We love following the work of North Carolina Builder (Oregon expatriate) James Condino. We had the privilege of reviewing a couple of his ground-breaking instruments last year in our Builder's Spotlight feature. He's recently taken on the chore of writing a regular column for Mandolin Magazine; never one to rest on his laurels, he's working on a new project, a "point-less" F5. He reports, "The working name I'm using for it is the J5 Dorado, as in Bossa Dorado, one of my alltime favorite songs by Dorado Schmitt. The nerdy specs are: 10 year old red spruce top, striped ebony (macassar) sides, headplate front and rear, neck stripe, fingerboard and fittings, western bigleaf back, neck, and bindings."

Delicious, and we can't wait to see what ground-breaker he comes up with, Meantime, we have a photo of his jig, and hope to give a few more shots as it progresses. Though a "scroll" usually isn't our thing at JazzMando, you can count on a Condino scroll to tantalize!

Builder's website: J Condino

Read review: Green Cricket & African Blackwood mandolins

Posted by Ted at September 23, 2007 8:49 PM