Cart 0
Cart 0

The Model M

The purest expression of craft is typically unadorned.

Northfield-56_ModelM.jpg

Model M

Shorn of pretense, simply appointed, our Model M mandolin is relatively new, but it was years in the making. And, while it may be our entry level mandolin, it’s hardly a typical one.

This is the mandolin we had in our heads when we first started shaping wood into remarkable instruments. One that does away with fancy scrollwork and relies purely on rich, warm sound to make an impression. A mandolin that reflects both our obsessive nature with the finest instruments of the past—yes, we’ve spent some hundreds of hours looking at CT scans of the world’s great violins and mandolins, studying wood densities, making 3D scans, and analyzing recordings to dial in specific frequencies when we carve and voice the instrument—and our slightly crazy ways.  

You see before you play the Model M, know that a whole bunch of other musicians already have. We gave early production models to musicians. Had them take them on the road, play in front of a crowd, play in the heat, play on a bus at four in the morning. Their feedback is built into every mandolin we make.

Extraordinary and accessible the Model M and Model M+ models bring together qualities at the core of our business and our approach to making traditional instruments.

History. Countless hours honing our craft. A bit of ‘crazy.’ Yes, a lot more goes into this mandolin than first meets the eye.


Model M Specs

  • Fingerboard Radius: 5.7" at the nut, 7.7" at 20th fret

  • Top: Engelmann Spruce

  • Back / Neck / Sides: Highly Figured Maple

  • Bridge / Fingerboard: Ebony

  • Tuners: Gotoh (Nickel or Black Plated)

  • Tailpiece: Nugget® designed by Mike Kemnitzer (Nickel or Black Plated)

  • Binding: Single-Ply Black Top-Bound

  • Pickguard: Black Phenolic

  • Nut Width: 1 & 1/8” (28mm)

Maple and Spruce from North America. Assembled in our Qingdao shop. Varnishing and set up in our Marshall, MI shop.

Price: $2,795

Building mandolins down the road from where it all started. Just feels right.

NF_Marshall-8.jpg

Extraordinary and accessible, the Model M is the result of our passion and practical desire to make an affordable yet truly professional grade instrument. 

day2-9.jpg