Walt Johnson and Milom Williams with his new, blue June mandolin
Walt Johnson has been building his June Mandolins and Guitars for 25 years now, at his own pace, the way he likes to do it. He’s completed well over a hundred mandolins, and has only just signed his second endorser, Milom Williams II, mandolinist with Deeper Shade of Blue.
At this point, he’s making maybe a half dozen each year, building in a shop on his farm in Wythville, VA. Walt, and his luthiery, have moved from a starting place in south Florida, where he began building in 1999, then to South Carolina, and now Virginia.
“I make 4-6 instruments each year. I’m retired from auto body work, but stay plenty busy not only with instrument repair work, plus work here on the farm. I’ve done as many as 12, but that’s way more than I care to do. We’re restoring a farm house here, and I limit how much I do out here in the shop.
I start a batch each fall, planning things out, then I ramp up building during the winter months when I can’t do much else.”
These are strikingly beautiful, varnish finish instruments, which involve a very time-consuming process to complete. Walt is not one to rush such things.
Williams says he came into the picture several years ago, and only recently decided that he wanted a custom June mandolin built. Not every builder would be up for the challenge, as Milom is a left-handed player, so everything had to be flipped.
“I met Walt a little more than a decade ago at a jam in Landrum, South Carolina. We hit it off and have stayed in contact over the years. He became my go to ‘set up man’ for various instruments that I’ve played (a picker needs to know a guy!), and he became a good friend.
Every winter we would always run into each other at SPBGMA in Nashville. He would be there promoting and exhibiting his brand, June Mandolins and Guitars, while I was off working with bands. I was immediately impressed with him as a luthier. His attention to details were clean, the tones he got out of the wood were bright and crisp, and the way he could give me exactly what I was looking for out of any instrument made me start to contemplate owning one of his Junes.
Long story short, we started talking about making this happen around a year ago. I’ve always wanted a really bright, solid A5, and Walt delivered! This June mandolin is a departure from my style personally and professionally. From its bright tone, to its eye catching appearance, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever carried out on stage.
When doing this deal, I was trying to decide on a color scheme and because of the name of the band I work in (Deeper Shade Of Blue), I thought I would be clever and make it blue! It turned out so much better than expected… It’s definitely a piece of eye candy! But it also has it where it counts in terms of sound. Clarity, balance, tone, and volume. It lacks nothing. Walt approached me with the prospect of endorsement as the mandolin neared completion, and I was more than happy to agree!
I guess I really want the community to know that with June Mandolins and Guitars, not only do you get professional grade instruments, but you also gain access to a fantastic human being that loves bluegrass.”
Walt was a bit taken aback when he learned that what Milom was after was something with a custom stain.
“He approached me about building a blue mandolin, an A-style. This was the first blue one I’ve ever done, but after I finished it, it hit me that my mom’s favorite color was blue – she would have loved it!”
The June A-style mandolins use an X-bracing on the top, and Johnson said that he has been modifying these designs over the years.
“I’ve never been one to strictly do a copy. I’ve had the privilege to examine and measure some Loars and several Gilchrists, and what I’ve done is taken these measurements and sort of averaged them out. I’ve been fortunate in the way I build that it works well. I’m an A-style fan, and I feel like they might be a step above my Fs.
I started trying x-bracing at mandolin 50 or so, and really locked into something that worked. Shifting the X just a bit can really color the tone.”
With that in mind, Walt started a pair of left-handed models with slightly different bracing, so that Milom could decide which one he liked better while they were still in the white. That suggests that any left handed picker looking for a pro-quality mandolin might be able to save some wait time by contacting Walt right away!
So why June, and not Johnson on the headstock?
“My mom and aunts were The Wallace Sisters, and her name was June.”
And that’s that.
June mandolins start at a base price of $4,000 for an A-style, and $5,500 for an F. Buyers can choose among various top woods, and Walt is open to most any customization options.
“I fly under the radar, don’t promote myself much. I don’t want it to be a job. I want to overdeliver.”
Oh, and that first June endorser was Kevin Prater, back when he was playing with James King.
You can find out more about June Mandolins and Guitars online, and find out where you can see Milom with his new blue mandolin at Deeper Shade of Blue’s web site. He’ll be happy to show it to you after the show.
