View Profile: allenhopkins - Mandolin Cafe Forum

Yesterday, 12:16pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Mas or not looking for a mate for my Crafter m70 ovation what do in General Mandolin Discussions

Cort CM-A150E has a solid top, presumably heat-pressed since it doesn't say "carved." Back and sides are (laminated?) mahogany, which is sort of...

18 replies | 314 view(s)

Yesterday, 11:58am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Equipment for Gigs in Equipment

Wow! An open-ended question, if I ever saw one… There are so many variables, it's hard to answer definitively. There are coffeehouses where...

3 replies | 181 view(s)

May-21-2013, 9:34pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Best inexpensive Tenor Banjo in CBOM

Don't know anything about the Bedford Banjo Shop in PA, but this page lists a bunch of used tenors at very reasonable prices, including a Slingerland...

6 replies | 238 view(s)

May-21-2013, 1:21pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Guitar Boris in General Mandolin Discussions

But a real musician wouldn't be using a capo at all, would he? He'd learn to "mime" playing in every key, rather than leaning on a capo-esque crutch...

12 replies | 353 view(s)

May-20-2013, 9:02pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Questions about buying my first mandolin in Looking for information about mandolins

Sorry, Zach, didja say somethin'? I wasn't payin' attention… Seriously, if you don't take to the mandolin, you can sell the instrument -- that...

34 replies | 1035 view(s)

May-20-2013, 2:30pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Flinthill tuning machines replacements??? in Equipment

1. Try some lubrication on the tuners before you replace them. 2. Bridge creaks are often from the string windings rubbing in the bridge slots. ...

2 replies | 133 view(s)

May-20-2013, 2:18pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Hand pain with mando, none with guitar. Any ideas? in General Mandolin Discussions

Try to ascertain if you're using significantly greater finger pressure when you fret your mandolin, than when you fret your guitar. Do you play a...

22 replies | 602 view(s)

May-20-2013, 2:00pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Atkin Mandolin in Builders and Repair

Just had a two-point built, and like the "mutant scroll" designs of Giacomel, Breedlove, et. al. It is nice to offer the strap-over-one-shoulder...

21 replies | 808 view(s)

May-20-2013, 1:46pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Questions about buying my first mandolin in Looking for information about mandolins

You are right; as I pointed out in Post #8, a $50 mandolin is a crapshoot. You may get "acceptable to learn on," but that's about all you can hope...

34 replies | 1035 view(s)

May-20-2013, 10:22am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Very Very affordable Mandocello Alert! in CBOM

Yeah, I walked into John's the next day, wanted to try it out, and found it was sold. Not that I was actually going to buy it, since I have two...

6 replies | 787 view(s)

May-20-2013, 10:17am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Questions about buying my first mandolin in Looking for information about mandolins

You do realize that the OP initially asked about $50 mandolins on Amazon? Jumping to a Weber, Breedlove, or a vintage F-4 is like going from a...

34 replies | 1035 view(s)

May-20-2013, 10:07am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Good Second Instrument? in General Mandolin Discussions

1. Agree with Randi on the Strad-O-Lin; these are real "sleepers" in terms of quality and sound, despite their somewhat plebian look (at least most...

9 replies | 439 view(s)

May-20-2013, 9:56am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Fishman 220 PA in Equipment

When I'm "sub-mixing" into my Fishman, I just run the SA-220 "flat" and mix at the sub-mixer. I've used a single SoloAmp for up to five musicians,...

18 replies | 591 view(s)

May-19-2013, 5:16pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Dobro Mandolin in General Mandolin Discussions

Let us know when it does. If it's an old Dobro, I'd advise getting it checked out by a good instrument tech. The Dobro Co., and later National...

8 replies | 441 view(s)

May-19-2013, 4:59pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread AllParts 10-string tuners in Builders and Repair

I was apprehensive myself; Bernie made a mock-up with a foam body and a thin wooden neck with the frets diagrammed on it, to see if I could handle...

33 replies | 1212 view(s)

May-18-2013, 10:50pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Got to play a Gibson F5 today. in Vintage Instruments

And -- that's why one drives a Yugo instead of a Lexus, buys shirts at WalMart rather than Joseph A Bank, eats at McDonald's rather than at Le...

13 replies | 711 view(s)

May-18-2013, 10:35pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread i need advice on a mid level mandolin in Looking for information about mandolins

Depends on what you want; I'm a fan of the "mic-on-a-stand" approach myself, but since I play a buncha different instruments, and can't afford to...

16 replies | 978 view(s)

May-18-2013, 10:20pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Types of resonator mandolins. in Equipment

1. As far as I know, National only made perhaps 60 tri-cone mandolins, in 1928. According to the late Bob Brozman's book, The History and Artistry...

3 replies | 189 view(s)

May-17-2013, 10:34pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread AllParts 10-string tuners in Builders and Repair

Scale length for the 1st (E) course is 14 inches; scale length for the 5th course is 16.5 inches. I'm going to be tweaking the string gauges as I...

33 replies | 1212 view(s)

May-17-2013, 10:59am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Advice for playing with a twin brother.... in General Mandolin Discussions

You and your bro should peruse the Hayseed Dixie oeuvre and see if there's anything about country/'grass versions of metal tunes that strikes a (G)...

27 replies | 769 view(s)

May-17-2013, 10:51am

allenhopkins replied to a thread 1907-08 Gibson F-2 defines big restoration project in Vintage Instruments

Back when I was working part-time for the late Eldon Stutzman at Stutzman's Guitar Center, -- during the early '70's when good mandolins were pretty...

20 replies | 1420 view(s)

May-16-2013, 2:10pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread AllParts 10-string tuners in Builders and Repair

If the image posts, here's the 5-course, fanned-fret instrument that Bernie Lehmann built me, with the AllParts tuners (which are working fine so far...

33 replies | 1212 view(s)

May-16-2013, 2:05pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Wishnevsky mandocello? in Builders and Repair

Bernunzio sold the Wishnevsky yesterday.

7 replies | 445 view(s)

May-16-2013, 11:39am

allenhopkins replied to a thread help with info in Looking for information about mandolins

More info on Barnes & Mullins from the British Banjo Makers web pages: BARNES & MULLINS Samuel Bowley Barnes and Edward Mullins were boyhood...

4 replies | 191 view(s)