These mandolins are currently around $1500Aud

Click on pictures for larger view

My mandolin models are always evolving but are based on this design. Although it has an oval soundhole the carbon brace design plus the pitching of the soundboard and body frequencies give it a punch similar to a good f-hole mandolin.

This particular one is a low tension mandolin. (the string length is one fret shorter) This is very handy for a guitar or fiddle player who doesn't want to deal with high tension mandolin strings.

(An .011 gauge E string on a normal mandolin is tighter than the same gauge on a guitar, and is then doubled.)

Listen to a recording of this instrument

The Blackwood top instruments don't have the warmth of the Cedar tops but have a very balanced clear tone.

This saddle-bridge design is better suited to amplification than the adjustable Gibson style bridge. The deep saddle slot makes it easy to adjust the height with shims and still have plenty of room for a K&K undersaddle pickup which I can supply and fit for $140Aud.

A low profile heel makes it easy to access to the upper fingerboard.

Because the mandolin is constructed using a 'spanish heel' (The body parts are attached to the neck itself, which makes it very strong), it doesn't need the bulky neck block that is used in Gibsons and their clones.
The zero fret system, tapered head and Gotoh sealed tuners make it tune much better than Traditional style instruments. This is because there is almost no friction at the nut.
Aside from the figured Blackwood above, I have access to some very nice fiddleback Eucalypt for mandolin bodies and necks.
This tail piece was designed for my instruments by Tasmanian jeweller Kate Case. It is solid brass but can be cast in silver.
This is my own wooden tailpiece design that is both comfortable and strong. The pins go through into the tailblock. They are polished stainless steel and can be removed for cleaning.

Tom Chippindall is a luthier and mandolin player who learned mandolin making in my workshop and is now producing his own designs using similar construction and concepts. His instruments are incredible value and outperform mandolins that cost 3 times the price.