02/03/2011:

Finishing a batch of mandolins right now. Also, one of the mando-cellos.....Waiting on the case for that instrument.

10/19/2010:

Now I see it's been just short of one year since I've updated the web-site. Wow, so many things have happened. My son, James, built his first guitar. It's a walnut/spruce dreadnought. He did a really good job and I think he's considering another one to sell this time (Of course, he's going to keep this one). Lot's of new projects going on.....everything from putting up hay to building two mandolas and two mando-cellos. More later.......

10/30/2009:

Well, I see it's been six months since I've posted anything here. Doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. Let's get caught up......The 1000th mandolin is now finished and for sale. You can see photos of it under the 'Mandolins For Sale' link on the main page.......The fancy mandolin with the pearl binding is finished and came out well. Customer seemed satisfied. I've got some photos of it under the 'Photos From Around The Shop' link............Very fancy left-handed mandolin on the 'Mandolins For Sale' page as well.......No problems with the heart. Can't tell any difference. They said because I was so quick getting to the hospital, I could expect a full recovery and that's what seems to be happening.

4/14/2009:

Well, all is well on the heart attack front. Just building mandolins and plodding along. Three A styles in the works right now and several F styles. One of the F styles is supposed to be super fancy. D-45 binding all over. It should be quite a cool project. Maybe I can get some photos during it's construction and post them here on the web-site.

1/3/2009:

On the 28th of Dec. I had a heart attack. I was in the hospital for 4 days and they put in a stent. I'm OK and expect full recovery, but am a little weak right now. Thanks to everybody who checked on me and sent well wishes. I really appreciate it. I'm back at work now, but moving a little slow.

9/01/2008:

Busy few weeks. Let's see, I've got the thousandth mandolin done. No real good photos to post yet but I'll update what I have as soon as possible. I've just been too busy, believe it or not. I've got the Luthier's Showcase in Bristol, TN coming up this month, so I'll kind of debut it there. That's part of the Rhythm and Roots Festival, so if you're in the area stop by and say hello. Last year we were on the main street next to the Paramount Theatre, I assume we'll be in the same place this year.

I've been taking care of some repair work that has backed up on me. All the repair work seems to be major stuff. Mandolins that have been in car wrecks or dropped and broken....stuff like that. Even been working some on the week-ends just to try to get caught up.

7/5/2008:

I've spent most of the day sitting in front of this computer up-dating the web-site. What a job! Check it out though.......CD is finally released.

3/26/2008:

All 14 songs done for the solo recording. I'm listening to the rough mixes to see what needs to be done to finish it. Got most of the art work done and am looking forward to having it out soon. Work coming along nicely on mandolin #1000. I've got the body together and it's almost ready for the neck to be installed.

1/14/2008:

Polishing mandolins now. Should start shipping next week. Nine songs recorded for the solo CD. I'm really hoping to have it done and for sale in the next couple of months.

10/10/2007:

I had a fellow e-mail questions about buzzes. Here's some thoughts............

"The first thing to look at is the strings. If buzzes still occurs after a new set, then move on to the next thing, which is the action. Raise it up and see if the buzz will go away. If it does you'll have to live with a little higher action or level/dress the frets to lower the action back down.

Next things to check are the nut and saddle slots, followed by tailpiece cover, bridge thumb wheels, loose tuners, ferrules, truss rod cover, truss rod, etc. Anything that may be a loose fit and might cause a rattle. Also, check the unused string between the nut and the string posts and between the bridge and the tailpiece.

Usually, those things will cause problems on only one note.

09/24/2007:

Busy couple of weeks. The Bristol Luthier's Showcase went well. Got to visit with friends and met a lot of new folks. Got finish on the left-handed mandolin. It's a nice satin sunburst now.

Tennessee Skyline played just before The Seldom Scene. That was pretty cool.

Emcee'd the fiddler's convention in Kingsport this past week-end. All went well. Some good music. There's a lot of kids that comes out. It's good to see that.

09/11/2007:

Mandolins are done now. I've not shipped two of them yet. I'm going to take them to the Luthier's Showcase next week at the Rhythm and Roots Festival in Bristol TN. Next project is to put finish on a left hand mandolin I've built for myself. I've been playing it for a couple of monthes now and thought this would be a good time in between batches to shoot finish on it.

08/29/2007:

I was up-dating the calender and realized I hadn't had much to say for a month. Work on the mandos is coming along. In fact, I'm polishing and stringing them up right now. Here are the stores they are going to:

There's a real good mandolin player named Clive Elliot posting videos on Youtube. He's playing one of my A-styles. You can see them here

06/11/2007:

Couple of good shows this past week-end. One with Savannah Vaughn and one with James Shelton (of Dr. Ralph Stanley fame). James' show was almost rained out and we didn't play the stage, but did play under a covered area. All in all it went as well as could be expected under the circumstances.

06/04/2007:

I've been awful busy the last few days. The mandolins are coming along. I've got seven started actually this batch. All of the bodies are together. I'm binding them now and hope to have one or two ready for fret boards by the end of the week.

I've put several videos on youtube now. Click here to see them.

05/10/2007:

#445-775 I've started a new batch of mandolins. I usually build in batches of five. For the past couple of days I've been choosing wood, joining and glueing backs and tops. I've got the neck blanks roughed out with the truss rod slots and peghead pockets cut. The sides are pretty much cut, sanded and ready to start bending. Sometime in the next couple of days I should start carving tops. Takes about three months to get five mandolins finished and ready to go out the door.

04/30/2007:

#190-638 Good show this past Friday with the band Fall Creek. Rick Pafford, Janice McCombs, Ron and Savannah Vaughn and myself. I've got some video from one of our shows, as soon as I can get it edited and fixed up I'll probably put a clip on Youtube. I'll put a link here when I get that far............. Also, Tim Stafford sent me a preview of an article he wrote about Ratliff Mandolins for Bluegrass Unlimited. I don't know when it will be published, but will post it here when I have the info.

04/10/2007:

#778-458 I was in the studio all day yesterday and today as well. I'm playing rhythm guitar on James Shelton's up-coming CD. The other players are Dewey Brown(fiddle), Barry Bales(bass), Daniel Grindstaff(banjo), Adam Steffey(mandolin), Steve Sparkman(banjo) and ,of course, James(guitar). We're doing it at Maggard's Studio. It's turning out good and it's been a fun time with a bunch of good musicians.

04/06/2007:

#718-426: All the mandolins from this batch are sold now. Usually I make batches of five. So, I have none to sell now. As always, anyone interested in talking about having a mandolin built can call me or e-mail me. Now would be a good time, so we could plan for any custom features you might want. I'll be doing repairs for the next couple of weeks. I take local repair work and usually try to work on it between mandolin batches. So, it'll be a couple of weeks before I get back to mando business.

03/18/2007:

#299-216 Had a good time last night at Bellamy's Hardware in Surgoinsville. It's not really a hardware store anymore, just a place where they have music. Got on stage with Johnny Greer, Chris Manis, Mark Marshall, Billy Greer, and John Maylater. Billy Greer is the bass player for the rock group Kansas ( yes, the "Dust in the Wind" Kansas), so it was different......... but fun.

03/08/2007:

#066-113 Back in the studio tonight, this time with the Ball Sisters Band. Randy Ball asked me to sing a song he wrote for their new CD. James Shelton rode down with me and played guitar on a couple of tracks.

03/04/2007:

#967-078 Long day yesterday at Maggard's Studio in Big Stone Gap, VA. But, I think the Tennessee Skyline CD is finished. I have a test copy to listen to. I've recorded at Maggard's several times and it's always a pleasurable experience. Good people to work with. I'll post more (release date,etc.) as I get the info..........

02/25/2007:

#811: Had a fellow e-mail with some questions about Ratliff mandolins. Here's some info.............

Right now I have some Norway spruce and a little western red cedar in the shop. However, I can get about anything you want.

Frets are from Stew-Mac. Their part # is 147. I don't have the actual crown and width measurements in front of me, but it is considered a medium banjo wire. I like them, not too big, not too small.

F-styles normally shipped with a rectangular case .

Tailpieces are the traditional two piece style. Base and cover plate. I also install any of the newer ones you want. Some of those cast ones now available are really nice.

Keys are Schaller.

I'm kind of switching over to radiused fretboards. Most of the mandolins now have radiused boards, but I've done a couple of flat ones this year as well.

02/25/2007:

#793: Went to the 4th Junior Fiddlers Convention in Rogersville, TN last night. Got to visit with friends and heard some of the area's up and coming young musicians. One of my students, Savannah Vaughn, won first place in fiddle and in vocal.

02/18/2007:

In spite of bad weather conditions, Tennessee Skyline had a pretty good crowd at Carter's Fold last night. Our guest fiddler for this job was Billy Baker. For those of you who don't know him, Billy is Kenny Baker's cousin and a heck of a fiddle player himself. He played with Carl Story for years and Monroe for a little while back in the sixties, I think. I have a few pictures of the show click hereThanks Marty

02/16/2007:

I had a fellow e-mail with questions concerning a mandolin with a broken off headstock.

Here's a few thoughts...........................The area between the peghead and the neck proper is one of the more tender areas on about any instrument. I've lost count of how many banjo headstocks I've reglued. There's a lot of tension there. Usually when they are broken, it's more of a whiplash break. The instrument will fall over (either in it's case or out) and that "whiplash" thing snaps the headstock off. Happens a lot when they're shipped and the front of the peghead isn't well supported.

Don't lean your instrument up against a wall. That makes me shudder when I see someone do that. If the instrument falls over about 6 times out of 10 it will result in a broken headstock.

02/13/2007:

Just heard a sound bite of the new song Tim Stafford and I wrote. It was cut by a band called New Found Road. You can hear it at their web-site www.newfoundroad.com. The song is called "Douglas Graves" and I thought they did a wonderful job. Good band.