Celtic Style Flat Instruments

Spruce top, X-plus bracing, maple back & rim, black hardwood peghead veneer, decal peghead inlay, bound ebony fingerboard, MOP fret markers, .808 frets, top and back body binding, natural hand-rubbed finish, adjustable truss rod, nickel tailpiece, Schaller tuners and ebony bridge with replaceable saddle.

Aspen #1 Mandolin List price $1250. Call or email for our Discount Price.

Weber (new) Aspen #1 flat mandolin, 9811512, H.
Having spruce top, maple back and rim, black hardwood peghead veneer, decal peghead inlay, ebony finger board which is bound in ebony, MOP fret markers, natural hand-rubbed finish (that feels good), adjustable truss rod (we give thanks), Schaller tuners and ebony compensated bridge with a replaceable saddle. This, the simple version, has black binding top and back and a mahogany neck, silver engraved plate tuners with pearloid buttons, 7 diamonds in the neck, real good sounding, and the Celtic (accordion) knot in the headstock cannot be untied.

Aspen #2 Mandolin List price $1500. Call or email for our Discount Price.

The classy Aspen flattop/flatback has all the features of the Aspen #1 but also maple neck instead of mahogany,and ivoroid-black-ivoroid body bindings.

Alder #1 Mandola List price $1420. Call or email for our Discount Price.

A flat mandola, having mahogany neck and black binding.

Alder #2 Mandola List price $1670. Call or email for our Discount Price.

Similar to Alder #1 but having a maple neck, ivoroid-black-ivoroid binding. Bulbous, at 11 1/2" wide and 2 1/16" thick with a 16 7/8" scale at the first string. The two piece maple back has considerable figuring, when you hold up the obverse with the neck facing down it looks exactly like an alien (a gray) with the big oval eyes and the not-very-benevolent stare ("What do you intend to do with that probe??"). The neck (on one example we saw) was greatly tiger striped with engraved nickel or chrome tuners with pearloid buttons. The ebony peghead overlay bears the Weber inlay in art nouveau font with the multicolored Celtic Knot (it's knot what it appears). Fingerboard is bound on only two sides (the bottom of the board is rounded to conform to the triangulated ovoid hole - a design not dissimilar, as you probably realize, to an ogive). Said hole is bound in 3-ply and the bridge is a floating two-part construction of ebony mit compensation but no mechanical vertical adjustability other than by replacing the saddle. The label is signed by Bruce Weber of Sound to Earth (yet this has not an earthbound sound) of Belgrade, Montana. The sound is, rather, woody and mellow, sweet yet even, the classic mandola tonola with a bright midrange.

Sage #1 Octave Mandolin List price $1670. Call or email for our Discount Price.

This is the big one, Hannah. Superlative tone, everybody who gets one of these is Irish for a day. Where else could you buy l2 l/2 inches of highest grade Sitka spruce and modestly flamed book- matched maple contained within simple black binding, with a 23 l/2" scale length, an ebony fingerboard with diamond inlays, a Celtic knot under the art nouveau logo, and a carved ebony bridge with a removable saddle, and a certified galvanized aluminum (made from an old rain gutter) slide-away tailpiece cover (just kidding about the rain gutter).

Sage #2 Octave Mandolin List price $2000. Call or email for our Discount Price.

Much like the Sage #1 described above except fancier with a maple neck and ivoroid-black-ivoroid bindings.

Y2K Mandolin. List Price $830. Includes a chipboard case. Call or email for our Discount Price.

Back in the Flatiron days there was a model called a 2K which was a koa back and sides mandolin. This mandolin is made of more conventional materials, like spruce and mahogany, and comes in either an oval hole or an f-hole version. In an under-$500 level mandolin none are finer, and it is Y2K compliant. This new model, named to commemorate the state of abject paranoia tightening its grip around infospace, is a hand-rubbed natural finish, unbound, high grade entry level piece with abalone diamond fingerboard inlays. The back, sides and neck are of straight-grained mahogany, tuners are engraved 4-on-a-plate with metal buttons. It comes with a flock lined chipboard case and bears Bruce Weber's signature on the label.

Celtic Style Carved Top Instruments

Spruce top, modified X bracing, curly maple back and rim, bound ebony fingerboard, MOP fret markers, .080 frets, top and back body binding, natural body color, hand-rubbed finish, adjustable truss rod, stainless tailpiece, Schaller tuners and ebony bridge with replaceable saddle.

Bridger Mandolin List Price $2300. Call or email for our Discount Price.

The Bridger model, as you know if you read our descriptions, is unlike any existing mandolin on the market today or in the past. It has an tightly grained arched Sitka top and exceedingly curly maple back, sides and neck. Top, soundhole, back and headstock are triple-bound. It has a softened-triangularly shaped soundhole measuring a full 3 inches in width. The scale length is an even 14 inches, a little longer than what you may be used to. The bracing is "modified X" which allows for a warmth of tone unheard since the snakehead days in Kalamazoo. As you play up the neck the sound gets continuously stronger and clearer when you expect it to become attenuated and decayed. Each fret position, even in the rarely used l2th to 19th situations, are usable and the intonation is perfect. It is one of our most favorite new mandolins and we are proud to be able to offer it to you

The finest new mandolin design for the ante-millennium is/was and continues to be the Weber Bridger: the arched top, oval hole model which sounds better than any oval hole made since the Gibson snakeheads of the mid-1920s.

Carved Top "A Style" Instruments

Spruce top, modified X bracing unless noted, curly maple back, rim and neck unless noted, ebony peghead veneer unless noted, bound ebony fingerboard, MOP fret markers, .080 frets, 14in scale length, adjustable truss rod & ebony bridge and nickel hardware unless noted.

Hyalite Mandolin List price $1500. Call or email for our Discount Price.

A "best buy" in a professional teardrop shaped f-hole archtop mandolin. Features include the hand-rubbed finish, natural spruce top, graceful twin f-holes, ebony board with small diamond inlays, logo and knot inlaid on peghead, adjustable ebony bridge, engraved Schaller tuners with pearloid buttons, and more tone and volume than you thought it was possible to obtain.

Absaroka Mandolin List price $2175. Call or email for our Discount Price.
This is the middle of the line A-style with f-holes, having bound ebony board and bound top and back, the Weber logo decal and Celtic Knot thereunder with an adjustable truss rod, a deep red to black sunburst top and uniform reddish brown back and sides, the truly novel and useful adjustable height ebony intonated bridge, pearloid button tuners, a plain nickel plated tailpiece cover and exceedingly fine workmanship throughout. The bottom of the fingerboard is a reflection of the headstock, both of which resemble a small (but deadly) snakehead.

Beartooth Mandolin List price $2840. Call or email for our Discount Price.

An A-style mandolin, long neck (neck joins body at l3th fret) with f-holes. It is hand-crafted in Belgrade, Montana where Bruce Weber produces extremely high quality instruments for far lower a price than you might ever expect to find them. This is ivoroid bound on top, back and neck and the book matched back is of nicely flamed maple, the sides even more nice, while the neck is one piece with moderate flame. Tuners are engraved, gold plated, with pearloid buttons, the top of the peghead and the bottom of the fingerboard are a mirror image of one another, each having a matching scalloped design. The peghead is inlaid with the Weber name in an old fashioned "Peter Max" type of lettering, along with an ornate version of a Celtic Knot (unravel the knot and win a Piels Brothers beer from Burton Harry, their business rep). Truss rod cover is ebony and held in place by two small gold screws. The bridge is the one piece ebony adjustable model with removable saddle, and the slip-on tailpiece cover is, finally, a new Weber design echoing yet again the scalloped motif found on the peghead and bottom of tailpiece. The sound is expansive and exquisite.

Beartooth Octave Mandolin List price $3580. Call or email for our Discount Price.

Absolutely magnificent -- tonally it is amazing, the sustain will outlive us both. It is rumored that people have spending vast fortunes to buy the kind of octave mandolin (tuned one octave lower than a mandolin) that a famous singer-songwriter octave mandolinist uses. We say "Why?" This brand new model of octave mandolin is as fine a musical instrument as any we have ever offered for sale, made entirely by hand in Belgrade (a suburb of Boseman), Montana. It is a carved top, carved back flame maple and highest grade spruce overgrown A-style f-hole mandolin family matriarch. The big-leaf flame, finished in a rich vintage sunburst, is enough to give you chills. The maple neck is also sunburst and bears exquisite flame. Tuners are pearloid button with gold-plated, heavily engraved metal plates, top, back, fretboard and peghead are bound in grained ivoroid. The ebony peghead overlay is in fact triple-bound, vaguely snakehead and instead of having the Celtic Knot it's another type of convoluted Celtic 8-pointed star in glowing abalone. Fingerboard inlays are modest diamonds at 7 positions (double at the l2th). The bottom end of the fingerboard matches the lines of the peghead. Slide-on tailpiece cover is plain but gold-plated. The adjustable and compensated ebony bridge is quite high, carved and curved in a unique (we've never seen anything like it) S-curve. That height creates a steep angle between the tailpiece and bridge which undoubtedly assists in allowing the huge volume and looseness of tone along with a low, comfortable playing action. This instruments sounds as if it were 70 years old, with clean, clear precision and a v-shape neck (and adjustable truss rod) to benefit the modern player. It is priced about two thousand dollars less than its practical value.

Carved Top "F Style" Instruments

Spruce top, bound ebony fingerboard, MOP fret markers, .080 frets, 14 inch scale length, adjustable truss rod & ebony bridge and nickel hardware unless noted. Don't forget that all Weber mandolins except the Y2K come with a hard shell case.

Gallatin Mandolin List price $2085. Call or email for our Discount Price.

The wonderful thing about new Weber mandolins is that, if you close your eyes, you think you're listening to a high-grade l920s mandolin like an F-4. We consider this the Celtic Serendipity - something you don't expect but you're pleased to find that you have it. This is this fine Bozeman, MT companies least expensive Florentine model having no binding, a spruce top, an ebony fingerboard that is bound in ebony which you can't hardly see without a magnifying glass (the side of the board is absolutely smooth), diamond mother of pearl fretboard inlays, a Celtic knot decal on the peghead under the stylized Weber logo. Tuners with pearloid buttons are borne on a pair of engraved nickel plates. The bridge is ebony and adjustable, and the tailpiece cover is satin finished silver color. The back and neck are straight-grained mahogany and the instrument is entirely in hand-rubbed satin finish.

Gallatin Mandola List price $2370.Call or email for our Discount Price.

A simple execution but a heck of a fine instrument, having spruce top, bound ebony fingerboard, mother of pearl fret markers, adjustable truss rod, ebony bridge and nickel hardware. This f-hole Florentine model has tone bar bracing, mahogany back,rim and neck, ebony peghead veneer, decal peghead inlay, and a natural hand-rubbed finish.

Bitterroot Mandolin List price $2675. Call or email for our Discount Price.

This model is #2 in a line of four F-style mandolins. This one, although largely made in the same way as the Gallatin, sounds more bluegrassy and focused in the midrange. This one has a spruce top bound in white ivoroid. The sound is tight, clear and punchy. The appointments are otherwise quite similar to the Gallatin but with greater attention to details in small ways, which at first one might overlook. If you are a "talented amateur" seeking a really reasonably priced F-style bluegrass instrument with which to embark on your career, this would, we think, be a top choice.

Yellowstone Mandolin List price $4000. Call or email for our Discount Price.

This next-to-top-'o'-line F-5 style mandolin is moosed deluxe, with its grained ivoroid bound top, back, fingerboard and headstock, curved diamond fingerboard inlays and figured woods. It has modified X-bracing, curly maple back, rim and neck, mother of pearl logo and knot peghead inlay, sunburst lacquer finish.

Big Sky Mandolin List price $5340. Call or email for our Discount Price.

We wish all those people who call us up asking if we have Weber's top of the line Florentine body f-hole mandolin, the "Pig Sty," would just stop it. It's BIG SKY, darnit. BIG SKY. Bruce Weber, former head honcho at another Montana mandolin company who shall remain nameless, went his own way and has been building what we think are among the finest mandolins available today. His best is the Big Sky, a you-know-what replica with scroll and points rampant. The finest book matched curly maple back one could hope for is matched to equally highly figured sides and an amazingly close grained book matched spruce top. The top and back of the body are multiple white-black-white bound in grained ivoroid as is the ebony overlaid headstock. The jet black ebony fingerboard is adorned with Weber's distinctive hearts and diamonds inlays and bound also in grained ivoroid. The headstock bears the Weber logo and stylized knot (or out of control, revered beer company logo) in mother of pearl. Schaller tuners keep you in gear. This mandolin features Weber's unique all-ebony adjustable bridge; no thumb wheels or posts to hinder the transfer of sound from the saddle to the base, and height adjustment is easily changed through the side of the bridge with a small Allen wrench. Chop chords and single lines are treated equally with responsive resonance and clear sustain.

09-27-06