Orpington chickens, is all I know.
In case you didn't figure it out, Rochester = Rock Castle. So it makes sense that there is a nice castle in Rochester (Kent, not NY, not MN). Chester (UK, PA...) just means "Castle" in vernacular Latin.
I went with an 8 string electric, and it is a joy to play. I use a Fishman loud box, which has reverb & chorus; I am looking for suggestions as to what affects I should be looking at. A guitarist freind said he recorded with an e -mando player who used tremolo...thats were I am at, fishing for ideas.
Coincidentally, I also ended up "busking" (involuntarily) this August ... your post reminded me that I should write a blog entry about this! My last visit to Cambridge was a year ago. I wish I had caught your performance!
Thanks Chinn! Looking forward to a lifetime of sharing music with my girl!
Too cute Daniel! My 8mo old son's face lights up every time I pull out a mando and play in front of him. He even pulls up in front of me and tries strumming at the strings. Can't wipe the smile off my face when he does that.
I am heartened that you are taking street musicianship seriously. Its an art form that, like most other endeavors of value, requires specific talents, and skills, and knowledge, as well as courage, tenacity, and showmanship.
Congratulations on the 'slip-up' (there are no accidents). Another successful Anglo-American alliance is sealed! I wish you all the best, and thanks for sharing, Daniel.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story and sounds like you have your partner have a wonderful adventure ahead of you. Best wishes!
Absolute best wishes!
Thanks everyone! I'm guessing you're right Santiago. :-)
A Hearty Ar Ar & Congratulations. Best of wishes.
Of all your future productions, I bet the child shines far above all others. Congratulations to you both!
Wow I was just passing through looking at Mandolin stuff. That is quite a story congrats! I find it nice when a stranger makes you smile like this so I just wanted to comment on it. Just one thing though, it's 'skirtingboard' not 'baseboard' :-), you are going to have to get used to a whole load of differences like that!
Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor Congratulations, Daniel. Cool story. Thanks Scott!
Congratulations, Daniel. Cool story.
Great entry Daniel, I play violin/fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar, and sing harmony. I look at it like, "Different rods, but still fishing." Music's between the ears and whatever's at hand is the vehicle. I guess i shouldn't dismiss the ability but to me it's more just an oportunity. I'm looking forward to reading more of your thoughts.
And to you too Dan. Happy New Year! Daniel
As a longtime performer and singer/songwriter, I can identify with just about everything in your post. I wrote extensively, and surrounded myself with talented folks to help bring each song to a new level of life. As I've gotten older, I've gotten further from the stage, and begun moving around in front of and behind it. I work in radio, and have talented children, so I still enjoy plenty of live music, but play less of it myself. Bluegrass is a true joy. I am routinely thrilled by the level of musicianship, and the warmth of the community. I miss plain old "jamming" - and look forward to the mandolin sparking a musical re-entry with no baggage. Best wishes on your endeavors. Dan
Thank you DoubleG, it was indeed.
Sounds like the perfect way to spend a weekend and get away from the world for awhile.
i definitely like electrics, as you may have seen from my posts. but like flatt, i don't know if i should go for 4 or 8.
Thanks Steve! Doesn't anyone in the UK make gazebos? Plastic sheeting. Brilliant. If I had been on top of my game we would have done that too! There was a hardware store at the end of the parking lot! Daniel
this is such a good post. this is what they call 'paying your dues' - the only way to learn this stuff is go out there and do it - make the mistakes - and learn from them. we just did an outdoor gig in bakewell, derbyshire, UK. we had power, and a gazebo as protection from the weather - except that we bought the gazebo in NC and it was designed to keep out bugs, not derbyshire rain - so off we go to buy some plastic sheeting to keep the rain out. And we've been doing this for 10 years or more! being willing to adapt is the key - and having fun with it. I like your comment about eye-contact with the public. It's really important to connect with the audience - probably the most important thing, and the hardest to learn. I love the tips you get when you play - a friend and I busked in Asheville NC and were rewarded with 2 jars of jam from the vendor who was set up just across the street. Somehow it tastes better when you earn it like this!
Daniel, That does sound good. I'm going to have to give it a try. I used to have an Alder #1 - it had maple back and sides. I thought that the # 1 just had simpler binding and finish than the #2.
John, The model name of my 'dola is Alder. It's a #2 because it has a maple neck and maple body. The #1 uses mahogany in those places. Thanks for the kind words! Subscribe to my YouTube Channel, there'll be more soon! Daniel
Great playing & singing Daniel. So is this the 'dola (Bridger or Aspen?) with mando strings tuned to EBF#C#? Sounds good. John
Thanks MC!
Fantastic, great video great playing. mc
Thanks! Yes, I was thinking less dirt, more fuzz. Though the recording has less dirt in it that the live air did. The mic probably took some upper end off the sound, and the 16 bit sample rate probably did too. Daniel
Cool! It's a little hard to give much constructive input on tone given the way it was recorded, I'd put a mic on the cabs for starters, and probably turn it up a bunch so the amps can speak some. But lack of details has never stopped me before... What do you mean by "smoother" exactly? What about a power sink of some kind to put more of the grit in the output tubes? Thought about a fuzz pedal of some kind with the tone controls rolled back? I use an SD1 in my rig, and I usually turn the drive up pretty high, at least 3/4 up, but that might be a different sound than you're after.
David, Played through a small AER (Compact 60) amp, which was designed for "acoustic" instruments. There was no discernible drop in volume on the E string. But the choice of amp may make a big difference. Amps designed for acoustic instruments tend to have a greater frequency range and more headroom. So the upper register of an electric mandolin would be more audible through one of these than it would be through a standard electric guitar amp. Ted Eschliman (www.jazzmando.com) has the red 5 string in his hands right now and will be writing an review of the instrument soon. Daniel
Daniel, Good to hear about the low C string qualities on the JBovier 5-stringer. How about the E string. Any weakness when compared to the D and A in terms of volume? I have a Fender 5-stringer and the E string is quite weak sounding, even after fiddling with the pickup height. I suppose the pickup itself is the real culprit. What are the likely price ranges for the JBovier 5-strings or is this not yet known/public? Cheers, David
Thanks Jeff! Maybe I'm just watching different audiences than you are/were. At least here in Modesto, CA people are looking for something more pop-oriented: big hooks, personal confessions, etc. But it's nice to know I'm wrong about this somewhere! Daniel
In the second case, audiences get bored pretty quick with simple music that does not lyrically speak to their lives. I am not sure I know what you mean here, I might not agree with it. I ran a coffee house for many years, doing everything from booking the acts, to sweeping up. One of our most popular performers sang nothing but sea shanties. We got pretty good attendance most of the time, but this one performer would fill to the point I worried about occupancy laws. Few if any in the audience, had a boat. I don't think folks go out to hear live music to be told of their own lives, about paying bills and deciding which health insurance plan is best. I think they go to hear live music to hear great music, played well, that provides escape from their actual lives. Simple, evocative music, tied to interesting stories and universal themes. Respectfully submitted.
ooo. Nice calls! Adding them to the list. Daniel
Eastwood e-tenor guitar.
VHT Special 6 Amp. I saw the initial press release, but nothing since.
I don't know of most on your list. I know that you hit the "nail on the head" with Sweet Baby James. That one and the first (acoustic) Hot Tuna album ruined my life. Just when I should have been studying and planning for a future in high school, I was slumped over a guitar. I might have survived that except that the dream lasted another 7 years while I earned a four year degree. A dozen years of fingerstyle guitar practice did not result in a marketable talent when Heavy Metal hit the scene. No regrets!!!
You've gone a lot further than I did. I bought new, not Fender, Mandocaster. I played it a few minutes and put it back in the case and sold it a few months later. Seems like I got it for a lot different reasons than you did!!
Ahh. Thanks for that Martin. I retract, then, my contention that other factors were involved in pulling the instruments off the market. And bow to your greater body of knowledge. Daniel
But some of these instruments in both red and blue WERE sold in Europe, with the same pickup and bridge configuration. The ones that were pulled and dumped on the U.S. market differ only in finish color.
Sounds like a lot of fun, with the possible exception of the "yummy vegetarian food", a contradiction in terms in my opinion. Here in upstate NY we have had a culture of house concerts as well. A network of musical friends that trade off hosting a concert of some musician or folkie band travelling through on the way to a larger venue. I have had a few concerts in the fireplace room down stairs, stuffing 25 some odd folding chairs down there in front of a little make shift two person stage. More like a home made coffeehouse concert, with a coffee and pastries break at intermission, upstairs in the kitchen. Often there is the after-concert jam with the guest musicians and our home grown jammers shaking the pictures off the wall and disturbing the parakeets generally. Live music in the intimate setting of a private home - it doesn't get much better. Some really great moments.
I have been really into the Greencards for some time now. And Marty Stuart is really great on mandolin. Sounds like a great festival.
Too Cool...........I've been thinking about making my next mandolin purchase a mandola. I thought it would be better suited for the "campfire" situations---where it's just pickin n grinnin. Not a worked up tune, just the "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" stuff. I'm thinking about something like a used Trinity College to try. If it works out as well as I think it will I could sell it without much of a loss and put those funds into something I really don't deserve at my skill level. I just seem to do better on a really nice instrument, probably because I play it more.
PM sent!
Just read your blog; ah! I am in that state of "just about to" .... I'm going for a Mandobird (cheap; looks great; sounds OK what I've heard) but I lunge between 4-string and 8-string. I play pretty much rock'n'roll mandolin when I can ... yes I DO bend strings on an 8! At the moment it's on an F-Furch with Fishman p/u ... through various stomp-boxes. Should I go 4 or 8? My gut tells me 4, my heart tells me 4, but my brain (knows my technique) and says "Nah ... 8!"... The Mandobird iv DOES look like any set-up problems can be addressed better then the viii? Ah, I'm just rambling ... sorry to take up your time!!! Chris
Bingo! Well, the picture shows a used stamp. I don't have it in hand yet. I should get the instrument tomorrow. On Wed I'll take a bunch of pictures and post them to the photos section of the message board. Daniel
FM-988 Interesting stuff here; http://www.emando.com/builders/Fender2.htm "Then, early in 2008, a batch of FM-984s and FM-988s appeared in the United States. Most of these appeared to be finished in "Seafoam Green," but they might actually have been Sonic Blue instruments with yellowed clearcoat. Research reveals that these instruments originated from Fender EDC BV in the Netherlands. Rejected for being the wrong color, they languished in a Dutch warehouse for five years or more before being sold to the Musical Instrument Reclamation Corporation in Tennessee, which stamped then "USED" and sold them wholesale to U.S. dealers, most of whom immediately sold them on eBay—where demand was higher than anticipated: they sold for as much as $1,000." Does yours have "used" stamped on it?
So close! Sorry, no it is not a "Fender Electric Mandolin." Though it fits that description to a tee and I will affectionately call it my Mandocaster, "Fender Electric Mandolin" is not the model name. Keep digging, you'll find it. Daniel
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