Mandolin.org.uk
Colin Keefe
Luthier
Colin
Keefe is a professional guitar and stringed instrument maker based
in the East Midlands, UK.
Building and repair all types of acoustic stringed instruments including classical and steel-strung guitars, mandolins, mandolas and banjos.
Also making and repair electric guitars and basses, and is an authorised Seymour Duncan dealer.
Ethics
Arguably, the most important aspect of any stringed instrument is the thickness of and the type of bracing used on the sound-board / front. Unlike the larger manufacturers and other smaller makers, sander thicknessers are not used in the construction of my instruments. Every guitar front and back is hand-planed and tap-toned to achieve the very best results from the materials used.
Bracing patterns vary according to the type and size of the instrument and the quality of the wood. Each brace joint is checked with a dry-run before it is glued. In this way, even the less expensive models of guitars and mandolins may be versatile and well-rounded instruments.
An instrument professionally hand-built by Colin Keefe means total quality and absolute precision and attention to detail Every measurement and joint is checked and re-checked to ensure consistent quality and continuity; this produces an instrument which fulfils three essential criteria:
- It sounds good
- It play well
- It looks good
Scroll Mandolin
| Soundboard | Carved Alpine Spruce |
|---|---|
| Back & Sides | German Figured Maple, Carved Back |
| Neck | German Figured Maple |
| Fingerboard | Ebony |
| Bridge | Ebony bridge, Price Tailpiece |
| Head Veneer | Ebony |
| Purfling | Laminate Black/WhitePlastic |
| Finish | High Gloss |
We used a cad drawing package on PC to remodel the curves of the usual Gibson shape and also open out the scroll slightly. The shape of the carving of the top along with the neck angle was also changed to increase down pressure on the saddle.
The top was tap toned and carved out to get the best possible results from the timber. The result is a responsive, comfortable instrument with all the normal treble response you'd expect but with more bass for chord voicings.
Mandola
| Soundboard | Alpine Spruce |
|---|---|
| Back & Sides | African Mahogany |
| Neck | Flamed Maple, 3 Laminates |
| Fingerboard | Honduras Rosewood |
| Head Veneer & Bindings | Flamed Maple |
| Bridge | Honduras Rosewood |
| Handmade Rosette | Half Herringbone |
| Finish | Gloss lacquer |
| Other | Flamed Maple centre stripes on back |
An Octave Mandola 500mm scale length with a rounded body shape. heelThe instrument was designed to give a great chord sound for backing a vocal, but still capable of producing those cutting Mandolin type sounds when Capo'd up the finger board.
Tuned an octave below a normal Mandolin, it means that it's instantly accessible to a Mandolin player wishing to expand their range of sounds.
Source http://www.keefeguitars.co.uk/
Sept, 2005
