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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner | Page: 1 2   |
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| My first real mandolin - Mandolin - Other Instruments - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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safetyRx Approved
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Hi, hoping for a little advice, when my recently formed string band members found out that I owned a Martin Backpacker mando, they made me put down my guitar so that we could add another sound to our...sound. I had never played a mando before, didn't even know how to tune it, so I was a little hesitant... But a long story short, after two months I'm having a blast, as though I was born to play this instrument. The neck on it seems ok, I guess, but that little body is tough to hang onto sometimes, and I'm getting tired of hearing the joke: "so when are you gonna buy the rest of that thing?" Not too many mando dealers around Chicago, it seems. Lotsa music stores, but few mandos costing more than about $99, and those have to be pieces of trash. Was able to try an Ovation mando at a guitar store, about 3 or 4 hundred bux, but I hated it. Since it appears that I'm gonna stick with this, I really think I'd like to spend what's necessary to get a good one. So here we go, and once again, I sure appreciate the advice: 1. F-style or A-style? we play Old Time, Bluegrass, Country, and some stuff I just can't quite classify... 2. Maker? I've been told get a Kentucky...a Washburn...a Micheal Kelly...etc. 3. New or Used? Heck, I can't find any new ones around here, how do I find a used one? 4. Built-in pickup or use a mic? Are some pickups better than others? 5. Is it necessary to have a new mando "set up" by a luthier? 6. How do you feel about buying "mail order?" Do mail order sellers do any setup? Thanks in advance for your help, Mark P.
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Charlie Approved 
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Hi Mark, Well maybe I can answer some of your questions, But it is only my view of things You will get alot of advice I am sure and yes it is a good Ideal to buy from a dealer that can give you a warranty and a good set up so you will have a good sounding instrument. The $99.00 will not cut it. for what you are going to be playing, I would think about the F style with a solid wood. I have had all kinds of mandolins and one of the best I have had was a Kentucky 675 model that cost around $800. If you buy from a company like Elderly instruments you can get a good set up instrument . If you can do some of your own set up, you can buy a mandolin on E- Bay, but check them out as best you can. I bought a Rover brand on e-bay a few months ago and it is made by Saga the same company that builds the Kentucky, but I had to change out the bridge and do a lot of set up my self, and now it is a good sounding. Well this only touches on the subject so let some one else take it from here. Keep then strings a buzzing.  Charlie
____________________ Yesterdays Tomorrow is Today http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/charlesculbertson |
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safetyRx Approved
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Thanks, Charlie, that sounds like good advice so far - I did check out Elderly, and I think me and the boys are going to safari to Lansing, Michigan for starters, as it's only a few hours from Chicago. On their site they have a Mike Kelly Dragonfly in black, and if it plays as good as it looks, well, I can feel my wallet heating up right now. I appreciate you taking the time to write! Mark
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davebough Approved 
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Be sure to plan on at least 3 hours at Elderly. It's a great store and you'll want to look around and try out lots of instruments. Better yet come to the free blues festival in a couple weeks(it's 3 blocks from the store), stay overnight, and I'll buy you a beer in the beer tent. http://www.oldtownbluesfest.com/ dave
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davebough Approved
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...or spend this Thursday at Elderly, then drive an hour north to the Wheatland Music Festival http://www.wheatlandmusic.org/vcontent.asp?cntarea=13 and camp & jam there for the weekend. dave
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safetyRx Approved
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Dave, thanks for writing, and thanks for the weblink! I'll be checking that out a bit later on today, and if I can get away, I'll let ya buy me a beer, but then ya gotta let me buy you one, too! Yep, that was part of my "travel questions" though I didn't know it at the time, so I'll make sure to give myself plenty of time at Elderly. They seem to have a real good reputation, and looking at other web sellers, their prices seem to be right in line as well. To be honest with ya, I'd gratefully pay more at Elderly for the same instrument, just to have the peace of mind in knowing that if I had any trouble, these guys know what they're doing. Will get back to ya, and thanks again for the info! Mark
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safetyRx Approved
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Dave, I like the way you think. This thursday, you say? When I get back this evening, I'll check out this site, too. Many thanks, Mark
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gerry mcgandy Approved 
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Hi. I use a Crafter mandolin with built in bridge pickup for many gigs. I actually prefer to play through a mic, but without a good PA system, mic, You are probably better off just plugging in. The thing about having a built in pickup is choice.
____________________ Gerry McGandy http://mp3mart.net http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/556/ |
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madog99 Approved 
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Welcome SR , a few years ago I decided I would buy a mando so got a cheap A style , epiphone but found it very hard to play . Mind you I'm pretty limited musically . Traded it for a used F style but found it had some structural issues so back on the hunt . On a whim I tried a Godin and found it to be so much easier to play than the tradtional mandos , the neck seemed to be bigger and the action was really nice. Unplugged it's ok but plugged in it's great . I was also impressed with the ease of play on the Tacoma mando but it had no pick-up and was more $ . I also tried a fender electric model that was pretty good and had a nice neck. As mentioned having a pickup is a great option . John
____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/328/ |
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safetyRx Approved
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Gerry, well, that was something I hadn't considered...choice!! D'oh! NOW it's so obvious, but I completely missed it.  I'm pretty green, as we just played our first "gig" this past Saturday... Makes me wonder what other things might be so obvious that other, more experienced players would assume I had already have figgered out... So I really appreciate the tip, thanks very much! Mark
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safetyRx Approved
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John, thanks for writing, I didn't even think to try a Tacoma...but there happens to be a couple Tacoma dealers nearby, and when the holiday weekend ends here in the States, I'm going to get in touch with them and see if they happen to have one in stock that I can try. Went to the Godin website, appears to be a UK manufacturer, judging by the currency used. One of these days I'm going to venture to the UK and indulge my fascination with its history, literature, architecture...also have to stop at more than just a few pubs, too. Thanks once again! Mark
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safetyRx Approved
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Gerry, my apologies, I made a boo-boo. After I added the "emoticon" of one guy hitting the other over the head (intending to represent me hitting myself in the head for missing the obvious) I started checking around the site to find out what the heck "mana" is, since it's not explained in the help section...and I found out that I had inadvertently subtracted "mana" from you. Took me a while to find the explanation, it's somewhere in the "general" postings. Believe me, it was unintended! Now I believe that if I do this:  i will reverse my mistake.Sorry about that! Mark
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gerry mcgandy Approved
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Don't worry Mark. I somehow started my ezfolk life with a full bag of mana, whatever it is. I assure you it was totally unearned.
____________________ Gerry McGandy http://mp3mart.net http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/556/ |
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madog99 Approved
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safetyRx wrote: John, Hey Mark , Godin is Canadian , same company as Seagull , simon&patrick , Norman etc . godin is the electric division of the parent company ,Lasido. The godin A8 mando gets great praise as a gig instrument , bang for the buck. The Tacoma was nice but strange , has that little sound hole in the upper right hand corner of the top (if you are facing it ), they have guitars like that , road king ?But the Tacoma was $1K canadain and the godin was $600 cdn. What struck me with these about these mandos was the ease of play after the little wee necks of the "normal mandos" and I need every edge I can can get . I just strum the thing and try to pick the odd string but it sure does add something to the sound . A real mando player might frown upon them ?Gerry's crafter mando would have got a shot from me if I had been able to get my hands on one and they got cool colours . as if you don't have enough info , check out http://www.mandocafe.com for cool links and such . Good luck on your hunt and if you are playing live lots try a Godin (under $500 us )
____________________ http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/328/ |
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safetyRx Approved
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gerry mcgandy wrote: Hi. I use a Crafter mandolin with built in bridge pickup for many gigs. I actually prefer to play through a mic, but without a good PA system, mic, You are probably better off just plugging in. The thing about having a built in pickup is choice. Gerry, I got the Crafter up on a distributor's website, are you playing a currently available model? Mark
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Rex Approved
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Crafters and Tacomas and Ovations sound like little guitars. That's ok if you want to sound like a guitar capoed way up. Usually you want a percussive sounding mandolin and that requires an archtop. An archtop with f holes has more bark than one with an oval sound hole. The ovals ring nicely are are better for strumming or playing Irish melodies. The f hole arch tops are the thing for bluegrass and chord chopping. Elderly is a good place to shop. My last mandolin was an Alvarez A800 with all solid wood, F style. Great mando. However you will generally get more bang for the buck if you get an A style. You pay a lot more for the fancy strap hanger on the F style.  Set up is very important on a mandolin because the strings are short and doubled and under a lot of tension. Action needs to be correct at each end. Cheaper mandos usually have the strings too high at the nut, which means you work harder to play. I bought some needle files to adjust the nuts on all my mandos. The bridges on cheaper archtops are usually just slapped on but they reallly need to be fitted to the top to sound best. This involves placing sandpaper rough side up on top of the mandolin and working the bridge over it (where is will sit later) until the footprint of the bridge is in complete contact with the top. Otherwise it works like a spring to absorb your sound. Hit the harmonic at the 12th fret to find the correct placement of the bridge. I have not bought a mando from Elderly but the guitar I bought from them was set up great.
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Rex Approved
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Mid Missouri Mandolins are good, all solid wood, hand made in the USA and not too expensive. But they are flat tops with round sound holes. Not your typical bluegrass instrument but a good all around choice.
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jaminn Approved
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SR, hopefully you have been able to get yourself another mandolin by now. Just thought I would share my own experiences with you though. I started with an inexpensive A style (made by Dean) that I bought in a shop in Savannah Georgia. It did have a pickup, and the action was pretty good. Sounded fine plugged in. I played it for a couple of years in a church band playing contemporary praise music. Once I learned a little, I upgraded to another A style, an A+ Deluxe model made by Rigel which I ordered from Folk of the Wood web site. It arrived perfectly set up. Oh, it also has a built in pick up, which I really need playing in a band. A good web site to check out is http://www.mandolincafe.com/ which has a good forum on different playing styles and a classified section. 1. I think you get more bang for the buck with the A style 2. Maker is a matter of taste to some extent. Get the best you can afford. 3. New or used... you've probably bought one by now anyway. 4. Better sound mic'ed, but a pickup is more convenient. 5. Like I said, my mando was set up when I bought it, but it is not a beginner instrument. I would say get it set up if it needs it. 6. I bought mine mail order because I could not find what I wanted locally. Good luck. Mandolin is a great instrument.
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adriel Approved
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mana is the spirit health sort of - in forum talk - its like karma.
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gerry mcgandy Approved
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Sorry for losing the thread here Mark, but Rex was dead on in his analysis. Thanks for the enlightenment, adriel Take it ez, Gerry
____________________ Gerry McGandy http://mp3mart.net http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/556/ |
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| Current time is 05:19 am | Page: 1 2 |
| ezFolk Forums > Other Instruments > Mandolin > My first real mandolin | |
