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I just found one of these in a mid-Missouri pawnshop, with the moon-and-stars cover plate. From the serial numbers, made in 1978. Under previous ownership, this mandolin was played a lot and will...

Another change-0.....please change me from "ironweed" to "D Schubert"

I have one of those low $$$ Johnson (AXL) metal-bodied mandolins, and have not been crazy about it. I noticed that the scale length is over 14" and started thinking...hmmm...mandola. Took it to my...

I recently found a 1916 black-face A model, don't have the serial# handy.

Neither as cool as MandoCafe, but....

www.reso-nation.org

www.jerrydouglas.com (bulletin board)

I have an early-evening "bluegrass cocktail music" gig on Thursday, but plan to drop by later. See ya there.

Put an inexpensive Stew-Mac or FQMS replacement on the mando, and put the broken tailpiece in a ziploc bag inside the case. Sell it, and let it be the next guy's problem. Life's too short...

Same cuts also exist on a 3-CD set of Ralph's King & Gusto recording, called "Poor Rambler". These were recorded in March of 1980. Personnel besides Ralph and Jimmy was Curly Ray Cline on fiddle,...

I have been using Roland MicroCube for a year or two -- mostly for lap steel and Tele, but also with Mandobird -- and am very satisfied. Many amp simulation modes, decent EFX, very loud for its'...

Be careful out there on crowded stages and around single mics. It's a hazardous work space. And, almost as bad as getting your F-5 banged up, is getting hit in the face with a D-28 peghead. Dang,...

Never happened to me. Latches on my Calton mando case are very tight.

Most of us (I think) lay out tunings as though you were viewing the nut from above, and put the first string on the right...same orientation as they appear in a chord diagram. In that form, standard...

Swampstomper, thanks for the observation. I hadn't thought about it in terms of years & labels.

I have always believed that one of the keys to the Stanley sound was the very deliberate use of lead guitar, and minimal mandolin, to distinguish themselves from the mando-heavy Monroe sound. Flatt &...

One of my wife's favorite CD's is the "Essential Skeeter Davis" which is another one of those missing-link collections that bridges the gap between country, rockabilly, and pop music. Did the vocal...

I don't generally name instruments, but I have an old Oahu guitar that has always been "Black Bettie" (complete with a black lace Bettie Page decal) and I sometimes refer to my F-5L as "Little Elvis".

Most of my slide experience is on guitar, but here are a few thoughts as you begin...

Get a $50 beater mando that you can commit to slide. Put on med-heavy strings and tune to an open chord. Raise...

Hey F-dad, my '84 is x-braced. Carlson signature. Double bound body, no neck binding. Looks like the pic you posted, with deep, deep flamed wood rims and back. I have changed out the nickel tuners &...

Not the whole wrench, just the socket over your finger.

Words aren't exactly the same, but are you looking for "Big Iron" as done by Marty Robbins?

It is unlikely that you will find your favorite slide on the first try. It's a "personal fit" thing, like a good pair of shoes. If possible, take your mando to the store and try out everything they...

I have an A-5-1 from 1984 that just keeps sounding better. If you're interested in buying it, you'll have to take that up with my widow one of these days.

Besides what's already been mentioned...

I played a Canadian-made parlor guitar by "Art & Lutherie" that was quite nice for the price. Had a black top, but they come in different colors. Went back...

Play it up higher on the neck, using the 3-string finger chop position commonly used for C and D, don't hit the first string at all...

G = 12-9-10-x
C = 5-2-3-x
D = 7-4-5-x

(frets to play, on...

I found that "minus 3 frets" tuning to be real comfy on my Johnson reso-mando, partially mitigated by the longer-than-standard scale length. And less down-force on the resonator cone -- due to looser...