Bozeman mandolin business now calls Logan home

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Tooling up involves reprogramming machines to carve guitar necks, and building new tools to make tedious cuts. The first Weber guitar, an arch top, could be in production as early as this summer.

Sound to Earth will continue producing its famous mandolins. The company turns out about 15 finished instruments each week.

It’s an assembly line of skilled craftsmen who keep the instruments coming, craftsmen like Caleb Dennison, who works on the instrument’s binding, Randy Holliday, who builds the ribs, and Bob McMurray, who attaches the necks.

McMurray, who commutes from his Livingston home to Logan, enjoys the delicate nature of his craft.

"Every instrument is different because it’s handmade," McMurray said. "I’ll get a neck and I’ll spend the day fitting it to the body."

Each instrument passes more than a dozen hands on its journey to completion. Some craftsmen sand; others polish. The labor, Lowell said, is huge.

"Each job requires a different aptitude," he said. "Sanding an instrument sounds easy, for instance, but it takes about six months to train someone to do it."

It’s also what makes each instrument different, according to set-up man Ben Upchurch.

On the second floor of this schoolhouse, in an old classroom, Upchurch applies the final touches to each mandolin, making him the first to hear the instruments perform.

"Every once in a while you’ll get one that stands out," Upchurch said. "Every little piece of the instrument defines what it sounds like. It’s pretty cool."

Upchurch, who arrived at Sound to Earth from Durango, Colo., has played the mandolin since he was 18. He now plays in the Bozeman band, "Blue Plate Special," which is heavy on the mandolins and harmony.

Many of the craftsmen here are musicians in their own right. When they build an instrument, they do it with the player in mind.

On the high end, some Weber models can cost as much as $8,000. Others start at around $500.

But at Weber, Lowell said, quality, not cost, is what matters.

"We have entry-level mandolins that aren’t as ornate and don’t cost as much," Lowell said. "But we put the same amount of work into all of them."

Lowell said the company has several dealers in Germany, as well as London and Japan. The company owes its start to George Weber and a fateful decision by the Gibson guitar company.

In 1996, Gibson announced it was moving its Flatiron mandolin division from Belgrade to Nashville, Tenn.

Weber, who managed more than 30 employees at the Belgrade plant, was offered a job in Nashville. He turned it down and, with the help of others, started Sound to Earth, which has grown from about eight employees to the current 25.

Articles about Weber mandolins have appeared in numerous places, including "Mandolin Magazine," "Vintage Guitar Magazine," "Montana Living Magazine," and "Export America."

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or at [email protected].