About 2 months ago, I went to see Paul Hathway to look at octave and tenor mandolins. I was completely blown away by the quality of his instruments, so I ordered an octave mandolin that day. I didn't like the thick V-profile necks though, so Paul said he'd do me a faster D-shaped neck for no extra charge. And my own choice of top wood (cedar), edge binding and pickup fitment.

Fast forward a bit; and last week he emailed me to say it'd be done this weekend. He put two identical instruments down on the table, said "see which one you prefer", and left me to it! :-) It was only possible to tell the difference by A-B'ing them, because they were both amazing. But I made my choice, handed over a not-too-large cheque (£675 for an instrument made to my spec and fitted with a pickup is a very good deal!), and was then the proud owner of the best octave mandolin I've ever heard. Paul also threw in a top-notch padded soft case and a spare set of strings (custom gauges to best suit the instrument).

Playing it since I picked it up, the only suitable word is "beautiful". Rich, singing tone, and almost unlimited sustain. I suspect it'd be unsuitable for bluegrass because it doesn't go "plink" like bluegrass players seem to want. But if you're wanting to play folk tunes of any description, it's ideal - gorgeous tone for slow airs, and incredibly playable for faster stuff. I also plan on starting learning some classical mandolin stuff, because it seems a waste to limit myself to just playing folk when I've got an instrument that can do absolutely anything I ask it to. ;-)

So a recommendation for anyone looking for a mandolin, be it octave, tenor or regular - if you want a *really* good instrument, check out Paul Hathway. His website (which is rather primitive) is www.paulhathway.com. He also makes every other conceivable instrument with strings and frets too, and they all sound pretty damn good as well!

Graham.