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Thread: Mando/OM for Americana type music

  1. #1

    Default Mando/OM for Americana type music

    I have been reading a lot on hear about this type of mando or that brand is good for bluegrass or celtic etc. I don't play celtic. As close to bluegrass as I am interested in is Steve Earle or Avett Brothers. Looking to upgrade my mando and even more so to pick up an octave mando. Nowhere good here to go try out anything but asian imports they carry at GC and Sam Ash so will likely be buying through the internet. Advice please.

    I am primarily a guitar, dobro lap steel player. Would also use this mando and octave mando for praise music at church.
    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    Mandolin: Big Muddy. Octave: Trinity College or used Flatiron (caution: very different scale lengths).
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  3. #3
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    My band plays in a more or less Americana style, if more toward the rock end than country. Most of the time I am playing my solid body single-string electric MandoBird, with the gain all the way up on the EQ pedal to get a little distortion (for fattening) and then a reverb unit (for sustain, and warmth), a phase pedal (for intrigue, and warmth) and a Morley volume/wah pedal for, well fun, but also, especially on the slow songs, I use just a touch to simulate a pedal steel sound. That said, my acoustic is a 1917 Gibson A which I got on ebay for around $900. This may be out of your budget - and these often go for twice that, so I did well - but I find that it is versatile enough (it could be me and my <ahem!> incredible skill) to handle a variety of genres reasonably well. This is a key point, because to my thinking Americana encompasses several, and also we work without a set list, and I never know what the guitarist/singer is going to throw at us, so I have to be ready. I could be playing John Prine or Steve Earle or Bill Monroe or any number of Texas singer/songwriters, and I have to make it work. Bluegrass sounds fine on it, though I would probably not win a prize at a festival or picking contest. Sometimes I get caught with it still on when I should have the electric, because I have to figure out from what he saying over the mike what is coming up next, and have to get through the first verse or two of a blues or rock song before I can switch. This is what I call "keeping it fresh." So you should have something that can accommodate some variety, because you just never know. BTW, I do put this through the same effects - just take out the cord from one instrument and swap to the other - though tend to just leave the wah at an intermediate setting. Anyway, keep your eye on ebay for a while, maybe something like this will come your way. That good old feel is right there in the wood.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

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  4. #4

    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    thanks for the replies

    Allen I assume since you are suggesting Big Muddy you are saying oval hole and flat is what you would lean towards for "americana" type music?

    Journeyman thanks. What is the "touch" you are talking about for pedal steel sounds? What kind of pickup do you use on your old Gibson A?

    I am hoping to be able to trade for something. I am electric guitar rich and could stand to thin the herd to beef up my mando

  5. #5
    Registered User Chip Booth's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    I play a lot of different styles of music on the mandolin and I prefer an F hole ("bluegrass") instrument for most styles. I play in an Americana/alt country band and I wouldn't trade the F hole for anything. That said, I love the sound of flattop mandolins as well, especially for strumming. You will find others who prefer an oval hole for most everything. Ultimately you need to try as many instruments as you can and decide for yourself what works. I won't even bother making a suggestion for a specific mandolin, there are so many wonderful options.

    As for an OM, I will make a specific recommendation. I am lucky enough to be good friends with Fletcher Brock and have played every OM he has made for years. I can tell you without reservation that he makes the finest guitar shaped OM I have played.
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    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    I have a Fishman M100 bridge on the A model. It puts out a good strong clear signal, in keeping with the electric, volume-wise. What I meant about getting a pedal steel sound was a light touch on the volume/wah. Because the instrument is pitched so high, the wah acts like a volume pedal, as the lower-pitched part of its swath produces a lower volume. So I kind of sneak up on the notes, giving them that soft attack that sounds like a pedal steel. I can also tap my foot repeatedly real fast, just slightly, to get a tremolo effect. This takes a bit of concentration, and I must look like a total doofus on stage, but it's all about getting the music right. For me, anyway. Also, that phase shifter adds a bit of texture, so the notes don't just hang there, but swirl a bit.

    I don't know if I'm describing this well enough. I'm still waiting for our demo to be finished, and I'll be able to offer an example you can hear rather than have to imagine. You could tune in to our gig Monday nights 7-11 via webcam - the video is useless as the camera is too far from the stage, but I have been told the audio is decent. The songs this kind of approach gets used on usually show up in the second half of the show. Wouldn't recommend tuning in for any musicological enlightenment but you might hear some stuff. Especially the songs; the singer comes up with some really good ones.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  7. #7
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    Couple of nice-looking Graham McDonald bouzoukis on eBay right now.

    ... Whoops, too late. One of them already sold.
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

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  8. #8

    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    The only American made one I have been able to try so far has been a FO Breedlove. I really liked it but would like to be able to compare it to a FF or KF or other brands.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    JOurney
    I tried to watch your webcam last night but it didn't seem to be working. It was probably about 9:30 when I tried.

  10. #10
    Professional Dreamer journeybear's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    Well, we're there every Monday, so if you think of it, and if the webcam is working, and if there isn't a football game on ...

    I was thinking about it during the gig, how to describe hat I'm doing to get that effect. Basically, it comes down to feeling it, to finding a way to produce something I am hearing in my head, making my equipment operate in such a way that what I am doing fits in and blends with what the other guys are doing. What seemed to work best last night was to turn my signal up on the PA and play with a real light touch on the strings, in addition to that sneaking up move with the pedal. You know, pedal steel players do this all the time, effortlessly, but I guess their instruments are built to do this. I'm really going for something like when they use harmonics, a kind of whistling sound. Definitely playing in that register.
    But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller

    Furthering Mandolin Consciousness

    Finders Keepers, my duo with the astoundingly talented and versatile Patti Rothberg. Our EP is finally done, and available! PM me, while they last!

  11. #11
    Registered User Linds's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    Cottonwolf -- I'm playing a lot of Americana these days, and I got an octave mandolin specifically for playing at church (and then I moved to a town where the local Episcopal church doesn't do praise music...argh). Anyway, that's my Fletcher Brock in the three photos at the top of Chip's post above. I absolutely love it. The workmanship is exquisite, and the tone is so beautiful it makes me teary-eyed every time I play it -- loud and rich and sweet. It also more than keeps up with the other instruments in an Americana ensemble. Anyway, if you *REALLY* want to upgrade, I would suggest you get on Fletcher's waiting list as soon as possible. His mandolins really are tops.

    (Incidentally, both Peter Rowan and Tim O'Brien played it at the Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival a couple of weekends ago, and both seemed to really like it. If that's not a ringing endorsement of Fletcher's work, I don't know what is.)
    ___________
    2005 Collings MT #1045
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  12. #12

    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    thanks Linds, I think I would switch churches! lol Be a Methodist or something.

  13. #13
    ♪☮♫ Roll away the dew ♪☮♫ Dan Krhla's Avatar
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    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    I like my Trinity OM for the 'Americana' type jams I go to. I also like it for some 'deadhead' style jams I do too, lots of overlap on tunes actually...
    do good things

  14. #14

    Default Re: Mando/OM for Americana type music

    Thanks everyone, I ended up ordering a Breedlove FF with internal mike (K&K twin fusion I think) that the guy at the Mandolin Store recommended over the phone. I really like it and it works really well in our PA system with direct boxes and avions at church. The guy at the Mandolin Store was really helpful and the Breedlove was set up up great. Haven't regretted getting the Breedlove or getting it through them. I was a little apprehensive about about buying one without playing it, but am glad I went ahead and pulled the trigger.

    Gotta save some money up before I do anything about a OM.

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