Alan Bond and his mandolins

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Alan Bond

F-5 2007 Stan Miller
Gibson F-5 Fern 2004
F-5 1976 Stan Miller Mandolin
F-5 Blonde Bomb
5-String Electric Mandolin
Kalamzoo Mandola

Stan dropped this mandolin number 33, off for me here in Berkeley April 16, 2007. It is one of the most wonderful sounding mandolins I've ever heard. I added the fossil bone truss rod cover. To me the white cover creates a nice balance with the beautiful inlay. Stan always does nice inlays!

The Gibson F-5 Fern. Purchased Jan 1 2005

The F-5 Style Mandolin in the picture above, was new in 1976, when I purchased it from builder Stan Miller. It was Stan's forth mandolin.

At the time, Stan lived in Nevada City, California. I drove up from Berkeley to see Stan after getting his phone number from the owner of the old "Fifth String" next to Paul's Saloon in San Francisco. It was at the "Fifth String" that I had seen Stan's Third mandolin. I missed being able to buy that one.

When I first saw the mandolin, it had no finish, just plain wood. Strung up and playable. Stan was still tap-tuning it. I remember trying it out for the first time in the shade of some trees along the road standing between our parked cars.

That mandolin sounded incredible from the very first note. I told Stan that I'd like to buy it. So when he had finished making it he drove down to Berkeley to deliver the mandolin.

It has Brazilian rosewood back, sides, and neck, wood binding and Engelmann Spruce top.

The silver tailpiece cover was designed by Beth Weil and made by David Collins, my old band mates from "Oakum".

Later I installed a cast-off Kentucky pick-guard, that I had come across in the repair shop of the Berkeley "Fifth String". German mother of pearl tuner knobs, mother of pearl nut, and a "Tone Guard" were also added.

The Stan Miller mandolin is a true workhorse, it has a fine broken-in sound now. It's a great mandolin. See Stan Miller Mandolins.

The Blond Bomb is most likely a Kentucky. Someone along the way put a Gibson logo on the head, (sorry Gibson), They did a pretty bad job of it too. It looks like the inlays from a Gibson electric Guitar. But it is a pretty good sounding solid wood mandolin. I took the thick epoxy-like finish off the front (that's why it's a blonde). I made a pick guard, out of green floresant plexi glass. I put the original bone nut from my Stan Miller mandolin on, to replace the funky original plastic nut. I also fit the bridge to the top a little better. It must have been the original factory bridge fit, which only touched the top in a few places. Before refinishing it I removed a lot of wood from the top to lighten it up. I don't know the age. I recently relaced the Kentucky tail piece cover with a 60s Gibson tail piece cover I purchased on ebay. It now has a new finish, still natural blonde but a little more yellow then in the picture above.So things are looking (and sounding) good for the Blonde. I call it the "Get Up John" mandolin because I like to retune it for the Bill Monroe tune of the same name.
If anyone knows what model Kentucky this is, please e-mail me. I think it's a KM-675.

Then there's the 5-String Electric Mandolin. I made this electric back in 1978 after seeing David Grisman play a Gibson electric. Tiny Moore was also an influence. "It's a one-of-a-kind 5-string, designed somewhat like a Gibson 'Three-Point.' Semi-hollow, with a through-the-body maple neck and padouk wood body." Since I play mostly bluegrass gigs, I don't get to use this instrument as much as I would like.

I love this old Kalamzoo Mandola from 1939. Kalamazoo was a low end brand made by Gibson. This mandola has a sweet sound but probably not the best mandola around but it'll have to do. It's got a pretty sunburst and a cool pick-guard. So I'll keep it for the fun of mandolaing.