This N.C. mandolin picker, collector and expert has an interesting project here: he has recorded 12 different tunes on a dozen different Gibson Lloyd Loar mandolins, all under exactly the same conditions (same mics, same strings, etc). It will take someone with more sensitive ears than mine to appreciate the subtle differences in sound, but I trust it will be of interest to the real Lloyd Loar devotees. (Even I can appreciate the magnitude of getting 12 different Loar mandolins in one place for such a test --the Loar, (as in Bill Monroe's mandolin) is by far the most costly of all Bluegrass instruments). Most of the tunes Williamson plays here are pop or jazz standards such as Fats Waller's AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', SECRET LOVE, ALL OF ME, and Duke Ellington's SATIN DOLL, and unless you are really into the tone differences, musically the tunes cry for some additional accompaniment. That is not a criticism, as obviously the point of the experiment is to isolate the different shadings of tone and power from these wonderful instruments. The serial numbers and dates of manufacture are given.
