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I agree that the makers listed above all make good instruments. I would also add to the list Oakwood Instruments, Paul Shippey and Kai Tonjes, all based here in England. All make excellent octave...

I have been through many types of picks and I currently favour Cool Picks. They are made of a thin but quite stiff and heard wearing non-brittle white plastic material and have a very useful rough...

Darren's post spurred me into action. I caught the Punch Brothers in Manchester November 6 and they were incendiary! (Guy Fawkes Night related joke) Although most of their songs were new to me their...

This guy keeps popping up using the same fraudulent techniques on eBay. Does he limit his efforts to high-end mandolins? I doubt it. I have notified eBay and hijacked account holders on previous...

Musical monotony
Bluegrass/ pop dichotomy?
Asking quite a lot o' me
Do I need lobotomy?

(sung to a well-known bluegrass tune)

Kevin (excuse the unwarranted levity)

I second homejame's recommendation of Mally's '100 Irish Polkas'. Great tunes and published a year or so before the Walton's polka book, some of the tunes settings in which are remarkably similar to...

I also have an old Calton case, housing my Abnett bouzouki, in need of some refurbing. That too is about 30 years old but the foam padding remains in good shape. However the rubber edge sealing has...

There is an old thread about these striking Bavarian-made mandolins from about 2008 and here is one for sale on ebay UK and also on a UK mando site:...

Hi Pat,

There could be a big market for what you are proposing here in the UK (and probably elsewhere in the EU) amongst 'celtic' musicians. To appeal to this market I would suggest: about 21 inch...

Q: Why is that mandoiin player gurning?
A: Look who he is standing next to.

Nice to hear about so many folks enjoying their Jade mandolins, but also rather galling. The last I heard from Bob McRee was when he accepted my $250 deposit on a F4.5. I often wonder if that ever...

Inspired by the critical success of Lizard Spit and Gorilla Snot I would draw your attention to my my new line of instrument conditioner, Iguana Bile, for which I am the sole USA and UK licencee....

I have played Irish music for many years on many different types of mandolin. Whilst many players in Britain and Ireland like to use flat-tops there is no reason why anyone should. Another supposed...

Harribobs, if you don't already do so your next step should be attending one of the fine Irish music sessions to be found in the Manchester area. They may seem like high-octane experiences for a...

I researched into this question a few years ago and found, amongst other things:

The hornpipe is reckoned by musicologists to originate in England, the only folk music form to do so. It was...

[QUOTE=Mark Robertson-Tessi;1027223]Second one is similar to the Congress reel, missing an A part and with some variation.

Cheers
MRT[/QUOT

Certainly the Congress Reel is the second one,...

Jim, Those are the mandoloncello and mandolone in Dallas terminology. They, together with a matching mandolin, were bought off ebay in the UK for less than £1,000 a few years ago.

Kevin

From left to right they are named: mandoloncello, mandola, mandolinino, mandolone (the bass), mandolin and mandolo. The mandolo would nowadays be called an octave mandola/ mandolin.

Kevin

Yes Jim,

Leopoldo Francia seems to have been on the Dallas payroll endorsing their mandolins, arranging mandolin pieces they published, teaching and giving recitals.

Here are some higher res...

I dug out some adverts from old copies of 'Dallas' Musical Monthly', published in London in 1914 & 1915828408284182842 by the Instrument maker J E Dallas showing flatback mandolins which Dallas...

I got diverted onto this thread from another (UK mandolin ads 1914). I have an interest in the Windsor (Birmingham, England) instrument maker. I have some of their better banjo and also one of their...

Thanks Dave for uploading that image of the Windsor Pyxe 'Gibson homage' mandolin.

I have one of those pictured in the ad and a thing of wonder it is too. I had thought it was part of an attempt...

There is an extended interview with Thile about the Punch Brothers, together with a video of their performance of one of the new album tracks in today's Observer newspaper. The group are attracting a...

I have been alternating mandolin and tenor banjo for Irish music for many years and I have tried most of the vintage set-ups. As I prefer short-scale (easier to switch) and open-back that limits my...

Dan, I will be at Thile's Sheffield gig on Sunday. Your report has whetted my appetite. Can you say who is backing him on the tour now that Michael Daves has had to pull out?
Kevin