MAS has no cure but it can be managed.

[MANDOLINMYSTER]

We all know MAS, and its grip. Its been said there is no cure and while that is true there is a way to manage this phenomena. Through the years I have fallen victim to the uncontrollable desire to purchase many different types of mandolins. And why not, there are so many great instruments out there all with their own personalities.

Recently I discovered a technique that helped my tame this insatiable appetite and I would like to share it with others. Now we all have a stable of instruments that we can't possibly play at the same time. Chances are a few get tucked away in their cases or collect dust in the corner of the room.

So next time you see that mandolin that you "think" you must have or would like to have but you know it does not make sense( based on budget or keeping peace in the household) turn to one of your instruments that has sat idle for a while, clean her up and put on a fresh set of strings and get reacquainted.

Soon the urge for that other instrument will pass and you can buy some time.

MAS, the only cure is death.

[mandroid]

It really Mitigated when you have to start paying for Re fret jobss on what you already Own.

I've justified it as.. Nobody will lend me theirs, Long term
so to find out what an 'X' is like, I have to buy it.

[George R. Lane]

[QUOTE=MAS, the only cure is death.[/QUOTE]


Or no money, as is my case.

[Paul Busman]

Just looking at my uplayed or rarely played instruments does it for me. I simply HAD to have each and every one of them. I knew for sure that they would change my life forever. Fast forward, and I actually ever play only a few of them. I remember this every time I contemplate a new purchase. I try to sell an old instrument each time to fund the new one so I at least maintain the status quo.

[Gary Flye]

My current plan to cure MAS is to limit myself to one mando per geographic location. So far, I have one mando at home and one at my daughter's house to play when I visit. Since I can't be both places at the same time, there are technically no extra instruments collecting dust. Time will tell whether this plan will work

[Mandoplumb]

My current plan to cure MAS is to limit myself to one mando per geographic location. So far, I have one mando at home and one at my daughter's house to play when I visit. Since I can't be both places at the same time, there are technically no extra instruments collecting dust. Time will tell whether this plan will work

It will work. Now just need one at work, one in the car, one at the gym, one at church, one at the club, one at.............

[John Flynn]

I still have MAS, but I truly have it under control. With the economic downturn from 2009 through now in six years I've been laid off from three different jobs, my wife has been laid off from two and she had to give up one to follow a move for a job I got. We lost our house and our good credit rating and had to move twice to cities where we had no roots for me to get work. After a lot of hard work and tight budgeting, and without declaring bankruptcy, I now have a reasonably secure job, we don't owe anyone a cent and we have a sufficient emergency savings balance.

Over the years, I have accumulated two very nice mandolins and an equally nice OM, all made by small US builders for under $2,000 each and a very decent under $400 "beater" made by a small US builder. One of the more expensive ones is my fave, but I hardly get to play it, because it does not work well in the church group I play in.

I had a good talk with myself about MAS and remembered a saying I learned somewhere, "If you choose to choose what you already have, you will have exactly what you want. If you choose to choose things you don't have, you will never have what you want." I realized that if I really gave into MAS, the next significant step up would cost more than it makes any sense for me to spend given the history of the last six years.

The upside is that I have really come to appreciate the quality of the instruments I have and that it is more my responsibility to made them sound good, not the other way around. So I am 6 years "sober" from MAS, but taking it one day at a time.

[edandjudy3946]

I suggest a mando coop of, say, 6 players. You rotate instruments every 60 days That should hold MAS off for a year anyway.

[Mandobar]

I have come to realize that the real cure for MAS is the constant haggling with prospective sellers and buyers, dealing with consignment transactions, order delays, etc., etc., etc. I am feeling pretty burned out on acquisitions these days, and the thought of buying another instrument or doing another deal is not only unappealing, but to be avoided.

[kkmm]

I control my MAS by keeping the one I like the most and selling off the others (my wife loves this part). This is how I know hands-on about different brands & models of mandolin, plus the ones hang on GC walls.

[LongBlackVeil]

My mas was cured when I bought my Ellis a5. Really, I've wanted other mandolins but when it came time to pull the trigger I just play my Ellis and realize I have all I need. My Ellis is the only one I have at the moment.

Now I have to admit, I'm about to send the Ellis back to Tom for some work done on it, and I don't have a backup of any kind, so I've thought about buying another. At the moment I think I've decided I'll just go mando-less until it gets back. I also play guitar so that helps

[DataNick]

MAS has no cure but it can be managed.

Says who?...

[Mandoplumb]

[QUOTE=LongBlackVeil;1379147]My mas was cured when I bought my Ellis a5. Really, I've wanted other mandolins but when it came time to pull the trigger I just play my Ellis and realize I have all I need. My Ellis is the only one I have at the moment.

I felt the same when I got my Dearstone A, for a while. Then I realized that I had no back-up, so I bought a The Loar F for a back up and to take camping, I really needed that. Then I realized I didn't have an oval hole, I really needed that. Then I found a Flatiron A that sounded so different than my stone, I really needed that. End result, while I don't think I'll ever sell my Dearstone, I realize I still have MAS.

[Petrus]

Having just welcomed a new vintage Benz into the family (my first!), I suspect my spare change will be tied up for a while gettin' her prettified.

[lflngpicker]

Hi Petrus, I really like the concepts you share. I am reminded that there are some sweet guitars and mandolins in my little home office/extra room and they deserve to get played. What a blessing to have several instruments and how humbling in light of others with so little in our world. Music is such a joy!

[OldGus]

Yes, get yourself a 'chew-toy' like me, i.e., I'm building my own....

[Caleb]

@John Flynn: Great post.

[LongBlackVeil]

My mas was cured when I bought my Ellis a5. Really, I've wanted other mandolins but when it came time to pull the trigger I just play my Ellis and realize I have all I need. My Ellis is the only one I have at the moment.

Now I have to admit, I'm about to send the Ellis back to Tom for some work done on it, and I don't have a backup of any kind, so I've thought about buying another. At the moment I think I've decided I'll just go mando-less until it gets back. I also play guitar so that helps

How long that lasted im already looking for another mandolin now, i just gotta have a backup/second mandolin

[pheffernan]

How long that lasted im already looking for another mandolin now, i just gotta have a backup/second mandolin

There was a nice Stanley A5 available . . .

[yankees1]

My MAS is solved with an Ellis A5 and and an Ellis F5 ! I'm done !

[Hadji36]

"My MAS is solved with an Ellis A5 and and an Ellis F5 ! I'm done !"

...He said in a booming voice!

He then took a breath, composed himself, and clicked on the Classifieds tab...

[mandroid]

My current plan to cure MAS is to limit myself to one mando per geographic location.

or 1 sourced from Czech Republic, 1 from England , 1 I Got in S.F., 1 I got from CO. 1 I Got from Korea
1 I bought from some one in GA .. and so Forth

[Randi Gormley]

My MAS seemed to be triggered by impulse and the fact that most of my instruments are fairly inexpensive; I'd see an ad for a used mando for, say, $80 and say, 'well, why not?' Anything that cost real money didn't seem to push me in the same way a cheap instrument did because I couldn't really justify it. I took a huge breath when I purchased the snakehead -- but I no longer look at cheap mandolins any more, so I have that going for me!

[Capt. E]

MAS seems to be governed by my bank account to a large extent. So, what happens...? Had some extra money and I purchased a 1920 Gibson A2 in all original condition for $1322. Has the OHSC, fixed bridge, pickguard perfect condition...plays beautifully and even came with the original Gibson sales slip. Cost $59.59 on Jan 3, 1920. What would that be in 2015 dollars?

[Capt. E]

My MAS is solved with an Ellis A5 and and an Ellis F5 ! I'm done !

I should hope so. Next time I see him, I'll tell Tom that he is the cure for MAS.