Labraid Mandolin by Brian Dean: 'Pähkinä'

I first met Brian Dean at last year’s CMSA convention in Montreal. He had recently finished construction on one of his gorgeous Roman-style instruments, and I wanted to showcase him a little bit by using his instrument in my recital, because it’s such a great thing to have world-class luthiers like him right here in North America. But mostly, I wanted an excuse to play on it a little. And I wasn’t disappointed; even hot out the oven, it had the bright, punchy response and easy playability associated with the best Emberghers. Once it played in a little bit, I was able to get a really remarkable variety of tones out of it.

Brian has a passion for all things lutherie, and an adventurer's soul. He's really sort of a paradox: his main influence was Robert Lundberg, a well-known lute maker and historian, and he has a B.Sc. in Wood Science from Virginia Tech, so he came up through all the orthodox traditions. But when we talked, he spoke only of experimentation, and what hadn't yet been done.

As a player, this was pretty great to hear. I've always felt like luthiers should remain in constant contact with players, the way politicians try to remain in touch with their constituents (to varying degrees of success!), so their designs can evolve to fit the music being made on them. As musical styles change, so too should the equipment, and so on. It makes economic sense – a luthier who understands his time will be able to offer potential buyers something which the armies of Loar-copyists can not. And it makes aesthetic sense too – if you free yourself from the constrictions of history, if “because it's always been done that way” isn't a good enough reason for you to keep doing so, then you’ll be able to come up with something truly fresh and exciting. As design aficionado (and occasional fiddle player) Darol Anger once told me, “If Stradivarius were alive today, he'd say, "You guys are still doing this?"

So when Brian offered to make me a mandolin that fit my own unique specifications, I was great guns from the off. First I sent him recordings of my favorite players, with a list of what aspects of their sounds I especially liked. Then I came up with a few general conditions:

I wanted a big, loud, dark sound, and I wanted to hear more wood than metal in the tone. I definitely wanted to forego amplification in classical chamber settings, but I also didn't want the tone to sound pushed when I drove it at fortissimo.

I wanted to be able to play it standing up.

I wanted it spec'd for coil strings, as opposed to the Thomastiks I use on my Pandini.

I wanted 27 frets.

Basically, I wanted a mandolin that sounded like a cello. And wouldn't you know – he's done it! Pähkinä is incredibly, astoundingly, brilliantly loud. She has no trouble being heard in ensembles, but yet her tone is still dark and woody, even when I really drive her. And even though she punches like a heavyweight, she still blends with anything I need her to, from harp to guitar, and even to other mandolins.