Interview: Martin Brunkalla

Chicago area native Martin Brunkalla grew up in a family that made things for entertainment, before the advent of shopping malls and video games. He inherited his father's fascination with how things worked and were made. He built model cars, boats, planes, trains and rockets. When he was 12, he and some of his brothers became the first kids on the block to achieve manned flight, building a glider with a 22 foot wingspan. The nine year old pilot survived without serious injury, but their parents began encouraging activities than did not involve leaving the ground. Martin developed a wide variety of interests, including: cycling, geology, metalworking, woodworking, astronomy, aviation, the space program and all things mechanical and musical. After graduation from high school, Martin went to work in his father's small job shop as a machinist, learning many things about the manufacture, design and function of many items. This led to many years of repairing, restoring and modifying stringed instruments of all types. He spent many years studying the violin and its history. He also credits the late Manfred Reinl, a third generation master violin maker, for generously sharing his technical expertise. Martin's first professional luthierie job was custom inlay work on a bowlback mandolin, and his career grew from there. His formal introduction to the mandolin came with the purchase of a Kalamazoo "A" model at a flea market. He thought that it would help him learn to improvise on the fiddle, then found himself playing it at jam sessions when there was already a fiddle player handy.

Joe Mendel: Hi Martin. As I understand it you never intended to build mandolins, none the less, the story is interesting. Would you tell us how you became a mandolin builder?

Martin Brunkalla: Several years ago, a young woman in New York purchased a violin from me. She asked if I would be willing to give some guidance to a couple of her band-mates who were attempting to build a mandolin. I confessed that I had never built one, but that I might be able to give some basic advice. At some point in the process, the desire to have a finished instrument exceeded the desire to make one, and I was asked to make an F-style. I reminded him that he now had more mandolin-making experience than I did, but that didn't dissuade him from commissioning an instrument. It was a pretty safe bet, as I agreed that he would not be obligated to buy it unless it was exactly what he wanted. I figured that my violin-making experience would serve me well in the attempt, and that I should be able to come up with a reasonable mandolin. That particular Cape Cod-based band now owns 2 F-style, an A-style, an octave mandolin, 2 parlor guitars, and the fiddle that started it all. "Tripping Lily" released their debut CD "The Couch Sessions, Live" last fall, and to date has enjoyed the better part of 8 weeks at the number one spot on Boston's WUMB radio. It's hard to describe the satisfaction of hearing several instruments of my making being played together, making great music to boot.

JM: That's a quite a beginning. How helpful was your experience as a violin maker to you with that first mandolin?

MB: Very helpful. I had been doing precision carving for a long time, years before I started building violins, so that aspect of mandolin making was pretty academic. The experience gained voicing bowed instrument plates and tuning bass bars was invaluable, and transferred well to the mandolin, though the requirements are a little different.

JM: How different did you find building a mandolin compared to violin? How about similarities?

MB: The similarities outnumber the differences. I use an internal form for bowed instruments and an external for mandolins, but up until you get to binding the mandolin, the processes are very similar. Binding the tight curves of the body scroll and peg head of an F-style was the point at which fiddles and mandolins became very different projects. I wonder if maybe Orville Gibson had a bit of a cruel streak when it came to the manufacturability of his creations. Regardless, the end result proved to be worth the tedium. Then, of course there's the fretboard.

JM: Like many other modern builders you've used the Gibson F-5 as a starting point for your own mandolins, but you don't "copy" them, what things do you intentionally keep from the Gibson model and what do you try to make different?

MB: I think that many people would agree that the quirky, asymmetrical, yet incredibly balanced aesthetic of the Gibson F-5 is a stroke of design genius, if not incredible luck. It has certainly proven to have wide appeal in the mandolin world. Externally, I retain the basic outline of the F-5, though I continue the re-curve of the top and back up onto the points. Internally, the plate graduations and tone bars are extrapolated from my violin-making experience. For those who prefer a pickguard, I came up with a mounting method that dispensed with the little bracket that attaches to the sound box. Its cantilever mounted on the fretboard extension and is easily removed and replaced by means of a single screw. My default neck shape is a bit "beefier" and more rounded than the traditional Gibson "vee". For myself, this shape has proven to be less fatiguing, and a number of my customers have discovered that the same is true for them. Of course, I'm happy to make any neck shape that a customer prefers.

JM: Do most of your customers start out wanting a Loar style instrument or are they looking for something different, something to suit them personally?

MB: Most of my customers have had an opportunity to hear and/or play one of my instruments, and come to me wanting one that looks and plays like what they have already experienced. That suits me just fine, because I'm a bit reticent to promise an instrument that sounds like this one or that (by other makers). I can tweak things somewhat to get a little bit brighter or warmer sound, but my goal remains to replicate the basic sound that has, thus far, brought me some success. I've had one request to copy a Loar, and turned it down when asked if I could guarantee that it would pass for the genuine article. Then there's the issue of what exactly constitutes the Loar "sound". I've had the privilege of laying hands on several authentic Loars and found each to have its own tonal character. Had I been blindfolded, I would have guessed they were made by different makers. They did, however, all share the same "vintage" aroma. Could that be the Loar "smell"?

JM: What are your favorite woods to use and why do you prefer them?

MB: Aside from some really excellent, old growth Sitka Spruce that I've used for top plates, I haven't had the opportunity to build any mandolins out of anything other than the traditional maple and spruce. Filling orders has made it difficult to squeeze in any "spec" or experimental instruments (not that I'm complaining!). I prefer soft maple over hard for its mellower tonal properties. When I can find it, quilt-figured maple is even better for the type of tone I'm seeking, as the almost-random grain structure works to subdue some of the higher frequency harmonics, in particular, those that are associated with a "tinny" sound . One of my favorite woods is good old domestic Black Walnut. I have made a number of 4 and 5 string violins using it for back, sides and neck with very satisfying results. I'm looking forward to getting the opportunity to build an "A" and an "F" mandolin using some pretty special walnut I've collected. In addition to the walnut, I've accumulated some other unusual and exotic woods, also waiting for that elusive opportunity, or maybe a brave soul that's willing to commission something a bit out of the ordinary. I had the good fortune of acquiring a small, instrument-grade stash of the oldest, rarest wood that has yet been discovered on the planet, and managed to squeeze an extra fiddle into the schedule last year, made of this marvelous stuff. You may have heard Chris Sexton of "Nothing Fancy" play it at the Festival in Springfield, IL last fall. Wow! The instrument was pretty good too.

JM: What is your preferred finish for mandolin and why?

MB: I developed a Tung oil finishing process for violins a while back, and have used it on every mandolin I've made so far. The difference on the mandolins is that I do a little French polish as a foundation for the Tung oil, and also to fix any water-based dye that I normally use to color my instruments. The end result is extremely thin, and acoustically "transparent". I also feel that this finish really brings out the character of the woods. I finish my mandolin necks the same as violin necks are traditionally finished, which is almost no finish at all. This makes a very silky, fast surface that never gets sticky or soft, and is easy to maintain as well.

JM: Knowing that everyone's definition of "hand-made" is different, how hand made are you instruments? Do you make all of the wood parts, etc.?

MB: The first mental image I get when I hear the term "hand-made" is a sign in a local restaurant that touts "home-made soups and bread". I suppose it's possible that someone who works at the food supplier's factory may call the place "home". Seriously, for those of us who make a living at this, the degree of "hand-making" is usually dictated by very practical issues. In my case, I'm pretty happy as a one-man operation, and my current volume allows me to do a lot of hand work, augmented by a few powered tools, commonly found in a small woodworking shop. I make all of the wooden parts with two exceptions. I buy pre-slotted fingerboard blanks and usually radius them myself. I also purchase high-quality, pre-made bridges. I've made my own bridges on a few occasions, but the high quality and reasonable price available from my supplier makes it practical to spend my time on other things.

The most significant "mechanization" of my building process came about when I started to experience the symptoms of nerve damage in my hands, most likely from too many years of pushing chisels and gouges through hard wood, and horsing wrenches in an earlier life. It wasn't painful, but extremely unpleasant. I resorted to a manually guided duplicating router to do the rough carving on the outside of violin and mandolin plates. I still do the inside carving and graduating by hand, but the assistance of the router has made it possible for me to keep doing what I'm doing. I started out cutting all of my binding ledges by hand, but found I could save a little time employing a small, hand-held router to do the bulk of it. I still hand carve the ledges around the body scroll and peg head scrolls.

I'm not a "purist" in the sense that doing everything the hard way somehow enhances the end result. I'm convinced that Stradivari would have loved to have a few power tools, had they been available. I do love working the wood, and becoming intimately acquainted with all of the pieces as the project progresses, but in the interest of paying my bills, efficiency just becomes part of the equation. If the volume of commissions starts to outrun my ability to keep up, I adjust my methods accordingly, but in such a way as to preserve my ability to do it all myself, and maintain the quality of my work, in my shop.

JM: In your opinion, what are the two or three most important things involved in building a high quality mandolin?

MB: In my mind, music is what this is all about, so sound is my first priority. That by itself doesn't necessarily constitute a quality instrument. Durability qualifies as a quality issue, so structural integrity is a big one. I really don't want to see one of my instruments back in my shop for any reason, other than a re-fret necessitated by a happy player who just can't stop playing. Fit and finish gets a lot of press on the mandolin discussion boards, but I've seen a great many instruments that are meticulously fitted and finished, very pretty, that better qualify as decorative wall -art rather than as a musical instrument. At the same time, good workmanship should be apparent in a "quality" instrument. Then there's set-up. I'm a little obsessive about playability and intonation. No matter what else may be good about an instrument, if it can't be played in tune, it isn't worth a nickel to me. A quality instrument should play true all the way up the neck. Some will argue that because the parallel fret scale is inherently flawed, it can't be done. That may be true if your ear is as discerning as a strobe tuner, but for most of us, the perception of playing true all the way up the neck is achievable. I also try to make my instruments as easy on the fingers as possible. An accurate fret job and set-up makes it possible to bring the strings very low over the fret board without buzzing. So, I guess all of the above constitutes what I would consider to be a "quality" mandolin.

JM: What is your favorite part of building a mandolin?

MB: Two things vie for first place with me. One is the expression on a customers face when he/she plays the first few notes on their new instrument. The other is hearing beautiful sounds coming out of what started out looking much like a small heap of firewood.

JM: I'm curious about your octave mandolin, please tell us about them.

MB: My octave started out as a request to copy a Flatiron Bouzouki. Outwardly, it looks a lot like the Flatiron, but internally it's quite different. The few zouks and O/Ms I've had a chance to play had a wonderful sound, but were too quiet to compete with other acoustic instruments in a jam. I developed an x-braced top that was a lot more guitar-like in construction, but still maintained the rich octave sound, only louder. The scale length falls somewhere in the gray area between short bouzoukis and long octave mandolins. I opted to call it an octave mandolin simply because it's a more descriptive term than Irish Bouzouki.

JM: Octave mandolins have such a great sound. I'm surprised they haven't gained wider recognition in many styles of music. Do you get many orders for octaves?

MB: Only a few so far. I think part of it is that many musicians outside of the mandolin world simply aren't aware of them. For someone who is accustomed to playing four-finger "bluegrass" chords on a mandolin, the fret spacing on an octave makes it virtually impossible to use what they have already learned. Even for someone coming from guitar, single-noting covers a lot more ground on an instrument tuned in fifths. In short, there's a learning curve that isn't as simple as just playing a slightly larger mandolin. Two of the O/Ms I've built are in the hands of recording artists, and have been played on numerous tracks and in some session work for others. I think as people become more familiar with the sound and sight of them, interest will continue to grow. I would like to make one for myself one of these days. I love the sound.

JM: Here's your chance to tell us about the other instruments you build, your violins, viola's and the guitars you are building.

MB: I make professional level violins (I'm not quite sure how to qualify that without sounding pretentious), as well as 5-string violins and violas which have become somewhat of a specialty for me. My 5-strings were designed as 5-strings, and are not converted 4-strings as many of the commercially available instruments are. I also offer 5 different models of acoustic guitar, all of my own design, with the exception of a very cool jazz guitar which was in collaboration with my wife (she also claimed the prototype which she plays in her swing trio). Others include a parlor size, grand auditorium, dreadnought, and a patent-pending dreadnought size with a unique bridge and bracing system. I call it the "Freedom-Top" as there are no braces in the top plate. The object of the design was to address all of the daunting structural issues of traditionally built acoustic guitars, and at the same time increase the sound output. I'm pleased to report that the concept works beautifully and, so I've been told, is redefining the term "bluegrass cannon". The most memorable review to date came from a superb flat-picker from West Virginia who told me that "the only thing lacking was a toggle switch labeled "STUN" or "KILL". Needless to say, it's been a very satisfying and exciting adventure for me.

I know we're about to wrap this up, Joe, so I wanted to thank you so much for this opportunity to toot my horn a little, and that it was a great pleasure meeting you and having a chance to talk down in Springfield. All the best.

JM: Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed and for talking with me at the Greater Downstate Bluegrass Festival in November 2006. I was able to play two of his mandolins and see several of his violin/fiddles, all very nice instruments, and he had several great stories about his instruments. it was very interesting to talk to a mandolin builder that came to it from building violins. If you would like to see some of his instruments, there is a schedule of festivals where he will be displaying his instruments on his website http://www.brunkalla.com/ , he can be contacted at: 815-568-0819, or martin@brunkalla.com. Martin would also be happy to arrange for you to visit his shop if you are going to be in the Chicago area.