Jim Hilburn was born in Texas, raised in Arizona, and now lives in Boulder, Colorado. Jim posted a picture on Mandolincafe.com that caught my attention. It is a stunning blackfaced F-5TM with black/white/black binding and amber back and sides. I spoke with him in March for this interview:
Joe: Hi, Jim! Tell me about your musical background.
Jim: I played drums in a high school surf band and played in a country band while in college. I became interested in the electric guitar through the guitarists in those bands.
Joe: How did you switch from the electric guitar to mandolin?
Jim: In 1971 my neighbor Bob Arnold heard me playing my guitar and came over to introduce himself. He shared his apartment with several musicians that were into bluegrass, old-time and jug band music. One day Bob's music teacher Doug McKee, showed up with a homemade F-5 TM and he said that if you wanted a decent mandolin you would have to build it yourself. Doug gave me inspiration to build a mandolin.
In 1975 I heard that Ome Banjo Company was building mandolins and I went to check them out. Mike Kemnitzer was building for Ome and would later become known for Nugget Mandolins. There were 2 mandolins available at Ome and I sold my jeep to buy one, it is still one of the most powerful instruments I've ever heard.
Joe: When did you begin building?
Jim: In 1978 we moved back to Boulder from Texas and I set up a workshop in one of the bedrooms. With the aid of Roger Siminoff's book, Constructing a Bluegrass Mandolin, I went to work. I spent about a year building my first mandolin with a lot of elaborate inlay including a vine on the fingerboard. I did not have spraying equipment so I paid Mike Kemnitzer $200 to spray a lacquer sunburst finish on it. Now he probably charges that much to restring a mandolin.
I was addicted to building and planned to spend my life as a luthier. I built a few more mandolins and consigned one in Aspen where there were lots of wealthy musicians. It hung on the wall all winter and was never purchased. I'm proud of those instruments even though they had shortcomings and they now hang in my family room. I realized this wasn't going to be as easy as I first thought.
Joe: You didn't quit though?
Jim: No, I decided to build as a hobby while working as an electrician. Over the next 18 years I built whatever I wanted; electric guitars and basses, a D-41 TM style acoustic guitar, a total of 14 instruments.
Joe: When did you get back to building mandolins full time?
Jim: In 1999 I decided to build another F-5 TM and it turned out well. My friend Drew Horton liked it and we hatched a plan. I wanted to put an addition on the house so I could have a spray booth and he wanted a mandolin. I would build him a mandolin and he would build the addition. We finished our projects at about the same time. I have my new workspace and he has his mandolin. He took the mandolin to Winfield in 2001 and won the mandolin contest!
Joe: How many more instruments have you built since then?
Jim: I've build 10 mandolins since Drew's, 2 for my old friend Bob Arnold. I have several on order, mostly local musicians, but one has gone to Egypt and one is going to Angola.
Joe: What's the story on the blackface F-5 I saw on Mandolincafe.com?
Jim: That's the one that went to Egypt. It turned out very well, the color scheme was quite eye catching. The white stripe in the black/white/black binding really stood out against the black top.
Joe: What sound are you trying to achieve in your instruments?
Jim: I am looking for a good, full tone with good sustain and volume. I've been very successful in achieving a consistent sound from one instrument to the next.
Joe: Nice talking to you Jim, good luck and continued success.
Jim Hilburn can be contacted at:
jim1307@prodigy.net
http://pages.prodigy.net/jim1307
