Sierra Hull demoing a custom electric mandolin

**Jim Soloway** · 08-10-2025, 10:16 PM

The instrument(s, there's actually two of them) are cool, but I think the real fun is just watching her go through this. It's so obvious that she's a real player and more than a bit of a musical nerd.

**Skip Ellis** · 08-10-2025, 11:19 PM

I recently read that Gibson is building her a signature model F5. She's a monster for sure - good guitarist also

**Bebop Tom** · 08-11-2025, 11:17 AM

I have seen her live three times. She is a wonderful musician and plays much more than just bluegrass.

**Jim Soloway** · 08-11-2025, 11:37 AM

Originally Posted by Bebop Tom

I have seen her live three times. She is a wonderful musician and plays much more than just bluegrass.

In my mind, I always group her with Sarah Jarosz. Both of them are superb musicians who start with a base in bluegrass and branch out from there. I would love to see both of them in concert. (I saw Sierra playing at a guitar festival when she was about 14 but that doesn't really count anymore).

**Sam Sherry** · 08-11-2025, 01:00 PM

Originally Posted by Skip Ellis

I recently read that Gibson is building her a signature model F5. She's a monster for sure - good guitarist also

WAIT A MINUTE.

Yes, Gibson is building and selling Loar-reproduction F5 mandolins and a new "modern" F5 mandolin as shown here.
The repro is $20k and the 'modern' model is $6k.
They're built by Mr. David Harvey, who apparently is a mandolin specialist.

If you're an optimist, this would be tons closer to building an archtop guitar than Gibson has been in the past several years!

**twtunes** · 08-11-2025, 03:20 PM

I've seen here solo on an octave mandolin, at the final Mandolin Symposium, very pretty playing. With her talent she should not limit herself to four-course instruments.

This instrument seems rather ad hoc. No custom pickup, but a steeply angled Jazz Bass p.u. Early electric guitars emulated the acoustic archtops, but the playing style escaped that limitation after Charlie Christian. Electric mandolin-family instruments are still rather niche or novelty, with few standard models and little real exploration of the possibilities in playing style, to my ears.

A player in the String Cheese Incident, Michael Kang, used a 5-string e-mando but switched to 5-string octave electric. (Both solid bodied.) For me, the short sting length demands the doubled strings, and Kang likely wanted a richer tone. Cowboy Junkies use an e-mando, but four-string, I think. Eagles of Death Metal use a Godin 8-string, again just a novelty.

I find a 10-string electric very useful for jazz, gets down into guitar range (covers basically all soloing) and the short scale allows closer voicing of chords. I'm eagerly awaiting a semi-hollow emulation of a Gretsch Falcon from British shop Belvoir Guitars (Belmuse for mandolins). It will be a nice complement for my Gibson SG emulation from the U.K.

**wintermoon** · 08-11-2025, 03:51 PM

very talented young lady, would be great to see her be able to own a real Loar
p.s. this video is 9 years old, I think she's in her mid 30s now

**stevo58** · 08-12-2025, 02:16 AM

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

WAIT A MINUTE.

Yes, Gibson is building and selling Loar-reproduction F5 mandolins and a new "modern" F5 mandolin as shown here.
The repro is $20k and the 'modern' model is $6k.
They're built by Mr. David Harvey, who apparently is a mandolin specialist.

If you're an optimist, this would be tons closer to building an archtop guitar than Gibson has been in the past several years!

Gibson honors Sierra Hull, the first female artist to have a signature Gibson mandolin with the F-5 Master model and F-5G | Creators Faire

Yes, David Harvey is “apparently a mandolin specialist.” He is actually quite a well-known name. It’s like saying “Bob Benedetto is apparently a guitar specialist.”

There is a lot of interesting stuff going on in the mandolin world. It’s not just toothless hillbillies singing harmonies like their pants are too tight (apologies to any toothless hillbillies reading this). In addition to Sierra, there is Chris Thile, David Grisman (of course) and countless others pushing the edge.

I don’t think there is a lot of cross-pollination between Gibson mandolins and carved-top guitars. The modern mandolin side stems from their purchase of Flatiron mandolins in the 1980s, in a classic case of “our competitors are doing it better than we are, so we better buy them” and they are made, as far as I know, in Bozeman. I would also guess the mando market is larger, what with all those toothless hillbillies looking for something to do with their hands.

**Jim Soloway** · 08-13-2025, 02:12 PM

The YT algorithm just fed me this one and I thought you guys might find it interesting. You pretty much have to stick with to to the end to get the most interesting part.

**jazzgtrl4** · 08-14-2025, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Soloway

The YT algorithm just fed me this one and I thought you guys might find it interesting. You pretty much have to stick with to to the end to get the most interesting part.

wow cool Eva has got one of those now. I sat in with a buddys band at the Baked Potato and she was on the gig, also did private gig with her a year ago...She is incredible.

**jim777** · 08-14-2025, 12:31 PM

I remember seeing the Canadian band "FM" open for Rush a few times (same tour) and Nash the Slash played electric violin and mandolin. The band had no guitarist. Ben Mink replaced Nash for a bit after he left the band, and played electric mandolin as well. Great band, BTW, I still have their 'Black Noise' album/CD in my car.

**Cavalier** · 08-14-2025, 07:06 PM

I have played a 5 string electric mando for decades and see no need for doubling the strings. You have to experiment to get the gauges right but being able to bend strings is worth it. Same process with a tenor banjo in Irish tuning. Skip the string sets and try gauges till you find what works for you.

**twtunes** · 08-14-2025, 07:30 PM

There are no 10-string sets. I buy bulk from JustStrings, and use .010, .014, .022w, .034, and .048 for my 14.25" scale ten-strings. I can bend strings when needed, which is rare in jazz, choro, or folk dance music.

I am happy with my albums, up to six now.

**Cavalier** · 08-14-2025, 09:23 PM

I play regular 8 string Mando and 12 string guitars too. They are best for what they do but do not have the control over bending that a single string does. There is always some tune difference in the pairs as they bend.

**twtunes** · 08-14-2025, 10:07 PM

You are quick to presume. For slight bends, 1/4 tone and such for expression, I can grab the pair sufficiently. For up to a whole step I damp one string with my ring finger on the picking hand, which one depending on low or high pair. For the A pair I push in, so the inner string is stopped. If a low pair, the opposite.

Other folks know how to do stuff.

I have a Steve Ryder 5-string, but after acquiring a custom 10-string from Almuse I liked it so much I converted my Ryder to 10. 10-string acoustic is becoming the preferred type for Brazilian bandolim. It's the more complex tone and altered attack, just like piano had multiple strings on the midrange and up. The response is different, and I prefer it.