Has anyone tried the Draleon Royale mandolin?

simplygoodmusic

http://www.gypsyjazzguitars.com/mando/d ... oyale.html

Looks like a very interesting concept. I seem to remember a few others of the same style, but other makers.

What do you make of it?

PhillGreen

I have one. I picked it up (barely) used a couple of weeks ago. I had been looking into these for about 6 months, but didn't want to buy one before trying it. I got lucky and one was for sale very near my home, so I played it, and then I bought it. There is a very good review of these at http://jazzmando.com/draleon_royale.shtml. That should give you an advanced player's view.

I am a beginner/intermediate. The tone constantly surprises me. The low end is full and rich, and my wife tells me that the high end gives her the chills, so I am pretty happy with the sound. I think the thing that was most unexpected was the weight of the instrument. It is like a feather compared to my F model. I am completely happy with my Draleon, and the way it plays. I know there are better mandolins out there (when I bought the Draleon, I got to play a Cohen mandolin that was even better and much more expensive), but for the price, I believe my instrument was a bargain. I should also mention that mine was upgraded by a previous owner with Schaller Tuners, bone nut, fossilized walrus bridge and Allen tailpiece, so perhaps my instrument's sound is not totally typical. However, I have yet to read anyone saying anything other than the Draleon has a great sound.

simplygoodmusic

Thanks for the review.

Is it really as "punchy and loud" as the hype says?

PhillGreen

Yes, I think so. Now my wife has to keep turning up the TV when I practice, and my teacher knows when I am unsure of what I am playing because he can actually hear me strangling the notes (on my old mandolin, all the notes were strangled). Also, he plays full-out during our lessons now, instead of pianissimo like he used to. Now, although you can play it loud, you don't have to. When I want to play something soft, I can. I also think it is very punchy. I have been working on Grisman's "Turn of the Century" which calls for a lot of staccato as well as sustain, and it feels very punchy during the staccato passages, and it handles the non-tremolo whole notes in the piece very nicely.

simplygoodmusic

Thanks