He has been compared to Michael Heiden, B.C.'s master mandolin creator.American bluegrass superstar Rhonda Lea Vincent sings his praises, even making supreme efforts to borrow his creations when she is in Alberta.Many years ago Orla Nielsen, a retired Spruce View area oil and gas services worker, did not figure things would happen this way.But he has always been a man of music, and when retirement came 13 years ago he switched his expertise from playing guitar to constructing mandolins from scratch.ìSomething made me do it, I don't know. I had to ask myself, ëWhat do I do with all my idle time?'î said Nielsen, who is now 71 years old. ìThis seemed like something fun to do, something to turn my crank. I then thought, ëI'm going to try to make an instrument.' This is rated as one of the hardest to do properly.îBuilding a mandolin, a stringed instrument that evolved from the lute family in Italy during the 17th century, requires a painstaking and patient work ethic. Nielsen has built 23 mandolins and repaired another 20 over the past 13 years. He estimates that it takes up to 300 hours to complete one mandolin. During those long, quiet but intense hours there is meticulous cutting, carving, stripping, inlaying, sanding and finishing.ìBecause of the design all channelling for binding is hand cut in tight areas,î said Nielsen, his hands and fingers gently offering a guided tour across the silky smooth surface of one of his finely crafted creations. ìThe head stock is not simple. It is designed. The cutting is intricate.îOf course not just any wood will do. Over the years he has been on a personal quest to find the right combination of wood to create the ultimate magical mandolin masterpiece.ìI'm combining wood in order to get great sounds. It's a learning thing,î said Nielsen. ìBut I'm through searching. I have tried every damn combination there is.îToday he considers maple, a hard wood, to be the best for the back and sides while spruce, a soft wood, is always the right choice for the top.However, Nielsen is still not above experimenting. He has even tried cocobolo, an extremely dense hard wood from Brazil. And in one creation he used the hardwood that was pulled out of the Spruce View school gym floor.When all is said and done his bill for creating one mandolin starts at $3,500.As for playing them Nielsen admits he is not nearly as masterful as he is on guitar. But entertaining he is. He is not above picking up any instrument to find a moment of inspiration and passion.ìThat's probably why I go out and play guitar at a lot of seniors' places,î said Nielsen while playing his rendition of Jimmy Rodgers' Hobo Bill's Last Ride. ìI don't like to let the old stuff die.î
