Easiest, Most forgiving mandolin ?

[gymboss76s@]

Hey Can Anyone tell me what they think is a Mandolin that is forgiving and easy to play. I noticed the Mann comes with oversize banjo frets.

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Café, Gymboss76s@. This really depends on personal preference, your hands and having an excellent set up for string guages that suit you.

I've played a well set up Johnson and a well set up custom. Both were easy to play. Are you coming to mandolin from Guitar or is this your first instrument (former guitar players often like somewhat wider fingerboards I have noticed)? Are you looking to buy? If so, do you have a budget in mind and if you could, please tell us what kind of music you want to play.

Jamie

[Capt. E]

That is very much a personal opinion and impossible to answer difinitively. Players have definite preferences on neck shape and width, fret size, neck length, flat or radius'd fretboard, etc. Set up will make a huge difference as can string weight and height of the action. They type of music you want to play will also have a big effect. For example: bluegrass players seem to prefer a relatively narrow neck; oldtime players will often have wider ones. A beginner will do best with low action and light strings on a well set-up, well built instrument. Go to a shop with knowledgable staff and a good selection of mandolins by different makers. Tell them your budget and then try them out.
I don't think you could go very wrong with one of the following priced under $500: Kentucky KM-505, Big Muddy M-0, Rover RM-75...there are others

[gymboss76s@]

Welcome to the Café, Gymboss76s@. This really depends on personal preference, your hands and having an excellent set up for string guages that suit you.

I've played a well set up Johnson and a well set up custom. Both were easy to play. Are you coming to mandolin from Guitar or is this your first instrument (former guitar players often like somewhat wider fingerboards I have noticed)? Are you looking to buy? If so, do you have a budget in mind and if you could, please tell us what kind of music you want to play.

Jamie

wow ,,,, Thank you. So many question's. No I have not played Guitar. I definitely need to buy. ( I've been playing a $85. mandolin for a year.............It's kinda depressing sometimes really). The Big Muddy M-0 looks \ Sounds really nice for less than $500. I play a lot of Beatles, however my friends are very eclectic.
B.T.W. can you please give me some insight into String Gauges ? Also ,,, Is it frowned upon to Flat the strings ? I would like to tone it down. The $85 mandolin sounds like something Schroeder (peanuts) should be playing.
Thank You for you kindness.
Peace.

[JEStanek]

gymboss,

String guages are how thick (heavy) the strings are. As they get larger, they put more tension on the top (function of scale length, pitch, and guage = tension (pounds of pressure) and since the scale and pitch stay constant (unless you down tune) if you increase the gauge you increase the tension). Heavier strings can give more volume. Different string materials can change the tone, even different picks change the tone of a set of strings, even different picking techniques can change the tone. In general medium guage strings (like D'Addario J74 are a good place to start at least for archtop mandolins).

You may find your $85 mandolin sounds better with different strings and a good set up (should run you $40-100 depending on the needed work).

If you down tune (if I understand tune down rom GDAE to FCGD for example???) you'll need to adjust your fingerings to play with others. If you down tune and keep the same strings on, (depending upon how much you down tune) you may get floppy muddy sounding notes or buzzing.

If your instrument seems to shrill sounding (if that's the issue) try picking closer to the fingerboard than the bridge and try out some different picks and string sets.

Does this help answer your questions? Also, I've never used alternative tunings. Some other folks will likely have better advice on this subject than me (i.e., I could be quite wrong ;) )

Jamie

[David Lloyd]

I have a Mann 2 point flatback. In my opinion it is hard to play any other mandolin after this one. I prefer flatwound strings and a Wegen 1mm mandolin pick. My wife refers to this mandolin as my girlfriend :)
PS
I started with a $60 Rover , then a Kentucky 380 , and I still have a very rarely (never) played Washburn F. I am sure there are lots of great mandolins out there ,but my heart has been won :)

[billkilpatrick]

greetings - my vote is for a big muddy (mid-missouri) mandolin - wide neck, good projection, smooth, easy action. check out the beatles social group here at the cafe:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/group.php?groupid=112

[Jill McAuley]

You might also keep your eyes peeled for a used Breedlove, folk who play them tend to mention the ease of playability due to the slightly wider neck profile, bigger frets and radius fretboard.

Cheers,
Jill

[Jim MacDaniel]

Jill' comment about Breedlove reminded me that we also used to hear a lot from Rigel owners, about how much they love the Rigel necks' playability for similar reasons, with their wider fretboard, larger frets, and compound radius.

[Rick Schmidlin]

Any Collings

Forgive and Forget

[Nelson Peddycoart]

I don't think you can overlook Phoenix mandolins in this discussion. My Neo just about plays itself.

[gymboss76s@]

Thank you, I will do my best to try out the big muddy mw-0.
peace.

[gymboss76s@]

thank you Jill, I have been interested in the Breedlove for sometime. I will do my best to try one.
Peace.

[gymboss76s@]

Thank You,,, I did indeed pick closer to the fingerboard. I did seem to help.

[fred d]

How do I get one of those that plays it self possibly than I could really play

[Don Raven]

I have a Mid Mo/Big Muddy M4. I put a set of high end medium strings on her and she plays like a dream. My teacher is impressed with her and she plays a vintage Gibson F5. Mike Dulak is great to work with as well.

[Josh Kaplan]

You've already gotten some good advice, and the Big Muddy would be a good bet.

You can't really go by a list of features. Banjo frets might make it easier to play, but not necessarily. Frets by themselves are only one part of the picture. I have found that some mandolins are in fact more forgiving and easier to "play" but I haven't found this linked to any particular feature from which I can generalize, like the frets or fretboard, or even the neck. And my sense of what "easy" is has changed over time. The setup makes a huge difference, though.

Of the mandolins I've played, the one made by Howard Morris in Oregon feels almost effortless to play. Partly the setup and low action, partly the neck, standard frets, could just be something about the mandolin itself. No financial interest myself, but there are two in the classifieds now, including a used oval hole for $600.

Of course we are not talking about actually knowing how to play the mandolin, which I would not describe as effortless.

Josh

[gymboss76s@]

You've already gotten some good advice, and the Big Muddy would be a good bet.

You can't really go by a list of features. Banjo frets might make it easier to play, but not necessarily. Frets by themselves are only one part of the picture. I have found that some mandolins are in fact more forgiving and easier to "play" but I haven't found this linked to any particular feature from which I can generalize, like the frets or fretboard, or even the neck. And my sense of what "easy" is has changed over time. The setup makes a huge difference, though.

Of the mandolins I've played, the one made by Howard Morris in Oregon feels almost effortless to play. Partly the setup and low action, partly the neck, standard frets, could just be something about the mandolin itself. No financial interest myself, but there are two in the classifieds now, including a used oval hole for $600.

Of course we are not talking about actually knowing how to play the mandolin, which I would not describe as effortless.

Josh

I couldn't agree more,,, I am Starting to learn just how much effort it takes. Fortunately, I am also finding out how much fun It is.
Peace.

[bratsche]

The Sawchyn Beaver Tail in the classifieds deserves a strong vote in the easy and forgiving category, too. If it's anything like the mandola version I have, it will play like butter. He uses great looking and sounding woods, makes them completely by hand, and all the features on these make this a great bargain at the price he's asking, and it's even new - the lucky buyer will get to break it in all by him- or herself!

(No commercial interest, just a happy mandola owner 's unsolicited endorsement! :) )

bratsche

[GTG]

Another vote for the Big Muddy/Mid-Missouri. Also Tacoma mandos - although they look ugly (to me) and are considered somewhat inferior instruments, I've heard a few people rave about their excellent playability. In the higher dollar categories, Rigel and Collings are my faves.

In terms of features, low action and a comfortable neck go a long way towards making an instrument easy to play. Neck shape in particular is pretty personal, so you'll have to figure out what feels good to you, depending on your hand size, for example.

[gymboss76s@]

greetings - my vote is for a big muddy (mid-missouri) mandolin - wide neck, good projection, smooth, easy action. check out the beatles social group here at the cafe:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/group.php?groupid=112

Hey Bill,
I did indeed check out that forum site. Good stuff, enough to keep me busy for a while. I was also impressed by your postings. Dude you rule.
Peace.

[billkilpatrick]

Hey Bill,
I did indeed check out that forum site. Good stuff, enough to keep me busy for a while. I was also impressed by your postings. Dude you rule.
Peace.

more like "rude and drool" - but thank you. look forward to seeing your premier video with your NEW! mandolin.

[wsugai]

You might also keep your eyes peeled for a used Breedlove, folk who play them tend to mention the ease of playability due to the slightly wider neck profile, bigger frets and radius fretboard.

Cheers,
Jill

I agree. My KF is hands down easier to play than my Gibsons and Weber. No volume to speak of, even with the Tone-Gard, but so easy to play.

[ColdBeerGoCubs]

When you say no volume, how much would you say you lost compared with the other two? More oval hole volume or something like that?

[Timleo]

I agree. My KF is hands down easier to play than my Gibsons and Weber. No volume to speak of, even with the Tone-Gard, but so easy to play.


Seriously though, I'm curios about this too. My old FF breedlove barked like no tomorrow, and as far as I can tell, the KF is the same mando, just with a chopped off scroll, essentially.

Details!

[mandroid]

They are all forgiving, I don't think the mandolin cares whether you hit the right note

or something accidental. :))

[wsugai]

Seriously though, I'm curios about this too. My old FF breedlove barked like no tomorrow, and as far as I can tell, the KF is the same mando, just with a chopped off scroll, essentially.

Details!

It's just a standard Quartz KF with an internal pickup, FT74 strings, strap button on the neck heel, per Breedlove, and an arm rest. I had my repair lady set it up, check string seating on nut and saddle, and check the mating of the bridge feet to the top.

Even with the Tone-Gard, The low end is much weaker than my A5G and F12, but the high end is nice and clear. Compared to the other two, there's really no bark and so-so midrange, but with that wider nut and radiused board, it is so easy to play. The neck profile is chunkier than the Gibsons or a Yellowstone that I just picked up, but that doesn't bother me any.

I used to string it with J74s, and I didn't detect very much difference. I don't have a heavy touch, so it could be that I will have to use a heavier pick and bang on it harder than I am. At present, it just gets lost amidst the guitars and banjo in the group that I currently play with.

There's a higher-end Breedlove McKenzie in a local music store that I played recently, and I can't say that I was very impressed with the volume from it either (not nearly so that I would pay the extra $ for it). I got to do an A-B comparison with a guy's Yellowstone at a workshop recently and compared to my KF, it was like his Yellowstone had a built-in amp. I also got to A-B the instructor's Heiden, with the expected results.

Not much more to say other than that the KF is a very lightly-built mando -- compared to the F12, it's like comparing an L-50 to an L-5. I take it everywhere because it's so easy to play and I could live with damage or loss a lot easier than I could with my other mandos (I am also very partial to the satin finish). Based on the $800 price of a used KF that was advertised recently on this site, it would be hard to match with a comparable USA-made mando. That's about it.

[bmac]

From the standpoint of willingness to take abuse it would be hard to beat my Mid-Mo. It is the one I learned on and I am legally blind so I am constantly banging into chairs, tables, doorways, etc. After abusing it for roughly 6 years my cost per hour of playing time is down to roughly 12 cents per hour of playing. It is still playable but needs work so I wouldn't try to sell it as is. But what a great investment it was!!! It is exactly as advertised, a reasonably priced quality American made mandolin for the committed mandolin player. And usually you can pick up a pretty good one in the classified section for $350 - $400.

This is the only new mandolin I've purchased so I can't speak for or against other makes. Dulak seems proud of his mandolins and I am sure would be helpful with support and advice regarding his product.

[gymboss76s@]

They are all forgiving, I don't think the mandolin cares whether you hit the right note

or something accidental. :))Ha Ha Ha ,,,,sweet.

[gymboss76s@]

Ha Ha Ha ,,,,sweet.

Well first night with my brand new Big Muddy Mw-0w. Wow ,,,I am in heaven. B.T.W. I told Mike Dulak how many people mentioned his mandolin. He was both very kind and generous. I want to thank everyone for their support it is greatly appreciated.
Peace.

[Josh Kaplan]

Thanks for following up. Enjoy it!

Josh