I started building mandolins in 2008. Before that, I worked as a guitar tech for about a decade in East Tennessee, mostly setting up and repairing instruments for a regional music store. A customer brought in a beat-up electric mandolin one afternoon and asked if I could rebuild it. That repair turned into a relationship, then into a request for a custom build, and eventually into a small reputation among players in the area.
These days, I build full-time out of a small shop outside Knoxville. Every mandolin leaves my bench because I put it there. I don’t have employees, I don’t run a CNC, and I don’t subcontract any of the woodwork. The neck shapes, the body contours, the inlays — all of it is hand-shaped here.
I focus on solid-body electric mandolins, mostly 4-string and 5-string models. Some players want a vintage feel, while others want something more modern. We work that out on the phone or by email before I cut a single piece of wood. The build queue usually runs about 4 to 6 months. I keep that timeline honest because rushing a build is how mistakes happen.
If you’re thinking about a custom mandolin, send me a message. I’ll tell you straight what I can and can’t do, and we’ll go from there.