Taran Guitars ‘Springwell’ mandolin consultancy project
I met luthier Rory Dowling at a music session in The Reverie in Edinburgh sometime around 2010. That evening, he was passing a guitar over in the pub to the talented Scottish guitarist Matheu Watson. It was a very beautiful looking instrument, gleaming white spruce and gorgeous curves, so I went and introduced myself to these guys to find out more about the guitar. I was suitably amazed to discover that one of these fellows was the actual maker of that stunning instrument, as there are not many luthiers in Scotland at all. We quickly struck up a friendship, and when Rory learnt of my small collection of instruments, including a Stefan Sobell mandolin and octave mandolin, I invited him round to take a look at them, as he was very interested in the Sobell style of instrument making, and had received a lot of support and encouragement from the man himself. We had a fascinating evening going over all my bouzoukis, resonators, mandolins and oddities like a 19th Century small Portuguese guitarra. It was clear to me that Rory really knew his stuff, and I learnt a lot of new details about my instruments that evening. Clearly, Rory was going places, and his move to a spectacular custom designed workshop in the East Neuk of Fife was a major statement of further developments.
Rory was particularily impressed with my small bodied 1983 four course Sobell mandolin, built in European spruce, Indian rosewood and a mahogany neck. At that stage he was making a lot of guitars, but in our many conversations, he was obviously keen to make a range of other instruments, and a fine Irish style bouzouki was completed, which eventually went to Matheu Watson about 4 years ago. I believe he made a couple of other ones too at that time. So he seemed keen to add to the guitar range, and to an extent return to instrument types that he had started on before his guitars took off. As things transpired, I left my Sobell mandolin with him in the Comie Law farm workshop last year for the fitting of a K&K pickup system, and I told him to keep it until he had got all the subtleties and details he might want from it. Later, Rory began his first mandolin prototype based on my mandolin, which gradually surfaced in 2014.
So, I was very excited to get a message early in 2015 to say the prototype was virtually complete, and could I try it out? The new instrument was very beautiful to look at, the wood being very fine, and the attention to detail and finish being very sharp, accurate and attractive. It, too, was of the same wood combination, but was also clearly a Taran instrument, which I liked a lot. It is not a Sobell copy, more of a homage to that approach. I was extremely taken with the powerful, balanced bell like sound, and ease of playability. We also discussed a few tiny tweaks, which should add to its cailbre. Rory and I created some short videos to demonstrate the instrument, and I took the opportunity to do a short, spontaneous interview Rory about the mandolin project. In conversation, I asked if he had a name for the range, and we decided then and there to christen it the "Springwell" mandolin after the title of my first solo mandolin album, which is named for my family crofthouse in Polbain in the far NW Highlands of Scotland in Coigach. Rory's other instruments have names from parts of The Island of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, where Rory too has Highland connections, so it seemed doubly appropriate. I am very flattered that Rory chose to do this.
To date, the response to Rory's new mandolin has been wonderful, with, I gather, a series of orders coming in, and I look forward to seeing the first batch of 5 mandolins appear. It would be good to do a comparison of the various wood types Rory is proposing to utilise, including Scottish sycamore. I am certain that the new "Springwell" will give the new owners many years worth of fine music and pleasure in the way that my 32 year old Sobell has done. There is also a Taran tenor guitar and a guitar-bouzouki in progress, so I hope we can do a similar exercise to let the world see how very fine the workmanship of Rory Dowling is.
You can catch up with Rory at his website http://www.taranguitars.co.uk/
June 2016 update.
Rory completed 3 models of the new mandolin in 2016, incorporating a few subtle improvements to the prototype. The 3 different options are in the wood body choice, Scottish sycamore, Indian rosewood and Mexican cocobolo, with a 2-ply laminate on the sides with a sycamore interior, adding tremendous strength. You can hear all about them in the interview film here, https://vimeo.com/171202098 and what they sound like. They are beautifully made and sound wonderful! A tremendous success for Rory, and they are rolling off the bench in number!
April 2018 update.
I ordered placed an order late in 2017 for Taran “Springwell” mandolin number 14, and I chose the superb Mexican cocobolo for the back and sides, with lime wood lining reclaimed from the renovated Smugglers bar in Anstruther, Swiss spruce soundboard, ebony fretboard, mahogany neck with ebony veneer on the faces of the headstock and the new Rocklite binding. A final flourish was the addition of dot fretmarkers and the Taran “t” logo in hand-cut New Zealand paua shell which Rory had beachcombed on a trip there when he was 18 years old!
It is a superb instrument! Gorgeous woods, astounding attention to detail, with a multiple of subtle juxtapositions of the woods at the neck join, with a mastery of detail that only a real artist could create. And the sound is full, balanced, punchy with shimmer and ring aplenty, just perfect for my style of Scottish music.
So, all in all, a wonderful liaison with such an incredible luthier, and a complete gentleman to work with. A great thrill, and a great addition to the Taran Guitar’s range of high class instruments. I look forward to making music with the mandolin for many years to come.
UPDATE - Taran Guitars visit, 26th June 2026 by Kevin Macleod
I popped over to the lovely East Neuk of Fife to catch up with Rory Dowling and his talented luthiery team at Taran Guitars. It’s a good 16 years since I first encountered and befriended Rory in a wee workshop near the Hibs football ground in Edinburgh, and I have watched in awe as his guitar and mandolin building business has soared into becoming a world class atelier. I was involved marginally in the early days of the mandolin developments, and am a lucky owner of one of the earlier Springwell mandolins built in 2018. A spruce topped, cocobolo bodied mandolin that has matured beautifully over the intervening 8 years into a really classy professional mandolin.
In the recent 6 years since the last mandolins were built, Rory and his team have been focused on pushing the designs and sonics of their principal guitar ranges. Late last year, I was at Taran doing a wee demo video with the top Scots guitarist and mandolinist Calum McIlroy Home | Calum McIlroy, and we were treated to seeing and trying two completed guitars ready to go to some lucky owners. I was astonished, but not in the least bit surprised, at how far the developments in design, detail, wood choices and especially sound had moved forward in the intervening years, a lot being the interaction between Rory and his younger, dynamic and super skilled team of Zachie Morris and Caelin Harrrington. Rory has always, to my mind, been a seeker of improvements, experimentation, refinements and endeavours to achieve the highest quality instruments. They are truly works of wood and sonic art of the highest level now. Actually seeing a quilted maple Origin series #1 Meilin guitar was mind boggling! You just can’t appreciate the beauty of the woods unless you see it in reality. And it sounds amazing!
So, when I learnt that 2026 was the ‘year of the mandolin’ at Taran, I was very excited to see if the range of developments over the past years would and could filter into the next batch of Springwell, mandolins. These are being built by Rona MacLeod, the latest member of the team, and, as it happens a relation of mine.
So, it was a great thrill to drop into Taran’s space-age atelier and catch up with Rory and Rona. The first thing I noticed was an abundance of mandolins in various stages of build, 7 or 8 at least, probably more. They are building custom ordered mandolins, with very specific extras added, but also a series of standard build mandolins for general sale, and with a variety of wood choices. Caelin Harrrington had just completed a detailed and extensive setup on the first completed mandolin, Royal Fenland oak and Swiss spruce. I am happy to report that I was utterly blown away at the sound quality of this latest mandolin. Firstly, it has considerable volume, terrific sustain on the notes, a beautiful deep, rich bottom end on the G and D courses, a creamy rich mid and treble on the A and E courses, and a fantastic balance of tone and volume across all 4 courses. Calum McIlroy has been video’d playing the mandolin, so you can get a sense of what I’m trying to verbalise. I have to say it’s a very big move forward and I had a chat with Rona about the changes that have come into play.
The instrument looks pretty much the same as previous incarnations, but there are a series of small changes, all of which are undoubtedly moving the mandolins forward, as has been the case with the guitars. The sides of the body, which are laminate - previously 2 ply, are now a 3 ply wood composition. This is creating a light but very rigid unit which now joins an improved design neck block of mahogany. The mahogany neck itself is an amazing amalgam of woods and joins, immensely strong and stable. I found the mandolins to be well balanced in the hand at the neck join, which gives a nice feel when playing. The neck is topped with a bound blackwood fretboard, and new gold looking phosphor bronze/steel frets which looked and felt superb. Internally, and I think one of the other major improvements is the installation of the compression braves on the curved, convex tension back. This may well be the source of the increased volume and also the complexity of the sonics, but it’s a magical recipe of luthiery skills and knowledge going into controlling all elements, and that makes it so exciting to my mind!
The brass tailpiece/buckle has been further refined for ease of use and takes loop and ball end strings equally. They have been trying different body finishes too, with the soundboard being finished with the more usual PU lacquer, and a new waterproof oiled finish to neck and body of a Polyx-Oil finish. I really liked this, and the neck was gorgeous in the hand. Rory is trying gold Schaller machine heads on these new mandolins, with a tasteful wood button fitting nicely with the aesthetics of the beautiful woods being chosen. A particularly gorgeous book-matched pair of soundboards in ‘moon’ spruce is to go onto a mandolin of a good friend of mine soon. Wood reputedly harvested when the full moon seemingly has an effect on the tree, reducing the sap in the wood to a minimum! The grain is ruler straight and tight. Exquisite and the highest quality wood is at the heart of what Taran does, and you’re getting the very best for your outlay, in my opinion.
There were a series of bodies and soundboards in various stages of build, and using various wood combinations, oak, sycamore, rosewood, blackwood, cedar and spruce and it will be interesting to hear what differences will be heard in each particular mandolin. But I’m fully expecting that all the small changes that have occurred with have a very positive impact on each, regardless of the wood types used. Every mandolin will be unique. It’s the nature of the wood.
I have to commend Caelin Harrington for the setups he is doing. He tells me that the mandolins are trickier to set up than guitars, given the floating bridge on the carved top, and I noted that there is now a bone saddle in the bridge to aid precise control of the setup. This is also a new development. Suffice to say the there is an adjustable truss rod as standard, accessible internally at the neck block.
Their website has all the latest updates, news, instruments available, so best hop over to that for the latest on that available oak & spruce mandolin. Jings, it was so good! But, better still, if you’re really keen and smart, you should make an arrangement to go to Fife to try the mandolin. It will change your life!
So, to conclude my personal overview, it’s always a great privilege to visit this wonderfully creative team, and see the incredible output of instruments, the relentless quest for perfection in the hearts and minds of Rory and his colleagues. Thankfully, the impact of the global internet and marketplace allows players worldwide to get access to seeing the world class quality of the Taran instruments. I’m told that several of these mandolins will be available to buy during this coming year, over and above the custom builds, which to my mind is an incredible opportunity for a musician seeking a lifetime keeper instrument to acquire one. And just to say, I have no irons in the fire here; I’m just deeply impressed by the team, who are great friends, and am thrilled to write this for Rory Dowling. Don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime!
Kevin Macleod