Northfield's Big Mon Mandolin

Northfield's "Big Mon" is of course named after the famous Bill Monroe tune, and like his iconic Lloyd Loar F-5 it has the black-white purfling lines on the sides (instead of on the top and back). But you don't have to play like Monroe to get what this model is about, that becomes clear with just a few chord chops and quick runs with your flat pick. It's hard to believe this is a brand new mandolin, and when those brassy-sounding new strings are broken in a bit the tone will be even more convincing. Northfield pulled out all the stops for this model, even giving it a hybrid varnish finish instead of straight nitrocellulose lacquer.

The Big Mon comes in a variety of finishes including their standard Loar-style sunburst; a darker sunburst they call Icelandic Brown; an all-body Amber finish; and a Black Top with sunburst back and sides, a look that Orville Gibson created in the 1890s. Northfield offers three different tonewoods for the top: Adirondack Red Spruce, Engelmann Spruce, and Italian Spruce. They also offer two nut widths, the standard 1 1/8" and the wider 1 3/16". The fretboard is radiused on all of the variations. The Big Mon is our most popular Northfield model. Stop on by and give it try and we think you'll find out why.