We posted in August of ‘06 about the announcement that Rigel Mandolin was going out of business, and again in September ‘06 when former Rigel co-owner Peter Mix announced that he and Will Kimble would be collaborating on a new carbon fiber mandolin. When the first prototype photos emerged of their mandolin in December, we posted an update.

Peter and Will’s joint venture is know as New Millenium Acoustic Design, or NewMAD. They currently offer two Mix Mandolin models, a round hole A4 and an F-hole A5, both featuring a carbon fiber body and neck, with an ebony fingerboard and bridge. They feel that this composite material is perfect for mandolin construction as it is strong, durable and very lightweight, and find its resonant and tonal qualities comparable to carved, solid wood instruments.

We heard from Peter this week, and he shared some photos and some news about their efforts.

“Two of the prototypes have been doing quite a bit of traveling as ambassadors (prototype #1 is just too wonderful to let go of, so it resides with me for the present). Prototype #2, the A4, is now in Ireland with Roger Landes and #3, the second A5, is somewhere between Nebraska and Colorado. The response has been nothing short of extraordinary. The need for these instruments is universal, I believe, and it’s hugely gratifying to be so well-received. We’ve put a tremendous amount of effort as well as capital into this endeavor and truly want to do it right. I’d like to think that we’re off to good start.”

Peter alluded to some upcoming announcements about new body designs, but said that they wanted to complete development and prototyping before making them public.

Click any of the photos to see a larger image. Additional images, as well as audio/video samples of their A4 and A5 Mix Mandolins can be found on the NewMAD site.

We shared the news last month about Rigel mandolins going out of business - sad news for devotees of their unorthodox mandolin designs. Now comes news (reported by Mandolin Café), that former Rigel co-owner Peter Mix is collaborating with Will Kimble of Kimble Mandolins to create what they describe as the world’s first carbon fiber mandolin.

(see update below) Also involved in this venture are the folks at Luis and Clark, who have pioneered the building of carbon fiber instruments in the viol family, using a design where the back, sides and neck are molded as a single piece. I’m not sure whether Mix and Kimble will use this uni-body approach with the mandolins, but will see what we can find out.

They will build and market these new mandolins as New Millennium Acoustic Design, and go as NewMAD. Read the full press release at Mandolin Café.

I belive that Will Kimble is here at IBMA, so I will try to run him down and see if they have a prototype with him we can photograph, and hopefully get more information about this new venture.

UPDATE 8:54 a.m.: I just got in touch with Peter Mix, who shared these comments:

I wish we had photos to share, but it’s just too early. If we stay on track, we should have a prototype by the end of October and this will give us a lot to work with. I assume that we’ll have some internal tweaking to do in order to dial in the voice, but we can then shoot photos and provide specs.

Peter promised to keep us updated about the NewMAD mandolin, and we will pass along whatever we receive.

UPDATE 9:05 a.m.: I also hooked up with Will Kimble, who indicated that Luis and Clark are not involved in the NewMAD venture, but had provided the inspiration to Peter Mix to consider using similar technology for mandolins.

Mandolin Cafe is reporting that Rigel Mandolins has ceased production and is going out of business. Rigel was noted for unorthodox design and construction techniques, and their instruments were championed by a number of mando-enthusiasts who embraced the sometimes radical Rigel way.

Rigel’s President Pete Langdell didn’t offer much in the way of detail in his announcement of their closure (reported by Mandolin Cafe), and we will pass along any other information we are able to obtain.