Carbon Fiber Mandolin in-depth demo by Abby Sudweeks

[@marcbolen6169]

Well designed & a nice, in-depth demo, IMO

[@tpf1952]

Nicely done! Thanks so much for sharing. Every time I watch and listen to videos about the Klos carbon fiber mandolin, the more I like it.

[@Klosguitarscarbonfiber]

Right on! Did you get a chance to see our new Carbon Timber Mandolin videos by Ben Weiss!?

[@tpf1952]

I did watch Ben’s videos. Now I’m thinking of upgrading my order to get the active EQ.

[@mandomtn1962]

Good Billy, and I am interested as a traveler, I like to go with an A style to practice for my band, Wandering Hours.

[@Klosguitarscarbonfiber]

Great choice for a traveling artist. These things are built to last and have a great tone!

[@mccypr]

Nice! Any plans for a “F” Style oval hole or a Fiddle? Thanks! 🎻🙂😎

[@Klosguitarscarbonfiber]

There have been whispers about a potential carbon fiber "F" Style mandolin, but we want to perfect this "A-Style" body first before tackling the challenge of the "F-Style"

[@mccypr]

@@Klosguitarscarbonfiber Thanks! 😎

[@jamiej14544]

No truss rod! Impervious to changes in humidity..

[@abbysudweeks4694]

No need to see a tech!

[@WhyteHorse2023]

I don't know how much the recording equipment affects this but it sounds like the resonation cavity is too small. Wood is very different from carbon fiber so I'd imagine the resonator would be very different. Also they use the wood grain in designing wood instruments, so how is the carbon fiber grain aligned? It's a very interesting problem and could lead to superior instruments one day.

[@krealle]

At least with violins, carbon fiber performs very well with the same body. They tend to be loud and bright, but there's plenty to work with. As far as grain goes, I don't think it's a factor- they're different materials (you wouldn't look at a steel girder and ask its aggregate composition).

[@WhyteHorse2023]

Carbon fiber has different meshes. Usually it's applicable to strength but here it might affect sound since the waves resonate off the body, similar to wood grains. You can align them during construction. Might be weaker but sound better, I dunno. @@krealle

[@abbysudweeks4694]

Hey! I'm the one from the video. I'm not sure what quality of mandolin you normally play on, but to me this mandolin felt very resonant and comparable to my Eastman MD315 that is very broken in. The carbon fiber won't "open up" more because that's a wood thing, but I was really happy with the amount of resonance it had! Didn't sound small at all to me. Would make a great beater mandolin for outdoor gigs, camping, or traveling.

[@WhyteHorse2023]

@@abbysudweeks4694 I think a better way to explain it is this sounds like a balalaika instead of a mandolin. One has a guitar cavity and the other has triangular. So it's not resonance but the resonator cavity that makes the difference. It may be possible to record a sound profile from wood vs carbon and deconstruct it using fast fourier transforms and use that data to form a matching cavity. This would form a basis for converting all wood instruments to carbon. Just a thought.

[@abbysudweeks4694]

@@WhyteHorse2023 it's fine if you think it sounds like a balalaika, but I do very much disagree with that. It sounds 100% like a mandolin to me. Maybe it's not a perfect imitation of wood per se, but it very closely resembles that sound. It's a great sounding option for outdoorsy mandolin players.

[@resofone]

is it torrified???