c.2007 Rigel A-Plus Oval

Founded by luthier Pete Langdell in Vermont, Rigel Mandolins revolutionized modern acoustic instrument design by stepping away from traditional pre-war formulas in favour of bold, player-centric innovation. Rather than bending thin wooden ribs, Rigels are built using a solid hardwood block carved out to form the sides, into which the hand-carved spruce top and maple back are precisely fitted. This structural frame creates an exceptionally robust body that resists top-sink while delivering immediate projection, long sustain, and softly contoured edges that sit comfortably against the player. Combined with radiused ebony fingerboards, modern fretwire, and factory-installed internal piezo pickups, Rigel instruments have long been a favorite of performers who need flawless playability and gig-ready plugged-in tone.

The Rigel A-Plus Oval Hole takes this inventive architecture and marries it to the sweet, expansive voice of early 20th-century oval-hole mandolins. While F-hole models focus on a sharp, dry "chop" for cutting through bluegrass jams, oval-hole designs allows the top to vibrate is a way that can yield a throatier low-mid response and rich overtone complexity. They tend to have a singing sustain that excels in folk, Celtic, old-time, and solo playing – which would describe this Rigel to a tee. Thanks to the stiffness of the carved frame, the A-Plus Oval retains excellent note clarity up the entire neck, avoiding the muddy response sometimes found in vintage oval-hole builds.

This example was built by Langdell himself after moving his shop to Hyde Park, Vermont. It remains in excellent condition and features high-grade carved tonewoods – hard maple back and sides, and a red spruce tone-bar braced top. The neck has graphite reinforcement and features a smartly designed neck attachment system that wouldn’t be possible without the machined sides and integral blocks that Langdell designed into his mandolins.

No cracks or repairs and almost no playwear to speak of, this Rigel has survived 20+ year in great health. The original finish shows just a bit of handling wear but no noticeable scratches. Original frets are in excellent shape. Fresh set-up care of our shop.

Round neck with 1-3/16” nut width. Radiused fretboard with larger guitar fretwire. Schaller tuners, ebony adjustable bridge, bone nut. Factory-mounted passive piezo pickup.

With original hardshell case.

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