View Full Version : Mandolin pheromones
Don't tell anyone, but I think my mandolins have an enticing aroma. Hours after I put one down I still sense the smell lingering on my fingers or on my shirt, then I smile and go mmmmmmm. The Collings aroma is very nice, very clean, almost minty. The BRW is more rounded and more mature smelling. But the one that takes the cake is the Laura Ratcliff. Hers has a sensuously sweet pungent spiciness, with the most longevity. Days after playing, the shirt worn while playing the Ratcliff still tantalizes the olfactory nerves as it's tossed into the washing machine. Are builders secretly adding chemical MAS to their laquer? Oh my, I think I'm taking a half-day...
John Flynn
Apr-22-2004, 10:22am
I don't get much scent off my mandos, unfortuantely, but I know what you mean. My all-mahogany Martin 000-15S guitar has the greatest spicy-wood smell. When I take it out of the case at home (not in public, LOL!), the first thing I do is put my nose up to the strings over the sound hole and take a big whiff. It is intoxicating! One of these days, I will get an all mahogany mando, like a Mid-mo M-11. But it has to pass the "sniff test" first!
Russ(String-Alley)
Apr-22-2004, 11:55am
hmmm I'd love a F5 mando air freshener for my car,
ahhh that new mando smell
Not a distressed model I hope; yuck
Christine W
Apr-22-2004, 12:33pm
I just like the smell of wood http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Blind_Cowboy
Apr-22-2004, 12:36pm
That sparks a thought actually. I had this "ship in the night" experience before I met my wife, and the perfume that she wore imbedded in my mind. Everytime I smell it, I get these dreamy, oogally, you know what I mean, feelings and emotions. Sadly, the fragrance is worn mostly by women above the age of 65. So when I smell it, I look longingly for the wearer, and find a lady doesn't match the memory.
Maybe I should get a bottle of that and spray it in my sound hole. Then I can induce imagery, creativity, and oogally feelings everytime I pick up my mando.
Blind Cowboy...
Spruce
Apr-22-2004, 12:50pm
"Not a distressed model I hope; yuck "
Actually, the smell of an old F4 or Loar is something, if you could bottle it, would sell quite well, IMO...
I'd buy a bottle...
David M.
Apr-23-2004, 6:43am
I was thinking about starting a thread on this subject, so good timing.
Just bought a new custom Weber Yellowstone from a dealer in Northern Iowa. It smells SWEET. Literally like a sweet pipe tobacco or something, not a smell of carved wood. Really nice aroma.
Wonder what causes that smell?
JiminRussia
Apr-23-2004, 7:28pm
I swear it's true! I was at Mandolin Brothers a couple of days ago and they have a 1927 F-2 that has a sound that is to die for, and it smells EXACTLY like the 1924 Loar that I had the opportunity to sniff just a few days before. It's sort of a musky (not musty) and not unlike a nice fresh truffle aroma. It's a good thing that there is a credit limit on my bank card.