These days, Bay Area luthier Knutson evidently puts most of his energy into Messenger upright electric basses. However, he's made some pretty fantastic electric mandolins. Above, from left to right, a doubleneck mandolin/octave mandolin built for Lief Sorbye and a solidbody octave mandolin. Below, a doubleneck 5-string/8-string; a 5-string equipped with a Roland synth unit; a 5-string built for Mike Marshall; and the famous modular mandolin/octave mandolin/guitar built for Marvin Etzioni. (The instruments can be detached and played separately; Etzioni once had his picture in Rolling Stone bearing this axe.) Other Knutson clients include David Lindley and Jamie Masefield.