Where do get the best tone?

[red7flag]

I found that the best tone in most mandolins is just past the end of the fret board. That sounds a bit tubby on the Lebeda oval hole mandola. So far, I have been getting the best tone at the fretboard edge of the oval hole about an inch from the end of the fretboard. Where have you mandola players getting the best tone? Thanks in advance.
Tony

[Yuletide]

While I know what you mean, I have to ask "Best for what?"
On mandolins, mandolas, guitars, and banjos, the tone grows mellower as you move toward the nut, and more piercing as you move toward the bridge, right? If you're trying to warm up your sweetheart or your're playing dinner background music, the best tone may be a little more toward the nut, but if you're playing a solo in an ensemble, you need that brighter, penetrating sound you get a little closer to the nut.

When I play mandola by myself, I typically go for the mellower sound, but when I play with someone else, especially when my daughter plays fiddle, I have no choice but to play closer to the nut or the mandola just can't be heard. The mandola just doesn't have the penetration of a mandolin. The sound I get closer to the nut is a "better" sound for ensemble playing, but not for a quiet evening by myself.

Contrast that with a resonator tenor banjo. For the past few months I've been playing a 19 fret May Bell tuned the same as the mandola. But what a difference! The tenor wants to drown out everything else, including my daughter's fiddle. I have to be careful to play more softly, and find myself moving closer to the nut when not playing alone.

[red7flag]

Very good post Yule. It took me a while to get your venacular, as I usually am used to talking relative to the bridge, with the the attack being closer to the bridge. But the analogy is the same. In most fretted instruments, in my experience, there is one place to pick which maximises tone and volume and for each instrument it is a bit different. With Martins for example it tends to be at the back of the sound hole towards the bridge. Most mandolins I have played the spot is near the end of the fretboard, more or less. I hope I am making sense.
Tony