Schwab 5-string in the classifieds!

[Kid Charlemagne]

Someone really should pick this up. Anyone looking for a good emando would have a hard time doing better than a Schwab, particularly for the price this guy is asking.

I'd buy it myself, but I'm working on arranging a Mann-dolin in the future, and can't spare the cash.

http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin....trieval (http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=21042&query=retrieval)

[Dan Margolis]

How effective are two humbuckers so close together? Just curious. Dan

[Kid Charlemagne]

I certainly get different responses from the neck and bridge pickups on mine.

They're not quite as noticeable as the switch between pickups on a guitar, but I can definitely get a crisp lead tone out of the bridge when I need it.

I usually keep both switched on or with just the neck pickup, when playing rhythm.

[Perry]

For you five stringers: How longs does it take to stop hitting the lowest string by mistake as if you were playing a four string?

I would think you would have to re-train your whole approach to playing back-up on the instrument? i.e. a whole different set of chord forms?

I imagine myself automatically looking to play let's say an A chord by habit on the lower two strings:

x
x
2
2

but having it come out as a D chord:

x
x
x
2
2


What's your experience?

Thanks
Perry

[Klaus Wutscher]

Nitpickingly, that would actually be D9 (open e string)....

I admit that 5 stringers confuse the heck out of me; I have one on loan and restrung it as a mandola, basically. But I think the fith string is great for many reasons, esp. if you play rock or swing/jazz. I am temted by the instrument but also out of cash.....

[Perry]

Wouldn't all five stringers be strung as a mandola with an extra e-string on top?

Or conversely a mandolin with an extra C string on the bottom?

It's like have both instruments in one.

It would be nice to have a five string. But I imagine myself really getting confused if I tried to play one on the fly with out spending enormous amounts of time re-training my instincts...then would that throw off your four string motor memory?

I have a long way to go on the four string first http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Dan Margolis]

I ordered a four-string from Bales recently after briefly considering a five, but decided to simplify my life. #With a few weeks of dedicated effort, an experienced player could adapt to a five string, IMHO. #Dan

[taboot]

I'm not a brilliant musician by any means, but I felt comfortable on my five string after a few weeks, as Dan suggests above. I spent a few solid practice sessions saying chord names outloud as I played them, and very soon got to the point where I could play simple tunes alone in my room. After a few weeks of repitition, I got to the point where I could comfortably do it on the fly in public. Now I love it so much, I almost feel cheated when I play my acoustic.

Christian

[Kid Charlemagne]

It would be nice to have a five string. But I imagine myself really getting confused if I tried to play one on the fly with out spending enormous amounts of time re-training my instincts...then would that throw off your four string motor memory?

I have a long way to go on the four string first http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
When I got my Schwab (used), I hadn't been playing mandolin for more than a couple years, although I had played the violin for so long that the mandolin was pretty natural to me.

I had also been working on the guitar for a few years by that point.

At any rate, because I was comfortable enough with the mandolin that I didn't really have to think about where my fingers went, the 5-string came easily for me. It wasn't really a matter of "retraining" myself, and realistically the middle three strings (G, D, A) get the most use. Compared to them, I only use the C and E strings occasionally.

The only exception to that is that the C works well for root notes in more rock-oriented music.

And as far as learning chords, it's not as if you're having to deal with a different chord shape. The same chords on a 4-stringer can be dropped a 5th. Instead of a C chord, you're playing an F. Instead of an A, you're playing an E.

[EdSherry]

I have both four-string and five-string electrics (as well as eight-strings), and I find that it doesn't take too long to adjust. #

The big adjustment is to realize that the "bottom" string on the 4(or 8)-string (the G) is NOT the "bottom" string on a five-string (the C). #

Once you realize that the "bottom" string on the 4(8)-string is the "next-to- bottom" string on the 5-string, it's pretty easy from there. #

The other big issue with 5-strings is deciding how to finger chords. #I usually either mute the 5th string or (more commonly) just avoid playing it if I'm not actively looking to use the 5th string as part of the chord I want to play. #

It took me some time to get to the point where I could do that without conscious thought, but by now it's second nature.

As it is, I love the extended low range of the 5-string relative to the 4(8)-string (especially in keys like D, C and F), and I miss the extra string when I switch back to a 4(8)-string. #(Now all I need is to get a 10-string acoustic mando -- a la Hamilton de Holanda!!)