Doyle Lawson: The secret to a signature mandolin sound
by Walter Carter

Doyle Lawson, award-winning mandolinist and leader of the bluegrass/gospel group Quicksilver, had two requirements for his signature Gibson mandolin: The appointments had to be different from those of the classic Gibson F-5 Master Model, and the sound could not be different.

"I see no plusses or percentages in your favor, building something that looks like everything else," Lawson explained. "But one thing we stressed: The tone quality, the volume and everything like that, it had to meet my expectations. Above all I wanted it to sound good."

It didn't quite work out the way he expected, though. What were meant to be merely cosmetic changes did in fact have an effect on the tone of the Doyle Lawson Signature F-5. Fortunately, it was a change for the better.

Mandolin aficionados will immediately notice that the headstock inlay and the shape of the end of the fingerboard on the Lawson model distinguish it from the classic F-5. Lawson also specified binding on the f-holes (the F-5's soundholes are unbound) to give it a classier, more expensive appearance.

Lawson picks up the story: "They built the prototype and I went by and played it. I honestly could not believe that it was sounding as good as it did. It amazed me. I'd lay it down and talk to them a little bit and I'd pick it back up and play it more. I've been doing this music a long time, I am pretty hard to impress. I remarked how full it sounded and how even."

Lawson took his mandolin to a friend who checked it out over a PA system. "He said he really could not believe how that thing cut through a microphone," Lawson said.

In construction, the Lawson mandolin was built to "Loar specs" - recreating the F-5s of 1922-24 that Gibson acoustic engineer Lloyd Loar designed, built and signed. Lawson owns a 1923 Loar F-5 himself, so he is quite familiar with the classic sound.

So why does his signature mandolin sound different? Lawson thinks it must be the soundholes. "We think probably it's because they left the f-holes the standard size, then they put the binding on them," he explained. "Visually and physically, it lessens the opening of the f-holes. I think that could very well have a little to do with the warmness and the overall full tone that it seems to have."

Lawson's signature mandolin joins an arsenal of Gibson mandolins that he's used onstage and in the studio. "Particularly in the studio, oddly enough, I've always liked the sound of the old F-4s," he said, referring to the early scroll-body Gibsons with an oval soundhole. "I have a 1917 and a 1923. I have a 1924 A model (symmetrical body with oval soundhole) that used to belong to Ira Louvin. I have a 1950 F-12 I picked up years ago. They never were a match for the Loars, but a lot of guys back in the early days played those because they were a lot cheaper."

Although Lawson is widely recognized as one of the best mandolin players in bluegrass, it is the vocal part of his music that has always set him apart. When he joined the Country Gentlemen in the 1970s he brought with him a strong Southern gospel music influence courtesy of his father, who had gone to singing schools, learned to read music and sung in an a cappella gospel quartet. Lawson's arrangements enhanced the sound of what was already considered one of the greatest bands in bluegrass.

When he left the Gentlemen in 1979 to form his own band, Quicksilver, vocals were a top priority. "I told the first three guys that came in, I want a group that we won't be in any kind of corner," he recalled. "We can do whatever we want to do, within reason. The most important thing that I want is I want to have a quartet like my dad had when I grew up. I had all these songs that he used to sing that nobody had ever heard of on the bluegrass circuit."

With smooth quartet harmonies and a hefty dose of gospel music, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver quickly established a unique identity as a bluegrass gospel band, and Lawson is planning a reunion in 2004 to celebrate the group's 25th anniversary. After more than 25 albums, they're still balancing gospel and bluegrass. "The Hand Made Cross" from their Hard Game of Love album garnered an IBMA award for Gospel Recorded Performance of the Year (one of their three IBMA awards). They're heading into the studio soon to record a new album of secular music, and then they're scheduled for another gospel album.

Looking back on his success as a gospel bluegrass artist, Lawson could just as well be talking about the sound of his new mandolin. "I didn't really plan on it," he said. "It just happened. The good thing was I realized we were onto something. I think the good Lord has a purpose in mind for everybody if they just follow it."