Travel Mandolin

[red7flag]

I am going to Corsica this summer. All the mandos I have now I don't think would travel well. I am considering getting a travel mandolin. One that comes to mind is Red Line Traveller. Have checked out their website and liked what I saw. For a listen here are two links to hear different varieties of Red Lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWIQu09jDTc The other link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaFdasGyLeg (nfi) Another plus is that they are made locally to me. Any suggestions or alternatives? Thanks n advance.

[MadMarine]

Just out of curiosity, Tony, what makes your other mandos less desirable for travel? What are your concerns about traveling with them?

Thanks

[Big Joe]

The RedLine is a good choice and they are very cool. However, I've travelled with F5's all over and never had a problem. The traveller in a case is a bit smaller to travel with but the right case will help with any instrument. Especially if you want to carry it on the aircraft with you. One reason I like the Pegasus case and the Gator case (like a travelite) is they fit in the overhead compartment and they are small enough to meet the airline requirements. The Calton and Travelite cases are good cases, but they are larger than the airlines allow. They may let you carry those on board, but they certainly don't have to. Weight is another issue. Lots of choices in both cases and instruments. I just recommend carefully considering what you want to take and how you want to get it there. Any mandolin is much easier to travel with than a guitar or bass like I used to have to do.

[Nelson Peddycoart]

Joe,

You didn't let them strap the bass onto the top of the aircraft? Isn't that what Monroe used to do...strap the bass on top of the car and roll on?

[JeffD]

The RedLine's sure look excellent, and were I to purchase one I would take care of it as much as any other mandolin. I have taken my Gibson 1923 A2 snakehead all over the country and the world, in its original case, with no ill effects.

[red7flag]

This would not just be for the trip to Corsica, but I also camp a lot. Water is not a friend of oil varnish and both the Ellis and Stanly are oil finished. For the trip to Corsica, where the weather is pretty nice, I guess the A2 would be ok, but for camping, I am not so sure of.

[fatt-dad]

You like the finer things in life. Go find a pre-Gibson Flatiron 1N (or its dressed up cousins). I love mine and if was the only mandoiln that I owned, I'd be perfectly happy. Yes, they're that good (well at least for me and my old-time fiddle tunes).

f-d

[mando.player]

I say any excuse to get a new mandolin is a good one ;)

The Red Line's look great and would be a welcome addition to any herd. I sold my Breedlove oval and I'm thinking a Traveler may be a future purchase. Any idea if you can get one with a 1 3/16" nut?

[mandroid]

Drop the made of wood specification and Peter Mix's A5's are a real winner , in a full sized mandolin.

Carbon Fiber .. weather impervious, pretty much..

To pack into Narrower stowage.. I find the Martin Backpacker OK , a + .. quite sturdy .
as made, the neck shape has an excellent feel..
a full length scale..

Weber makes a well received reduced body size flat top too .. the Sweet Pea.

I'd go for the Mix, would be the keeper .. if I had to cut back to One Mandolin for all uses.. places, and weather ..

[JEStanek]

You could pick up a bowl back while in Italy... The Redlines are very nice, as is a Mid Mo/ Big Muddy, etc.... I would say given what you're describing the potential use (travel and camping - asuming you'll play grass on it too) you might consider a used Eastman or Kentucky 505.

Jamie

[barney 59]

I was asking Stan Jay about Mixes and he told me that they are presently not in production. It would be a great travel instrument though--in a pinch you could use it to paddle a boat or swat bedbugs. I'd take the Gibson,works for any type of music-- you never know what can happen when you travel. Maybe you'll bump into someone in a park in Amsterdam and end up playing backup for the rest of their European tour. If that can happen to me it can happen to anyone... I'd take any mandolin traveling as long as it was absolutely not replaceable...they're all pretty small.

[Jim MacDaniel]

I can vouch for for the Traveler pancake and the Gator GL light-case. The Traveler is a blast to play, with nice tone, volume, and playability. The GL is a nice and light, is setup for back-pack style straps, and has a decent amount of storage inside under the neck, plus storage on the ouotside of the case large enough for sheet music and 8-1/2" x 11" books. I am between Travelers right now, so I can't verify that the GL will work for them, but I think it might work for the Traveler if you insert a foam shim at the bottom of the case of about 1" to 1-1/2" or so.

[allenhopkins]

Just took AMTRAK to the West Coast and back; took my Strad-O-Lin in a gig bag. Jammed on the train and in Berkeley. I'd just find the best inexpensive instrument available, domestic or imported, new or used, and get a decent case for it. Mandolins are inherently "travel" instruments, 'cause they're small. I think the solution is to get one you enjoy playing, but don't mind risking the vicissitudes of travel. Indestructible as the Mix instruments may be ("Madame, God himself couldn't sink this ship/break this mandolin!"), I'd be thinking, "Jeez, this is a $3K mandolin -- what if I leave it in the cab, or that shifty-looking gazook over there steals it, or the hotel burns down, or the Corsican equivalent of Sasquatch eats it, or..."

[red7flag]

I went to Big Joe's today and tried out the two Red Lines he has. There is a big difference in price. The cheeper one is maple and spruce, paddle head, almost looked like it had been painted (red top and black back) and almost no appointments or frills. The other is delux model, which means it has a thicker body, binding, snakehead, and a nicer looking finish. The difference in price was $450 vs $750. The tone of both was surprisingly similar and much higher quality than I expected (never played a pancake before). The E and A strings on both sounded almost the same. The difference came when playing the G and D notes. The Delux model with the thicker body provided a much more resonance and depth of sound. While the cheeper model looked cheeper, the sound was not nearly the difference in price. The cheeper model provides great tone and playability for the $. If offered, I would buy a cheeper finished one with a deeper body. I have not seen this offered, however. Over all, I was very impressed with the playability and tone for instruments in that price point. I left without buying, but more due to my particular financial situation than anything else. The Red Line is a winner.

[red7flag]

My 22 A2 has some cracking in the finish. Would that be a concern travelling? I am thinking about the change of pressure during the flights and the change of environment when in Corsica and the return home. The instrument is very sturdy, but the finish less so, especially on the top.

[Big Joe]

The cracking or crazing is a normal wear pattern and unless there is some flaking or chipping of the finish there should be no problem. Changing temperatures may increase the cracking but not likely to damage the instrument as a result of the finish itself. Most likely the finish issue is a normal aging process. If it is more than what you think is normal just bring it by and let us take a look at it. We can tell you pretty quick if there is an issue.

[Backlineman]

Weber Sweet Pea.