Welcome to Maine Mandolin & Mandola, I'm Bob St. Pierre.

I started my woodworking career working alongside my dad in his workshop when I was 5 years old. For fifty years I’ve built jewelry boxes, furniture, cabinets and wooden boats learning the fine art of woodworking along the way. I continue to build these functional items to this day.

At age 14 my dad introduced me to my first mandolin, an electric model in a pawn shop window. When he surprised me and brought the mandolin home, he put it in my hand and a lifelong career in music was started. I’ve spent the next forty plus years being a part of some of the best bands in New England. It was only a matter of time before these two worlds collided.

I began to study the craftsmanship of vintage Gibson mandolins and custom built instruments that I owned or were built by other luthiers. The lessons I learned and my experience with woodworking gave me the confidence to do repairs on my own instruments and keep them in good working order.

For several years a good friend of mine from California who summered in Maine, would stop by with his beautiful old H-4 Gibson mandola. He would let me play it every time we were together. I fell in love with that instrument. Not being able to justify the cost of a vintage mandola of that caliber, I decided to try my hand at building my own. While challenging, I found building the mandola to be a very enjoyable process. Since 2008 I have built several H and A style mandolins and mandolas, some of which are pictured.

I build to order. If you order an instrument from me you’ll be welcome to choose a standard model of mandolin or mandola, but you’ll also have the option to participate in choosing the components that will go into the construction of your instrument. Items I can customize include wood, color and decoration, binding, hardware, set-up and neck size and shape and other details that will personalize your instrument.