Monteleone 1979 Grand Artist Mandola #40

John Monteleone is widely considered to be one of the world's preeminent builders of archtop guitars. Having started his career as a repairman for the famous (and now defunct) Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, Monteleone quickly garnered a reputation for quality and design. Some of his work was featured in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, on loan from Rudy Pensa himself. This gorgeous instrument features a spruce top and highly flamed maple back, sides, and neck. This F style mandola features John's proprietary scroll design, a more modern choice, differentiating his mandolins from the others. John's years of experience at Mandolin Brothers has allowed him to capture the Loar tone, but add a sense of modern clarity that stands above many builders. A mandola, tuned like a viola, comes with a longer scale, the length of which is something that varies between manufacturers. This particular mandola has a 16" scale, allowing for bright, punchy tone, and has a nut width a hair under 1 1