I call my mandolins "The Comet". They are built in the Celtic style, with a round sound hole and well braced spruce top. The proportions are designed to produce increased projection and a sound that carries when played with other instruments. I also customize instruments to suit player requirements (see custom mandolins below).

The Comet neck is shaped to give more access to the upper frets. A truss rod is adjustable in the peg head fitted with Schaller machine heads. The Comet has a spruce top, mahogany body and hand carved mahogany neck. It has a rosewood fingerboard and peg head veneer with a paua inlay on the headstock. The binding is walnut and the top is bound with black and white purfling. The Comet is finished in a low sheen durable lacquer with a clear plastic pick guard.

Price NZ$1,280 with case (convert currency)

Usual dimensions of The Comet are:

• Scale length 355 mm (14 inches)
• Width at bridge 280 mm (11 in)
• Depth at heel 45 mm (2 1/8 in)
• Depth at tail block 55 mm (2 3/8 in)

Mandolins can be customised to particular styles for individual musicians. Pictured below is a carved top mandolin resembling a small maccaferri guitar. The top is European spruce with the back and sides of figured Tasmanian blackwood. The mandolin is bound with rewa rewa, a decorative New Zealand timber, which also features in the rosette. The mandolin was made for a musician in Denver, Colorado, and came with a case made from steam bent American ash.

This double cutaway instrument has a spruce top, mahogany body and neck, with a rosewood fingerboard. The oval soundhole is decorated with a diagonal black and white rosette.

This deeper bodied instrument has been built for live work with a pickup under the saddle and a control box built into the side. The body is 55mm deep at the heel and 80 mm deep at the tail block.