Hi Dave, the mandola (bowlback) arrived safely to St. Petersburg via the post.  I have to tell you honestly, I am truly astounded at the quality of workmanship and the end result.  I have been looking at this shell of an instrument for 25 years wondering if it could ever be something playable, and frankly my expectations were low based on the condition it was in. Somehow you have transformed this into an instrument that has an unexpectedly beautiful sound, and probably more remarkable, it's extremely comfortable and easy to play.  The action is low, the string tension is minimal, and the compensation puts the intonation right on the mark, and I have a discerning ear for that: I often cringe at the sound of Emberghers on the web.  The new fingerboard and scaling was definitely worth the effort.  I was not accustomed to the concert fingerboard extension and found that awkward initially, but I quickly adjusted to picking around it.  There is a slight trade off between sound projection and the concert fingerboard, but this is a fine solution. The new internal support bars are top notch work and were needed.  The arm rest was a good choice. You managed to undo many previous sloppy repair attempts, and have restored this to a beautiful instrument with a sound quality that I suspect is better than the original.  The cosmetic repairs you made are first class, and any minor imperfections are age appropriate.  I recognize the smell of the finish, it seems similar to something I've used on clocks in the past.  I immediately started playing Baroque and it sounds like this instrument was made for such music, which I'm very pleased about because it's my present focus. With shipping between the U.S. and France, I suspect I've paid twice the amount of some customers, but it I deem it worth every cent. 

Thank you greatly!  Tom W. (Florida USA)

Hi Dave,   Just to say the mandolin has arrived. Many thanks, it�s a lovely sounding instrument.. better than I expected from something of that age. Finding it difficult to put down at the moment and I�m sure I�ll need new strings before too long, especially in my attempts to get to grips with tremolo. What do you charge for your strings + postage? Thanks for the advice on care that came with the instrument and on website. I must admit I can�t really see myself boxing it away when it is not being used and is in the house - looks too nice to be hidden in a box. But I don�t have extreme temperatures here � house varies between minimum of 15 and max of 20 degrees C � but I take the point about sunlight.   Best wishes, Mike S. (Kent, UK)