert. Would be great for flying as you say
I own one and love it. Bought the first one that the acoustic shoppe had
Great review. I’ve been loving my Klos cf mandolin since getting it. I’ve a Northfield big mon that rocks as well, and like you mentioned both tones have a place for playing. Agree it’s super light, thin top, comfortable neck and heel joint. Don’t recall if you’d mentioned the stainless steel frets. Here’s hoping lack of truss rod causes no problems in the future although supposed to have lifetime warranty. I must admit yours sounds better but I suspect it’s player dependent!
Big Mon owner here too. Is your BM a regular or wide nut? How does the standard nut width of the Klos compare? How about the neck profile? Similar or radically different? Thanks!
it sounds fantastic!
So glad you did this review! I was curious to know what you would think of it, and your mics captured the in-person sound of it very nicely 👌your Bach sounded so good. 🤌
Could you speak more about its volume and projection? How do you feel it would hold up in a bluegrass jam? Is it quieter or louder than your wood mandolin?
Very nice instrument!! It is a beauty. A little softer in tone than the wood mandolin but still great tone
what was the tune you played to dimo the ease and sound on the upper frets?
That is a fine instrument! Do the guitar tuners make it peghead heavey? Maybe the heavier tailpiece off sets it some. I beieve that synthetic materials will one day prove better than wood in tone also.
It would be amazing if the neck was detachable so you could easily travel with this. The sound is surprisingly good.
Do the 8 individual tuners make head dive a bigger problem than it normally is on mandolins with 4 on a plate tuners? Thanks
Excellent review pretty much what I concluded with mine. You could say it’s different but to me it has a slightly hollow funny sound compared to that amazing f5, but kind of apples to oaranges in terms of price and use case with a pro instrument.
Crazy that Emerald refuses to make a CF Mandolin
That’s actually cool
There is simply no substitute for the tone wood brings to music. Carbon fiber is just a different , close cousin with a unfamiliar accent.🤨
Since I already am playing the violin, it's not quite hard for me to learn the mandolin. They have the same tuning EADG of perfect 5ths.
What a great review. At under $3K, this is pretty affordable, too.
standard nut width or wide?
I have heard the guitar necks start to bow and cant be adjusted due to no truss rod. hope thats not the same with the mandos
Great !!!
Is the fretboard made of carbon fiber?
I guess the carbon fibre sound is as it will always be out of the box whereas the timber mandolin going to play in and change somewhat in environments but at the end of the day what is the price difference? Anyhow im a carpenter im in love with wood so its a no brainer for me 😂❤👍👍
Wow. I've seen ukes in carbon fibre, but not a mandolin.😊
How much is stability and longevity worth to you? I got tired of dynamic wood structures and switched to carbon fiber. I’ll never go back. The tones of carbon fiber are mellow, like playing cedar instead of spruce tops. The action is low low.
I like how you're completely open-minded going into because I'm sure many players would just go into bias "no no!" mode. I think the sustain sounds a bit artificial but hey other than that it sounds beautiful. But I suppose you could play a tin can found on the street and put strings on it and make it sound heavenly.
What is the name of the tune you start at 6:25? So good!
For quality mandolins it’s priced pretty competitively. Still out of my range tho lol
It costs $2600. That's like paying more for a lab grown diamond.
Yeah it’s definitely on the pricier side. But then again, a lot of mandolins are surprisingly expensive for what they are.
SOUNDS GREAT TO ME
I hope you get a percentage for each one you sell!
Wow
What was the tune that he played first (appx 1 minute in)?
Big Sciota
To me, the wooden instrument appears to have a sharper attack and more subtle articulation. The Klos has a bit more warmth, but the midrange is too strong, especially for an A. Still, it presents a unique choice.
that action looks painfully high
It sure has newer strings than your f5
I think it’s characteristically. . . uncharacteristic. That’s totally not a bad thing. There are plenty of situations where you don’t want to stand out.
I don’t know that I’d pick it up for any features . but for sideman work it’s kinda perfect.
It doesn't sound bad at all, but I'm not a fan of the price. A bit pricey for what it is...
That sounds shockingly good for what is essentially plastic.
Yes, epoxy. Generally not recyclable.
way to expensive for me thanks for the video
I try to tell people carbon tops sound better in some ways. I have a carbon top hog b/s acoustic guitar and its the ultimate porch cannon
Did you let it sit in your front room for 24 hours before opening it? LOL!
Very nice. 😂
COMPARISON .....wood mando has a softer sound and projects off the front board more ( not from inside ,surprisingly ) and has more emotion ........ carbon fiber has a more straight forward clear tone , less emotional , (a note is a note) and a fuller deeper sound coming from inside the mando ( in a box )....... wood mando sounds more for classical or italian folk or other ethnic melodic songs ....whereas the carbon fiber sounds better for blue grass or fast pickin and loud aggressive music........sound that way at least from this end.... too bad you can't get the sus on the wooden mando ......Mark
Looks like a good beater mando for those outdoor summer gigs. Other than that...wait a minute...I just looked a their website...WAY overpriced...never mind.
What's that classical piece you played at 3:59? It sounds beautiful
Bach partita in E. It is a piece that was rescored by Bach and others for solo violin, chamber orchestra, organ, et al. All in different keys (E, D, G, A, etc. ). If he was playing the Violin version it would have been in E. The sinfonia version for a small orchestra was in D, which is a favorite of mine. It is a perfect piece to show off on the Mandolin if you can keep up with it. Very challenging with a terrific movement and melody.
I love mine! Here's a video of me playing it.
ruclips.net/user/shortsaIdl0Mb5Hds?si=V5hRHNS9vq_TNEQK
Just don't try to ride in it to the wreck of the Titanic.
Dude …. I hated it from the second you took it out of the box.
Ugly, cold, definitely (DEFINITELY) sounds like plastic (because it is)
Wait until you see what happens with the tiniest amount of temp change.
Wood.
I have the cheapest mandolin (agonizing)...I think the carbon has more vibrant colors therefore I'd prefer it