Do you think it's true

[Soupy1957]

Do you think it's true that the sound a player hears BEHIND the instrument is THAT radically different from the sound that a person hears standing in front of the instrument?

-Soupy1957

[mythicfish]

Yes. That's why we play FACING the audience.
Unless you're Miles Davis. In which case you're dead.

Curt

[Jim Broyles]

Soup, hand your mandolin to another mando player next jam you go to. See if it sounds different coming from them than it does when you play it - no cracks about skill level necessary!

[mythicfish]

' no cracks about skill level necessary!'

Aww, come on, you're no fun!

Curt

i always enjoy hearing other people play my mandolin in a jam situation, i can never hear it as well when i am playing it because my ears are behind it. ;)
i like to do the swap thing every so often give someone elses a try and "hear" my own mando!

[JEStanek]

I think Mike Compton plays close to a wall or a plate glass window to hear himself when preparing for workshops/performances (I believe I've read from his blog). A little perspective is good in all things, unless you're MC Escher, or Picasso.

Jamie

[Mark Walker]

I'm like Lemonhilljohn - I love to be on the other side (front) of mine when someone who knows how to play it is ...well, PLAYING it! #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

There most definitely is a difference in what you hear from behind versus being in front of it!

[bradeinhorn]

Do you think it's true that the sound a player hears BEHIND the instrument is THAT radically different from the sound that a person hears standing in front of the instrument?

-Soupy1957
Beethoven answers with an emphatic "Ja!"

[bluegrassjack2]

JEStanek, What's the web site for Comptons blog?
Thanks

[JEStanek]

Go to Mikecompton.net (http://www.mikecompton.net/) the blog is in the Sittin Parlor under Journal. I enjoy Mike's blog, its a good way to compare lives with a real musician who's pretty successful. His life is still pretty hectic and busy. I'm not sure I would trade and I bet he wouldn't either! By the way, Mike's excellent website is built and designed by our very own Jim Richter!

Jamie

edit: Just to be very clear... I respect and admire Mike's playing. He's inspirational to me. I'm just not cut out to be a touring musician.

[Perry]

My mandolins have always sounded 'warmer' when I listen to someone else play them. I think that may be due to the fact that lower frequencies take a longer distance to fully form. i.e. the listener is further away then the player

Or it could just be me http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Greg H.]

If I'm looking at a mandolin I might be interested in buying I always prefer to have someone else with me who can play it. Or, if that's not possible, either take it to someone else who can play it during the 48 hour trial period--or at the VERY least, have a good listener with me who can give a good opinion on qualtity (on the last there that's aka my wife).

[Lee Callicutt]

Unless you're Miles Davis. In which case you're dead.
Yeah, but you're way cool! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

[Soupy1957]

I thought of playing it in the bathroom, for the resonance or reverb factor, to hear it better, but I guess it makes sense.

To "me" the Washburn's TI strings sound warm, precise, (as best as a novice can MAKE them sound "precise), and clear.
The wife said they sounded brighter than the JM-11's but to "me" the JM-11's sounded more "tinny."

-Soupy1957

[Hans]

Absolutely! Sitting, stand the endpin on your knee and turn the instrument away and toward you and play some chords. Quite a difference. Probably why Kenny Hall plays his bowlback that way.

[Big Joe]

I always want to play an instrument myself, then have someone I know can actually play the thing play it so I can hear it both near and to see how well it carries. The loudness you hear while playing has nothing to do with how well it carries or how loud it is in front. Many instruments that are bass heavy will not carry ver well. Having both perspectives is a plus in my opinion.

[kyblue]

Every time I hear someone else play mine I think 'dang, so that's what it's supposed to sound like!'

Paula

[Soupy1957]

Kyblue: a man after my own heart!!
-Soupy1957

[Lefty&French]

Do you think it's true that the sound a player hears BEHIND the instrument is THAT radically different from the sound that a person hears standing in front of the instrument?

-Soupy1957
Beethoven answers with an emphatic "Ja!"
I think he would ask with an emphatic "Was?" http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Ted Eschliman]

My favorite place to REALLY hear myself is standing just inside my backyard patio glass door, about three feet away where I can listen intently to the tone of the sound reflection, and occasionaly check on hand and finger position if the light catches just right (usually at dawn). Sometimes my neighbors across the yard object--when I forget to wear pants...

More thoughts (http://jazzmando.com/tips/archives/000518.shtml)...

[Lefty&French]

I liked these "thoughts" a lot. I think I am curious, but I didn't know I was a jazz mandolinist... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[JEStanek]

Kyblue: a man after my own heart!!
-Soupy1957
You may want to notice kyblue (Paula) is a woman after your own heart... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Jamie

[John Flynn]

I thought of playing it in the bathroom, for the resonance or reverb factor, to hear it better, but I guess it makes sense
Not just in the bathroom, but specifically right over the sink, facing into the mirror. Tilt the instrument down a bit. I am no acoustic engineer, but it's like the sound bounces downward off the mirror, and the sink acts as some sort of sound chamber before sending it back to your ears. In an complete turnabout, now its my wife who says that I spend too much time in the bathroom!
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Here is another "home acoustic" hint. If you play in a room with a ceiling fan going. It makes your mando sound bad. It acts kind of like a leslie speaker on an electric organ, only that effect is not good for mandos.

[Ken Sager]

Treble is more directional than bass, so your mandolin will sound warmer to you than to someone sitting in front of it. The reflected treble from hard surfaces (windows, mirrors, etc.) will give you a better idea of what it sounds like out front.

[Peter Hackman]

I often try to hold the mando so I can hear it more directly (wish I could
hear myself at a distance, though).

When others play my instruments, particularly my guitars, I
realize that many people don't have a truly acoustic
technique

[Santiago]

My older son does that with his (my) mando, and I'm always trying to stop him as he'll develop it as a bad habbit, but you definitely hear it better.

[fredfrank]

I actually had mandolins that sounded good out front, but not necessarily to the player (me). I didn't keep those mandolins, because, basically, I bought them to make me happy.

[Lee Callicutt]

Here is another "home acoustic" hint. If you play in a room with a ceiling fan going. It makes your mando sound bad.
And almost impossible to tune by ear!

[Peter Hackman]

My older son does that with his (my) mando, and I'm always trying to stop him as he'll develop it as a bad habbit, but you definitely hear it better.
I've done this for 41 years without forming a habit ... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[SternART]

Might not be the right thread for this.....but a ToneGard alows me to hear myself better from behing the instrument.
I often use the bathroom mirror experiment, both to hear the instrument better AND to watch my hands. I've found
some of my instruments are WAY better out front than from behind the box, and wondered.... why?