06/15/2026
It's another great week here at Tailwater Instruments!
Today we're going to publicly answer some questions that we frequently receive from players who are interested in our Tailwater mandolins.
Please get in touch and let us know if you have any questions you'd like us to answer.
Q: Where are you located?
A: Tailwater Instruments is located in Boulder Colorado. All of our instruments are designed here and final setup is also completed in Colorado. I (Alan) play every mandolin before it leaves the shop to ensure it meets the high standards of quality we expect.
Q: Where are Tailwater mandolins built?
A: We build our all solid wood, hand carved mandolins in China with input from our international team that sources woods and hardware worldwide. Hence, we are able to provide high quality mandolins at affordable prices.
Q: Where can I meet you and try one out?
A: You can find us at various festivals and events that we sponsor, including SnowyGrass Summer Music Festival July 9 - 12 in Estes Park CO, RockyGrass in Lyons, CO, and SPBGMA convention in Nashville, TN.
Come play our instruments and let us know how you like them.
Q: Where can I buy a Tailwater mandolin?
A: We have retail partners in the US, from our easternmost retail partner Music Outlet of the Smokies in Sevierville, TN, to our westernmost retail partner Brightwood Music in Nederland CO. As far south as GuitarTex in San Antonio TX and as far north as Montana Lutherie.
Our retail partners also include other fine shops:
The Acoustic Shoppe in Springfield MO
Morgan Music in Lebanon MO
Music Folk in St Louis MO
Olde Town Pickin' Parlor in Arvada CO
Scherer Violin Shop in Louisville CO
Papaw Odell’s in Cleveland TN
The Mandolin Store in Lebanon OH
Q: Can I buy a Tailwater mandolin from this great shop in my local area?
A: We are always looking for high quality acoustic instrument shops to welcome to the Tailwater family. If there is a great shop in your area that you think would be interested in carrying our instruments, please send us their information and let us know.
Q: What types of mandolins does Tailwater produce?
A: We make 2 F5 models and an A5 model at this time. You can see them, check out the specs, and see which of our retail partners has them in stock by visiting our webpage here:
https://tailwaterinstruments.com/mandolins/
Q: Do you have any audio samples I can listen to?
A: Yes! Friend of Tailwater Instruments - the amazing Greg Schochet - has recorded demos of each of our mandolins and you can view them on our website also.
Q: Did famed luthier Bruce Weber of Montana Lutherie really say: “I’m pretty impressed! Easy player with a great bark...The Tailwater TW-F5 is a lot of mando for the price.”
A: Bruce Weber has endorsed our instruments with the quote you see on our website and his Montana Lutherie is a retail partner for our mandolins. He's been amazing to work with and has given input into improving our instruments' design. Bruce has also helped us with repair and warranty support for a few of our instruments.
We feel extremely honored to be able to work with Bruce and Mary as part of our extended Tailwater team.
Q: Did The Acoustic Shoppe really deem the Tailwater TW-F5 "the NEW Best Value Mandolin?"
A: Yes! You can see their review of our best selling model here: https://youtu.be/UCoveNTP_rE?si=po3xuCTGtYisQxdF
Well, if you made it this far, please ask us your question below in the comments or send us a message and we'll reply. Can't wait to hear from you!
Enjoy!
