Well I Made The Jump.......

[MattyD.]

-I finally purchased a mandolin yesterday. I bought a Rover RM-25S. I got it for $115 including shipping and setup. And it's a new one, not used. Now all I have to do is wait until it gets here. Probably somewhere between next Friday and the following Monday. I know it's a low end mandolin, but at least it has a solid spruce top on it.

-I went around the other day to a couple guitar shops near me and tried a bunch out. All they had were Fender, Hondo, Aria, and Samick. I liked the Samicks and the Fenders best, but they ranged between $300 and $850. I looked up some chords an retuned one of my guitars to a mando to practice them so I wouldn't look like a total idiot. And I love to sound I heard!

-Tick tock tick tock, is it here yet???

ps. and thanks for all the suggestions you guys gave me.

L8R,
Matt D.

[John Flynn]

I hope it gets there soon. Enjoy!

[MattyD.]

-One more question. What strings do most of you prefer? I know every brand sounds different. I use Ernie Ball Classic Power Slinkys on my Strats, Everly B-52's on my Les Paul, DR Low Riders on my bass, and E.B. Earthwoods on my acoustic. Is there any brand to stay away from. Just like I can't stand Gibson strings on my electrics. They just sound dead to me. Sorry for the constant questions but like I said before, I'm a newbie!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

L8R,
Matt D.

[Greenmando]

You will want to experiment around, each mandolin sounds different. You will want to play around with different picks as well. I like exp 74's and a Dawg pick.

Your results may differ http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[John Flynn]

I like the Dunlop Ultex 1.0 teardrop pick. I like J74s on my Rigel, GHS Silk and Steels on my Parsons Flat-top and T-Is on my Mederios Travel Mando. I think each mando reacts differently to different strings. Some mandos sound best with a lot of pressure on the top, others sound better with less pressure. Some are really tinny and need to be mellowed out, others are more dead and need some brightness. There is also a lot of personal preference involved.

[WireBoy]

Matty D -
#Enjoy your Rover. #you made a fine choice. #a friend of mine just bought one for her college freshman son. #( he wants to join in dorm jams with something differnt. his first mando) #I took a look at it for them. #its a RM50B. #A Shape, f holes, all black. #great tone ! #easy to play flat finger board. #I did have to repostion the bridge for correct intonation. #other than that, its good right out of the box. # I gave him my old Shubb capo for flat finger board (i'm playing radius so i don't need the flat one any more), a couple of ultex 1.14, a polish cloth ( that black finish shows up finger prints in #a hurry) and a MandolinCafe sticker. #( have to get the boy started on the right foot !)