Re: Looking for a "beater" to take to a festival/campout
The Beater - my essay
I dont like the concept! I recognize that some mandolins cost $20,000.00 and thats a lot of coin for a casual stroll through a festival or airport. I also recognize that mandolins are available on the market for less than a hundred bucks and with a good setup can be quite playable.
Most folks that really want to bring a mandolin to a festival have enough experience to showcase a few tunes and chop a few chords along with others. Id bet that most folks that want to bring a mandolin to a festival or on a trip are in it for the long haul. So, herein lays my overall perspective. Why buy a sub-par mandolin to accompany your journeys?
Ooh, now we have to address, whats a, par mandolin? Well, beyond the setup, it has to have some measure of horsepower and a sound thats acceptable. Id seek out solid woods and, for an arch-top, hand-carved gradations, which are available from Eastman, The Loar, Kentucky, J. Bouvier and others. Ive found my needs in my Flatiron 1N, which is a flat-top mandolin thats available for about $600 or $700 bucks. Its not a beater though. Its an authentic mandolin a mandolin that Ive enjoyed for at least a decade. A mandolin that I have and will continue to built stories upon.
So, for the instrument that you take on trips, to festivals, camping and to the campfire, you are building stories. Each of these stories (to me) has greater value then the $50 dollar or the $1,000 dollar initial purchase price. Id rather build stories with something thatll Ill cherish. And, that conflicts with the entire notion of a, Beater, which seems like something youd leave out in the rain. . .
f-d
Ąpapá gordo aint no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
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