OlderThanWillie
Apr-15-2004, 10:22pm
Peter Ostroushko was guest of the week recently on the Co-Mando website. Here's a small sample of the Q & A where he reveals what strings he uses and how often he changes them:
Q - Tell us about how you get your tone- I don't know how to describe it, but I think you really make a mandolin sound like a mandolin! Is it a conscious effort, or a byproduct of other things, that produces your tone?
A - I believe my tone is a by-product of four things:
1.) The mandolin that I play. For the past 17 or 18 years I've pretty much played on A style oval hole mandolins. I prefer that sound for how I choose to express myself on the mando. A models have a darker tone in general. Since I'm a "dark" kind of guy the A model suits me to a 'T'! I also believe that the A style mandolin has more sustain then the F model. Having more sustain means that the note stays around much longer, so that if I'm playing a slow piece (like most of my originals are) I don't feel that I need to use a tremelo all the time to sustain the note. The tremelo then becomes a color that I use to create a mood rather then a necessity. Now if your goal in life is to play bluegrass music that has that Monroe sound, then the A model will disappoint you. That is not my goal. My goal is to express my emotions on my instrument, and I believe the A style gives me a much larger pallet of colors to work with. One other thing about sustain. The mandolin as an instrument is one of the least sustaining instruments in the world. Therefore it needs all the help it can get. I use banjo wire for frets (up to the 12th fret) on my mandolins. Banjo wire is a little thicker and wider then mando frets. This gives the string a little wider space to fibrate against, hence a little more sustain.
2.) I use mona-steel strings. GHS Silk & Steel strings to be exact. Mona-steel strings aren't as bright as bronze strings, but they last a lot longer then bronze strings do. For a guy who hates to change strings as much as I do thats a great plus. I usually change my strings about twice a year. One time I played on the same set for about three and a half years! Needless to say I rarely break strings. Mona-steel strings just feel right to me when I first put them on. They feel like I've already broken them in for a day or two from the get go. Bronze strings irrate me for about a week until they start to sound good and then they go dead shortly after. Every mandolin is different however, and you should experiment on your instrument to see what sounds right for you. I do believe that the Silk & Steel strings help define my sound.
3.) I use a extra heavy tortoise shell pick to play with. I dont care what any one else says, it makes the tone louder and clearer then other picks.
4.) Yes I did make a conscious effort way back when to try and get good tone. Over the years that I've taught mandolin I always would ponder why my students tone was awful. That made me sit down and really try and evaluate how I picked so that I could show my students how to correct what they were doing. I finally came up with some picking exercises to help develop good tone. I use them today as a warm up before I play. It wouldn't do me or you any good for me to try and describe them over the internet. Perhaps someday I'll be doing a workshop near you and I'll be able to enlighten you in person.
Q - Tell us about how you get your tone- I don't know how to describe it, but I think you really make a mandolin sound like a mandolin! Is it a conscious effort, or a byproduct of other things, that produces your tone?
A - I believe my tone is a by-product of four things:
1.) The mandolin that I play. For the past 17 or 18 years I've pretty much played on A style oval hole mandolins. I prefer that sound for how I choose to express myself on the mando. A models have a darker tone in general. Since I'm a "dark" kind of guy the A model suits me to a 'T'! I also believe that the A style mandolin has more sustain then the F model. Having more sustain means that the note stays around much longer, so that if I'm playing a slow piece (like most of my originals are) I don't feel that I need to use a tremelo all the time to sustain the note. The tremelo then becomes a color that I use to create a mood rather then a necessity. Now if your goal in life is to play bluegrass music that has that Monroe sound, then the A model will disappoint you. That is not my goal. My goal is to express my emotions on my instrument, and I believe the A style gives me a much larger pallet of colors to work with. One other thing about sustain. The mandolin as an instrument is one of the least sustaining instruments in the world. Therefore it needs all the help it can get. I use banjo wire for frets (up to the 12th fret) on my mandolins. Banjo wire is a little thicker and wider then mando frets. This gives the string a little wider space to fibrate against, hence a little more sustain.
2.) I use mona-steel strings. GHS Silk & Steel strings to be exact. Mona-steel strings aren't as bright as bronze strings, but they last a lot longer then bronze strings do. For a guy who hates to change strings as much as I do thats a great plus. I usually change my strings about twice a year. One time I played on the same set for about three and a half years! Needless to say I rarely break strings. Mona-steel strings just feel right to me when I first put them on. They feel like I've already broken them in for a day or two from the get go. Bronze strings irrate me for about a week until they start to sound good and then they go dead shortly after. Every mandolin is different however, and you should experiment on your instrument to see what sounds right for you. I do believe that the Silk & Steel strings help define my sound.
3.) I use a extra heavy tortoise shell pick to play with. I dont care what any one else says, it makes the tone louder and clearer then other picks.
4.) Yes I did make a conscious effort way back when to try and get good tone. Over the years that I've taught mandolin I always would ponder why my students tone was awful. That made me sit down and really try and evaluate how I picked so that I could show my students how to correct what they were doing. I finally came up with some picking exercises to help develop good tone. I use them today as a warm up before I play. It wouldn't do me or you any good for me to try and describe them over the internet. Perhaps someday I'll be doing a workshop near you and I'll be able to enlighten you in person.