McClanahan Stringed Instruments
A hand written letter from home, a Cuban cigar hand rolled on a cut board in Havana or your Grandma's apple pie. What do all these have in common? They are "hand made", and the same holds true with a McClanahan mandolin. I literally put my heart and soul into each mandolin I build and in this disposable world of plastic and computers it's nice to know that some things are still held sacred. From the graduation of the top and back, to the carving of the scroll, shaping the neck and engraving, it's all done with my hands. One thing that also sets me apart is that I'm also an accomplished mandolinist of over 30 years. I grew up playing the festival circuit from
West Virginia to Florida and as far West as Iowa. I play all different styles on the mandolin from Bluegrass, Dawg, Jazz to Classical and I know what a player wants and needs in their instrument.
I began my career as a luthier by doing my own repairs and restorations. One day on a trip to Nashville I took some of my work by the Gibson Guitar plant (unannounced) and they hired me on the spot and two weeks later my family and I moved to Nashville TN. During my ten years at Gibson Guitar, my fellow employees and I built the "Bench Mark" Carve Tops of the world, the Citation, Super 400, La Grande, the L-5 and the Byrdland, all custom guitars ranging between $20,000 to over $100,000.00 each. My first love has always been the mandolin and once I began building my own, there was no turning back.
I and my mandolins have been featured in multiple television programs as well as publications. The most recent being the "SPEED" Network show "Gearze" where I restored a Paul Reed Smith guitar that was destroyed in the Nashville Tennessee flood of 2010 for the host of the show, Stacey David. Stacey used it as the "Theme Guitar" for his 1967 "V8 Interceptor" Cougar. The Hallmarks of a McClanahan mandolin are: hand made, vintage tone, very loud volume, effortless playability and a candle light glow in the cosmetics. Hear the difference, feel the difference and see the difference of a hand made McClanahan mandolin.