The 'Master Model' Mara Kilgore
On Saturday nights at six o'clock, my father and I sit in cool, leather chairs
around an antique side table whose chestnut top wears round and ringed stains from years of hot mugs and dark pints upon it. Chris Thile's voice spills from hung
speakers and sweetens the room as he narrates this week's sponsors: "This portion of
our show is brought to you, as always, by Fast AF. Fiddle tunes ru·e safe, therapeutic,
andfun."
Thile is the host of American Public Radio's Live From Here, a show where
musicians from all different backgrounds rendezvous to explore the depths of Folk
and Bluegrass. Now 37, Thile made his first appearance on the show, then titled A
Prairie Home Companion, when he was only 15 and already well on his way to becoming
a mandolin virtuoso (Streep). He, like I, was inspired at a young age by Saturday
nights with Garrison Keillor.
Growing up in a musical family, Chris Thile picked up his first mandolin at age
four. By 13, he was touring in his band Nickel Creek and had already released his fast
solo album (Stone). In recent years, when not hosting Live From Here, Thile plays with
his band, Punch Brothers, an incredibly talented Bluegrass, and yet not Bluegrass,
quintet. His tunes are plucked on the stretched strings of his Gibson Loar F5
Mandolin, which Thile refers to as ''The Bm1k of'Thik·.'' fo1· ii cost him his c111i,·c
savings (Slo11<'). Tl1is rna11doli11 is one of only T{o idc111ificd a11d doc11111c111cd Gihso11
82 Loar l ◄' (i ;\landolins (\Voll'e). Designed by acoustical !'11gineer Lloyd Loar, i11 the world existing Gibson l ◄'fi a11d 1hc11 incorporated slructm·es f'o1111d in S11·adivari violin of'1na11dolins, Thilc's is one of'the V!)l"_\' liesl. pri11ci11al. The· blendi11g or guilar and violin through lhc f'-holcs, long 11erk, a11d raised
J(' not in 011r niusic room cJ11 Salurclay nights al six o'clock, Dad all(I I a1·c i11 a fingerboard crcalcd a disling·uished look ;111d lone i11 l.,ciar's i11slrnrnc11l, which theater lo S!'l' Chris Thill' in person. Near the end ol'a Pnnch 13rothcrs show, Thilc lwcame k11ow11 as Ilic 'Master i\lodd' 111a11doli11 (Si111i11of'f).
11 ill u11plug, step forward, and play Bach's So11ala ,\10.1 i11 C 1ninor 011 his Loa1· F5. Ile As the popularity and prcsligr of' Loar's i11slru111cnls grew in ihe l!J:fos, n1osll_1 cradles I he small a ud su nlrnrsl body oC his, Loar as I he crisp and spiraled cdgi~s hrush cine lo 'The Father of Bluegrass" Bill ~lonroc, ma11cloli11isls hcga11 lo \rack a11d against his arms. Eight thin slri11gs slretd1 across a peculiarly long neck, where 1:licy document the hauds which held these 'l\fast{'l' :Models.' One such 11111sieia11 was Da1Tyl rnccl al lhc i11slrunw11l 1s head 011 either sidt• of a pearly torch inlay. The l,oar 1 ◄'5 \Voll'e, mandolinist of'Thc K11owillc Crass. ln :111 interview wilh \Volrc'., he ccmfi~ss<'d li•al111'<'s two thin and ru1·vcd f'-l10lcs, designed lo rrt~alc r :111d the signature: of' Llo)d Loar hi111scll'. These ar-c· the 1t1arks of'lhc ''Masle1· Model'' dow11 lhc serial nu111h<' rs and descriptions oflhc mandolins be l'ouncl. 111a11dolin, a11d an,1rnH' with lhe good f'orlunc of owning one has their inslru11w11t's hobhy l111'11ccl inlo lhc F'>.lo!lma/, the 111nsl rohusl a11d accurate archive of' all localed 1111111lwr and data 111cn1orized. The 'l3ank of'Thile' is 11u111l){'l' i5'1,!l, sig11cd Feb. 18, I ,oar i11st1·ume111s. Following ihe F5 Jormw/, Danyl \Volfi_, planned Lomfrsls, whl're 11111sicians K11ow11 li>I' its part ic1ilarl,1 long· neck, widespread r-holcs, alld raisl'cl who owned Cibson Loar F5 mandolins could come togctlwr a11d share i11 their li11gcrl,oanl, 1l1c Loar I ◄'~ lra11sf'or111ed lhl' c1·calio11 of'mandolins. Llo,,d Loar designed apprecialio11 liir Lloyd I ,oar's designs. \Volfi_, 1·emc111licrs fo1Hlly these gatherings ol' 15- Ll1is i11st1·111nc11t whe11 lie workl'd f'or Gihso11 as an acoustical engi1wer, a job which 20 1n::l.llcloli11is1s, all si11i11g arnn11d a stage a11d playing each 01lw1·'s inslr11rncnls. pl'rf'crtly ro111hi1wcl bis childhood passions of" physirs and music (Siruinol'I). From a ''J1's hccn a great journey," he recalls as he lists off 11ainc al'lt•r 11a111c of' l:u11cJ11s young agl', I ,oar was curious ahoul I.he rrn1stmclirn1 o[' mandolins (Sirni11off). \Vhc11 rna11doli11isls he has hcf'ric11dcd tl1rough tl1csc li-slivals. he lwgan al Cibson, wilhout rnuch cxpe1·it•11cc, he was quick lo Lcsl ncll' ideas fc1r Wolfe purchased his first Loar mandolin back in 1976. Then only 23, Wolfe 111a11doli11 dcsig·n. To creak I his revolulionary i11slr1Jlllt'11t, Loa1· hcg·,111 with the drove from North Carolina to New Hampshire with his father and wife. Woll'e noted 8ft that, back then , there was no in ternet nor immediate way to communicate, so he had Monroe's "Million Dollar Mandolin," which is arguably th e most famous Gibson Loar planned in advance, over the phone and through letters, the exact details of this F5 mandolin and now sits in the Country Music Hall of Fame (Rudder). mandolin exchange. Wolfe was adamant to pick up the Loar in person for he wanted Perhaps most impressive of all is th e mandolin h eld on stage before Dad and to ensure it was the right instrument for him. If the neck of a mandolin does not fit me. Thile, a world-renowned rnandolinist, Grammy winner, MacArthur Genius, and the shape of your hand or the tone does not match the sound you desire, there is very my first crush, p lays th e mandolin which is only one digit away from Lloyd Loar's little that can be done to change it. However, for Darryl, it was a match, and he personal Gibson Loar F5. Thi le plucks a melody which dances about th e room with purchased the mandolin and drove right back to North Carolina. He arrived home just sharp, woody steps. As the final notes of Bach's Sonata fad e into the farthest corn ers in time to walk on stage and play a show with The Knoxville Grass. Later on, Wolfe of the silent theater, the Punch Brothers sLep forward and join Thi le at the edge of a discovered that the man who sold him that Loar was a con man and, had Wolfe not dark stage. With all in stn1ments unplugged, Thile begins one final song with a slow in sisted upon buying it in person rather than having it shipped , the instrument very and scraping strum on his mandolin sLrin gs. One by one, the others join in , not we ll could have never been sent to him. fighting to be heard but Lo tune into th e present dance whi ch carries on th e legendary 13<-yo nd Lite storiC's a11d l11n cs wl1i C' li of'lcn bring tlwsC' 11111si c 11rnk<·rs together, work of Lloyd Loar and his 'Master Model' mandolin. 1l1 <'y an· co 111H'C'tcd l,y til e 111111dwrs 1·<· cordcd inside each ol' th eir Loars. \,\/ li en spcaki11 g witl1 Darryl \Vo ll< : a 11d li stcn i11 g lo i11lcrvi cws witl1 f~1n1ou s 1rw11dolini sts , I nolir<·d th at 111:111y ar(' q11ich. lo 1·r·c il1' their 1wrndoli11 's s!'ria l 11un1hc·r. It sc'c ms Lo he a poi 111 of" prid<' wliicl1 exact I ,oar t liey ow11 and who t hci r I l<'i glil,oring ow1 1ers arc. 1n an interview with Fretboard Journal, as John Reisch man shares about his Loar, he recites the serial number, 75327, without a second thought: (Verlinde). He recalls that his mandolin is only one number away from David Grisman's, who once lost his Loar buL stumbled upon the exact same one many years later (Ve rlinde). Similarly, Darryl Wolfe made certain that I understood his Loar is only fiv e numbers away from Bill 86 vVorks Cited Carter Vintage Guitars. "Chris Thile - Two February 18th, 1924 Loar Mandolins" Youtube, 21 April 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh_CdTa-2-U. Rudder, Randy. "The Million-Dollar Mandolin: Bluegrass Music's Finest Relic Finally Finds a Home." Southern Cultures, vol. 13, no. 3, 2007, pp. 126- 131. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26391069. Siminoff, Roger. "Lloyd Allayre Loar, 1886-1943." SiminoffBanjo & Mandol in Parts, si mi noff.net/loar-background/. Stone, Steven. "Chris Thile: Thile's New Loar." Vintage Guitar Magazine, www.vintageguitar.com/3456/chris-thile/. Streep, Abe. "What's 'A Prairie Home Companion' Without Garrison Keillor?" The New York Times, 27 Sept. 20 16, https://www. nytimes.comhor6/ro/02/rnagaz ine/whats-a -prairie-home compan ion -without-garrison -keillor. h trnl. Verlinde, Jason. "John Reischman's Mandolin." Fretboard Journal, Aug. 2ou, https:// www.fretboardjournal.com/video/john-reischmans-loar-mandolin/. -.Wolfe, Darryl C. Personal interview. 22 Oct. 2018. \Volfe, Darryl C. "The F5 Journal." The F5 Journal, Darryl G. Wolfe Publishing Co., www.f5journal.com/. 87