Don is the in-house mandolin expert at Ohio's Stewart MacDonald Guitar Shop Supply. In the mid-1980s he designed, and Stewart MacDonald sold, the StewMac 5-string electric mandolin, which had the distinction of being the first production instrument to incorporate the Parsons/White string bender made famous by legendary guitarist Clarence White. (This dandy little gizmo allowed the player to bend the pitch of the A string by yanking on the strap, creating some cool steel guitar effects.) StewMacs are the first electric mandolins I was aware of, but they have been unavailable for several years. Don is currently building Red Diamond acoustic mandolins, and says he has no plans to reintroduce the StewMac.