Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Jacobson.
Hi Jon, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always had a creative streak and have done woodworking in the past but had never tried building a stringed musical instrument. Earlier in life, I dabbled with playing 5-string banjo, acoustic and classical guitar. When my daughter was old enough and had interest in playing guitar, I went to a local guitar store to look for an acoustic guitar for her. While there, I saw an F-style mandolin hanging on the wall. I asked if I could try it out, wondering if my fingers could fret notes on a much smaller fretboard as compared to those on a guitar. To my surprise, I could fret notes on the mandolin. Not wanting to invest a lot of money in my first mandolin, I bought a factory-second mandolin off of eBay. I tried playing it for a while but wasn’t really satisfied with its sound or ease of play. Wanting something better, I looked around, and my next mandolin was going to potentially cost 10 to 20 times what I paid for my first one. Naturally, I thought (naively) why not build my own and save a bunch of money. I did a lot of research, talked with a number of luthiers, and made a number of jigs and practice pieces. I learned from numerous mistakes, but a couple of years later, I was playing a good-looking, great-sounding, and easy-playing mandolin. Along the way, I had been bitten by the builder’s bug. There was no way I was going to quit at just one mandolin. At that point, I decided to start building mandolins for other people.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My journey has had its share of challenges. Luthiers will tell you that building an F-style mandolin is perhaps on of the most challenging project to undertake as compared to building an acoustic guitar. I remember attending my first gathering of area guitar builders, where I was asked to introduce myself and what I wanted to build. When I said that I was building an F-style mandolin, there was a noticeable silence amongst the group. Only later did I learn that the group thought I was both crazy and perhaps a bit foolish for attempting such a thing for my first build due to the difficulties of the task. Learning to bend the sides of a mandolin, particularly figured (curly) Maple, is perhaps one of the biggest challenges to learn to master. Figured wood wants to flake and crack as you bend it and can be very unforgiving until you learn how to bend it properly. Likewise, carving a figured Maple back to a specific profile both on the outside and inside requires patience and experience. Applying color and finish is an art into itself for which that I still have a lot to learn. The business side has been a struggle of a different type. No one knows who you are and has never heard or played a mandolin that you’ve made. I’ve spent quite a bit of time seeking out players and putting one of my mandolins in their hands, and getting them to play it and tell me what they think. Additionally, I’ve used social media to establish a presence as a builder with a product worthy of a player’s time and money. Now I’m working with musicians who want features in a mandolin that they can’t get from a factory-made instrument and giving them something that they really enjoy playing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have tried to establish myself as a luthier that caters to a customer that wants features that they can’t find in a mandolin built by others. For example, most mandolins have a sunburst finish that includes several shades of predominately brown. One customer wanted a color scheme that resembles weathered barn wood. I worked with him to create a color scheme that looks very close to weathered barn wood which he absolutely loves. What I am most proud of is the consistency of sound produced by my mandolins. They all have very similar characteristics. They have great volume, tone, chop, and even response up and down the fretboard and sound as if they have already opened up from the time you put the first set of strings on one. It never gets old handing my mandolin to a player that has never seen or heard one before and see the look of surprise on their face after they play it for even a short time.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
What I learned during the Covid-19 crisis is that one has to be flexible and adapt to the circumstances at hand. Often this means that you have to think differently about approaching challenges than you have in the past.
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HollisterStringedInstruments
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hollisterstringedinstrumen218
Image Credits
Cynthia Jacobson
Jon Jacobson
