I love his comment at the end!!!
Theresa O'Grady with Katie Geringer and Evan Powell.
No microphones on the instruments, just an acoustic recording on a cell phone at a house concert. This is Round #2.
Playing in a pub session at McGonigel's Mucky Duck, Houston, Texas, courtesy of their livestream. Microphones were part of the house system and mounted over the audience, far from the players. This is Round #2.
Evan Michaelides on Round #3 with two guitars, bodhran, fiddle and flute at Hugh O'Connor's.
Comparison video showing an Ellis A4, Taran Springwell, Gibson A2, Ellis A5 and Round, with no sound processing. Note that the Round is more penetrating and will be heard much better in a session. All played with same pick, sound settings and picking force. This is Round #4.
John Bolduan playing at the tionol with a few others (see next video for many more players joining in). This is Round #4.
John Bolduan playing a Round again but with many more players (fiddle, three flutes, pipes, whistle, banjo, bodhran). The Round still hangs in there as an equal session partner. This is Round #4.
This is a sample of the tone of Round #6. It is very much the same tone and volume as Round #5 (as played by David Howley above). Sorry, sold by Fiddler's Green within 24 hours of posting! But the next few are under construction.
“What an awesome instrument! I’ve never played a mandolin type instrument that was as loud as this. Holy shit!”
Indie folk artist from Ireland and founding member of Billboard No.1 band We Banjo 3, David Howley has been at the forefront of Irish guitar, banjo and mandolin for over a decade. An award-winning vocalist, he has performed with The Chieftains, Eileen Ivers, Carlos Nunez, Billy Strings, Bela Fleck, Altan, Ajeet and Mumford & Sons, amongst others.
This is a very powerful instrument with an incredible amount of volume without the brashness of a cone resonator instrument or the staccato of a banjo. It has a charming woody quality, and while not quite like a traditional mandolin tone, we find it to be a very lovely and unique sound. Based on the rare vintage resonator type instruments from Paramount and Iucci, John has really created something all his own and we are proud to offer his creations to the mandolin community. Stop by and take one for a spin. We think you will be just as impressed as we are!
Ben is the proprietor of Fiddler's Green Music Shop in Lockhart, Texas and one of the finest bluegrass and old-time mandolin players you will ever hear.
Let’s get one thing straight: the Round mandolin is not here to play backup. This smug little 8-string gremlin wants to cut through your sonic landscape like a chainsaw made of angel wings and broken glass. It’s like Mr. Liestman took an old Gibson Oval hole, added some adrenaline, and said, “You know what would make this better? More dB.”
The mandolin doesn’t say excuse me — it demands your attention — and not in a gentle, apologetic way. Bluegrass? Sure. Old Time? Why not. Irish Trad? Absolutely. With this instrument people will be giving you the kind of looks in sessions that were previously only reserved for banjo players- Or dare I say it? pipers.
So, if you want to lead the set and sound good while doing it, your search is over. The Round lets you hear yourself and be heard. You will have sweetness and the power of a chorus of caffeinated ghosts. The sweetness of a mandolin and the power of a banjo. With the Round mandolin your search is over.
Verdict: 10/10
It’s small, unhinged, and absolutely unrepentant. Like a bar fight at a folk festival — you didn’t see it coming but you’re weirdly glad it happened.
Brian Shaw is the instructor on Mandolin and Banjo at Houston School of Irish Music, lead banjoist with The Slip Gigolos, and Professor of Plant Pathology and Microbiology at Texas A&M University.
My new Round Mandolin arrived a few days ago. Here is my review of it. It’s a beautiful instrument. Amazing curly maple, especially on the back of the resonator. I mostly play bluegrass mandolin and dobro in several jams and performances each week. I realize the Round isn’t meant to be a bluegrass mandolin, but I play in jams with twenty players and many more in the audience, in a big room, and even though I know how to play loudly, it can be difficult to be heard. My usual instrument is a $12,000 (used) Gibson of professional caliber and superb and unusually loud bluegrass tone, but in a jam, it is still hard to hear during a solo. I love the tone of the Round, but what I ask of it is volume.
How do the two mandolins compare? Rather than be subjective, I turned to science. I used my SPLnFFT decibel meter app on my iPhone and compared the two, side by side, from two feet from my iPhone. Playing hard, as I do when performing, both fiddle tunes and chop chords, the Gibson AVERAGED about 85 dB with PEAKS at 93 dB. The Round, by contrast, AVERAGED 93 dB with PEAKS at 100 dB! I then measured the decibels again AT TEN FEET from the mic. There was of course a large drop off between 2’ and 10’, but the relative volume differences remained. The Gibson AVERAGED 74 dB and PEAKED at 85 dB. The Round AVERAGED 78 dB and PEAKED at 92 dB. That means that players who know how to play loudly can expect a bump in volume between 4 and 7 decibels. Given that on the log-based decibel scale, three points is a 100% increase in volume, that’s huge. It seems to me that in any jam or performance where amps aren’t allowed and simply being heard is most important, the Round is the instrument to have even if one already has a louder mandolin than most. The extra volume is a huge benefit. In any acoustic string jam, it is likely be the loudest instrument–even louder than the banjos.
Sunday, I went to a bluegrass jam where I switched between the Round and my dobro (the loudest one I’ve ever played.) The room was about 40 x 60’, uncarpeted, and there were the usual twenty or so musicians and an audience of about thirty. I played hard, meaning to be heard. The Round sounded even louder than my resonator guitar and seemed to really fill the room. When I was playing, I could only hear the bass. Everyone could hear it well. I discovered that the Round has a sweet spot about half an inch wide around an inch down from the end to the fretboard where the sound seems louder and thicker. I also discovered that the E strings, despite being only 0.009 gauge, are amazing in their clarity and volume. They really sing, much more than my Gibson. That should be appreciated especially in Celtic music, or Choro, but I like it, too. All over, the sound is full and well balanced, never thin or weighted to one end. It sounds like a very loud high-quality mandolin. It does NOT in the least sound like a resonator mandolin or a banjo-mandolin! I hear no unpleasant banjo-like echoes from inside. I play a lot of double stops, and the Round sounds great with double stops. I might even say revelatory. Anyway, wonderful mandolin! Well done! And thanks. I hope you sell a lot of them.
Ed Christian is a retired literature professor who has published over 20 novels and books on music from Choro to Bluegrass to Ukuleles and more.
Round #6 arrived yesterday and, after a proper acclimation period, I unpacked it and then put it through its paces. The craftsmanship is superb and the look of it is stunning. The sound is amazingly versatile, depending where you pick, i.e. closer to the bridge or closer to the end of the fretboard. The loudness is everything you said it would be. The Rubner tuners are great, and the tuning holds up even after hours of playing. Didn’t know how I was going to fare with such light strings, but by using a lighter pick than I was used to there was no problem at all. Thought that the 15 inch scale length would take some getting used to, but in minutes it was fine. Far easier to play than the heavy strings/heavy pick set up that I’m used to. And the case! You should make and sell these separately for an array of instruments, as it is beautiful and seems as sturdy an anvil.
You should be proud of your design and work. I can’t put this thing down!
I played vintage Gibson A-models for years, and could not imagine ever wanting to switch, even though in larger sessions I was often frustrated by my inability to hear myself over the fiddles and flutes - I thought that just came with the territory. But I’d known John and respected his knowledge and expertise for years, and when I learned he was starting to build mandolins, I was curious – and upon playing one, instantly intrigued by the instrument's ability to project sound and unexpectedly lovely tone. I’ve been the owner of Round #3 for nearly a year now, and it always makes itself heard. My old Gibsons must be feeling jealous and neglected.
Evan Michaelides was the 1977 Missouri state chess champion. Soon after that, he picked up a mandolin, and has been trying to figure out how to play it ever since. The Round seems to have helped a little bit. Evan is also a founding member of the Gulf Coast Cruinniú organizing committee.
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