This album features solo performances by Tony Williamson on a baker's dozen of the world's finest mandolins, most of which were signed and dated by the legendary acoustical engineer Lloyd Loar.  A team of brilliant craftsmen built these instruments in the Gibson factory of Kalamazoo, Michigan in a two year period beginning December of 1922, except for two which were shipped out a few years later with no signatures.  All instruments on this CD are preserved in original condition except #87367 which has been restored to period correct condition.  They were set up identically and strung with D'Addario EXP74 strings.  Each mandolin was played studio live into a pair of vintage Neumann u47 microphones and delivered through Neve pre-amps.  There were no electronic effects or EQ used in mixing and only minimum room placement employed in mastering.  It is our hope that you can hear the natural brilliance of these amazing instruments and also that you may appreciate the subtle differences in their tonal nuance.  For photos, history and details of each individual instrument and stories about the songs, please visit: http://mandolincentral.com/lloar.html