Results 1 to 8 of 8

Thread: Mandolin sound

  1. #1
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    maryland
    Posts
    1,410

    Default Mandolin sound

    I've been listening to some Dempsey Young stuff. What a fantastic picker. Did Dempsey ever play anything other than his Hutto? If so, was he able to pull that same sound out of other mandolins?

    ANother thread discussed how Adam Steffey has had several mandolins, but he seems to be able to get that great sound out of all of them.

    How about other super pickers who have played different brand mandolins, can we hear much of a difference?

    I'm not trying to rekindle the mandolin verses the picker thread, but just curious if the guys with the super sounding mandolins usually get the same sound with others, like Compton, Bush, O'Brien, etc.

    Of course Jethro said that "notes is what matters."

    Bob
    re simmers

  2. #2
    Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Maryland
    Posts
    4,881

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    Bob.....Dempsy did play another brand of mandolin on some shows, I don`t recall what it was....I seen him in Florida and he played something different and it still sounded like him and the Hutto...He was one of the top five mandolin pickers in my opinion....

    One time at Arcadia here in Md. I was jamming up on the hill and Alan Mills, their band leader, was camped right beside us and he complimented me on my playing and said thats what a bluegrass mandolin should sound like, I told him he had the best mandolin player in the world and he said "Yeah, but he don`t play bluegrass"...You could have knocked me over with a festher.....

    Willie

  3. #3
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    Panama Cit
    Posts
    1,599

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    He had a Dearstone seems like. Seems like Mr. Dearstone had him as an endorser.

  4. #4
    Registered User mandobassman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Delran, NJ
    Posts
    2,921

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    The first time I saw Dempsey perform he had just started using his Dearstone. He made it sound great but I never liked it as much as the Hutto. He also played a Gibson before the Hutto but I don't know the info on that model.

  5. #5
    Registered User f5loar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Salisbury,NC
    Posts
    6,468

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    Dempsey is simply put one of those rare mandolin pickers that you could easily pick out in a lineup no matter what mandolin he played. A great loss to the mandolin world way too early in his career. Not too long ago his Hutto was for sale by the family for around $90,000.00. I don't think it sold.

  6. #6
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    SF Bay Area
    Posts
    3,729

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    I met Dempsey about a year before he ended his life. I never could imagine from that meeting, that was even a possibility. A friend asked him if he was inspired by Jethro, as he heard some jazzy licks in his playing. His response was that over the years he had just found his own way & his own sound.

  7. #7
    Registered User jim simpson's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Wheeling, WV
    Posts
    5,508

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    I recall picking up a live cassette (remember those?) of Lost & Found and just being knocked out by his style and tone. The recording quality was just fair but wow, the energy. I always seemed to just miss seeing Lost and Found with Dempsey, he was unique.
    Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band

  8. #8
    Registered User MandoSquirrel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    southwest florida
    Posts
    1,683

    Default Re: Mandolin sound

    Sometime back before all the mandolins mentioned so far, when I was going to bluegrass festivals, Dempsey used a Pagononi. Of course, that was in the prehistoric days when Doyle Lawson also played a Pag.
    Elrod
    Gibson A2 1920(?)
    Breedlove Cascade
    Washburn 215(?) 1906-07(?)
    Victoria, B&J, New York(stolen 10/18/2011)
    Eastwood Airline Mandola

    guitars:
    Guild D-25NT
    Vega 200 archtop, 1957?

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •