Mike Black #17 (2012)

A powerhouse of a snakehead in good shape.
 
Sound is warm and very punchy. You can see this exact mandolin being played new in the video. Mike Black has also uploaded a video where he demonstrates A/B what the virzi does. 

1 3/16" nut width. Relatively thick rounded V-neck.

Only a few small dents, but it does have substantial "cloydy" areas on the shellac finish on top of the varnish. It helps when polishing with a piece of cloth, so I believe it can be restored with a polishing machine (which I don't have). 

The fretboard has been changed by previous owner, and the new one plays smoothly. Quality work with a moderate radius copied from the original. Evo frets with no wear. 

Comes with a premium quality case that was custom build in Spain when I bought it last year.

The Gotoh tuners are brand new, but unfortunately not reverse (couldn't find them), so they go the "wrong" way. I'm told Grover makes reverse tuners that fits, and original tunes are also included and functional. The cream/black buttons are interchangable. 

Stringed with a fresh set of Thomastik mediums. I find them to go better with the virzi sound than roundwounds.