In July, 2004 I spoke with Don MacRostie of Red Diamond Mandolins and Head of Product Design for Stewart MacDonald's Guitar Shop Supply.
Joe Mendel: What path did you take in becoming a mandolin builder?
Don MacRostie: I came into building through playing. I was in high school during the folk boom and became interested in folk music. I bought a guitar and also I was interested in the banjo. I played coffee house music with friends in high school and college. After a stint in the military I went back to school. I had some friends who were starting to build instruments and I decided to try it myself.
I built a couple of mountain dulcimers and a guitar. I have an engineering background which gives me a "how things go together" outlook. My sister-in-law had a mandolin which interested me and I decided that's what I wanted to build. I've stuck with it ever since.
JM: Have your mandolins changed over the years?
DM: Yes. The changes between instruments were more noticeable with the first 60 or so. After that they are more consistent with most of the changes being in the details.
JM: How would you describe your approach to building?
DM: I build about 2 batches a year with 4-7 mandolins in a batch. I arch and adjust the top and backplates and tone bars to work together to produce an open, balanced tone. I use a compound radius on the fingerboards to make my mandolins easier to play. The tight radius at the nut is very comfortable for the chording hand then it planes out to nearly flat at the bridge which makes it easier for the picking hand. The compound radius also allows the action to be lower and still produce good volume. These elements work together to give my instruments an open sound, good volume, and comfortable playability.
JM: What woods do you use?
DM: I use Eastern curly maple for the back, sides and neck, Adirondack (red) spruce for the tops, and ebony for the fingerboard, bridge, and headstock overlay.
JM: Do you make all of the parts yourself?
DM: Yes, I make my own bridges and slot the fingerboards myself and cut my own pearl for inlay. The only parts I don't make are the tuners and tailpieces, however I do my own engraving on the tailpieces.
JM: Do your building methods change much?
DM: I don't think I've ever built 2 batches exactly the same way. After I finish a batch I look at what was difficult or the least accurate and try to remedy it in the next batch. This usually means tweaking a jig, or completely changing a jig or two.
JM: What style of mandolins do you build and what is the mix?
DM: I build A and F models with about 2/3 being F and 1/3 being A. I have also built about twenty oval holes.
JM: How did your mandolin building video come about?
DM: After Stew-Mac reintroduced their kits, we had a lot of requests for a mandolin building video and they asked me to do it. It took a month of shooting in addition to preparation and editing. It was quite an undertaking! The response has been very good, I just found out they will be putting it out on DVD due to the number of requests.
JM: Do you like teaching?
DM: Yes. I also taught a class at the American School of Lutherie that was featured in several issues of American Lutherie, The Guild of American Luthier's Magazine.
JM: Tell us a little more about your work at Stew-Mac.
DM: I've had a lot of input on all of the kits and many of the jigs and tools we sell. I've also done several other videos. One of the most interesting things I've done is the Waverly Tuners. Irving Sloane had designed them for classical guitars. After Stew-Mac took over the production from him, we looked at what other tuners we could make with that design. The Grover Sta-Tite Waverly reproduction guitar tuners came first. Then the mandolin Waverly's came quite a few years after that. That project put me in touch with a lot of good players. I've been able to spend a lot of time with Sam Bush, Mike Marshall, David Grisman, Mike Compton, and many others. I got input from them on the tuners and I got to meet and do custom things for them which was an opportunity I would not have otherwise had.
JM: Thank you for taking the time to do this interview, Don. Continued success with your mandolins.
Anyone having an interest in how mandolins are made should check out Don's "How to Build a Carved Top Mandolin" video from Stew-Mac, http://www.stewmac.com/.
Don can be reached through his web site at: http://www.reddiamondmandolins.com,
Or by e-mail at:
don@reddiamondmandolins.com.
