The Flatiron Brothers..Re-United

[HHP]

Well, half brothers anyway. The A-5 Artist(left) was born in Montana and was fathered by Bruce Weber. The A-5 Performer(right) was born a few years later in Nashville, TN and its paternal heritage was Charlie Derrington.



You might ask why have two instruments that are so similar. They look similar but, internally, very, very different. The Artist is X-braced, popularized for mandolins by Flatiron in their original carved top models. The Performer has carving specs and tone bar bracing based on the Lloyd Loar designs favored by Derrington. Vast difference in sound. The X-brace gives the instrument a loud, aggressive sound with very strong bass and treble. The tone bars give more of the classic Gibson sound that is balanced and smooth, the notes more flow out of the Performer and jump out of the Artist.

Other differences include the finish. The Artist has full body burst, the Performer has burst top and dark stained back and sides.



The Artist is fully bound front, back, neck and headstock. Headstock inlay is the traditional fern to designate top of the line status. The Performer is top bound and the headstock carries the fleur'd lisle. Artist has gold hardware versus the nickel for the Performer.





Both models carry the very useful scooped florida to avoid pick click on the fingerboard.



Both are staggeringly good mandolins, easily comparable to most of today's boutique builders. If you decide to seek one out, be aware that specs vary based on when and where it was made and even the dealer may not be exactly sure of how a particular model was configured.

Speaking of dealers, the Artist came from Carter's Vintage in Nashville and the Performer came via Fiddler's Green in Austin, TX. Both a pleasure to deal with and highly recommended.

[Wade Hampton]

I really preferred the tone of the X braced Flatirons over the tone bar models, but know that I'm in the minority there.


whm

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I really preferred the tone of the X braced Flatirons over the tone bar models, but know that I'm in the minority there.


whm

Pretty stark difference. I solved it by liking both. Maybe I'll look for a flat top and go for the tonal trifecta.

[HHP]

Re-strung the A-5 Artist this morning as the strings that came on it looked a little dodgy. Put on a new set of J74's and it just sang. Never changed strings on a coverless tailpiece so that was interesting but a roll of masking tape bailed me out.