Any Mandolinists in China?

[Wupeide]

Hi All!

I am living in North East China and I am wondering if there are any Mandolin players (or more specificially members of this site) anywhere from here to Beijing. I'd love to meet up and just chat about your experiences here in China.

Cheers everyone,

Peter

[Paul Busman]

No mandolinists in China...all of the Chinese mandolins get sent to the US
(JUST KIDDING! I have nothing at all against Chinese instruments. In fact, having visited China and seen many Chinese craftspeople at work I have nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for the work they do).

[Adam Sweet]

Whereabouts in China are you? My wife and I own a house in Shenyang

[Wupeide]

@Adam,

I am in Dandong. You may know it since you have a house in Shenyang. That's about 3.5 hours south of Shenyang on the North Korean border. No, I am not a spy. I work at an English school here as the "foreign manager," really just a glorified teaching position. Do you know of any shops or makers in China that sell good quality mandolins? Any mando performances?

Cheers,
Peter

[D.Martin]

I just recently moved back to Beijing. Looking to see if there are any other players here but I doubt it of course you never know. I will let you know if I find anybody.

[Wupeide]

@ D. Martin - I know of a shop that sells mandolins in Beijing, if you are interested. With some setup work they could be playable. The shop mainly sells ukuleles (and they have some really nice ones) but they also sell classical style mandolins that are basically playable and cost a bit more - though the one's that I played on were all out of tune slightly. They have some blue grass mandos, but they were all hopelessly out of tune! (when I tried them last year).

Here is a taobao link for the store: http://store.taobao.com/shop/view_sh...er_id=11504418

Directions to the shop - 地铁:地铁4号线平安里站B口出来,一直往北走就在路东边(约100米)路东现代乐器行

I bought a mandolin there last year and I will be making a video post about it in a few weeks if you are interested.

Anyhow, anything you are able to learn would be of great value to me. I heard rumors of a Gibson show room somewhere in Beijing and I'd love to check it out, if I can find the time.

Cheers,
Peter

[swampstomper]

《无陪的》有什么的意思？does it mean you play unaccompanied? Great TaoBao link -- look at all those schoolkids with ukes -- if we could convert them to mandos there's an orchestra right there!

新街口 in Beijing has 100's of music stores all in the same several blocks. When I lived in Beijing in fall 2008 I tried to find a mando there but couldn't find anything reasonable. So I bought a guitar, which is stashed with some friends for my visits about once a year.

I'll be working in Nanjing in the fall, too far to go for a jam.

[Santiago]

I imagine with all the factories making mandolins in Beijing that more Chinese people will learn to play -- just out of curiosity. I play a Chinese mandolin and I am very happy with it.

[D.Martin]

Thanks for the tip! I'll let you know what I find here. Hope to report something soon I brought my KM-1000 over here and also my Calace bowl back but I'm always looking for good deals!

[Scott Tichenor]

Here's a density map of China access points to mandolincafe.com from Google Analytics. Not exactly robust traffic but signs of some regulars for sure. Below that is a list of top 10 cities accessing.



Suzhou
Beijing
Qingdao
Ningbo
Shanghai
Chengdu
Dandong
Shenzhen
Guangzhou
Shenyang

[Adam Sweet]

@Adam, I am in Dandong. You may know it since you have a house in Shenyang.

Hello neighbor! Yes I know where that is. Have been there many times. Best North Korean food in China! (wonder why).

Do you know of any shops or makers in China that sell good quality mandolins? Any mando performances?

I do not. Unfortunately there does not seem to be an interest in the instrument by the Chinese people. The majority of the people I have met are interested in the violin.

[Wupeide]

My Chinese name is 吴培德. Sounds like "hasn't cultivated virtue" (无培德). There must be a mando community in Beijing. 　I just have to move there to get more involved. I am a beginner - trying to learn more. There aren't any teachers here, so it's kind of tough.

[Wupeide]

Scott - There I am on the NK border.

[D.Martin]

I went to that music shop yesterday at Xinjiekou. It was a pretty typical Chinese music shop with some playable instruments, some not so much so and a guy telling you why his shop is the best one, ever. The guy at the shop brought out a couple bowl backs for me to play and was trying to tell me that not only is his brother (who builds them) the ONLY guy in China who builds bowlback mandolins, his brother is the ONLY one who CAN build them, period. Um ya, he looked puzzled when I mentioned Eastman (and yes I speak fluent mandarin haha). Guess he's also never been to the Shanghai Musikmesse musical instrument trade show which takes place every October either. Haha anyway it was still fun to visit and play a few mandos and haggle with the guy

@Wupeide, let me know if you ever come to Beijing and want to hook up and geek out on mando stuff or have a lesson. We can have some bourbon and pick. I just recently moved back here after a few years and though I've inquired about mandolin players, there doesn't seem to be much of anything to speak of at least that I've seen so far.

[D.Martin]

By the way of the two bowlbacks I played, one was borderline horrible, the second one was pretty decent and even had scalloped ribs on the back. It really wasn't bad. I though if it had a proper setup (needed one BADLY) and some actual good strings (which it also needed BADLY) it could be decent. It was surprisingly loud as it was. That one his asking price was over 1000usd. I'm sure it's negotiable though

[K. WONG]

I know that some classical mandolinists from Japan go to China once and a while to teach mandolin there. The students are mainly music school students with strong background in Chinese music. I saw a video showing a big mandolin orchestra, it is good.
Last month, I played a China made bowl back mandolin which is quite nice, but it asks for, if my memory serves me well, 2000 or maybe 4000 Euors. Naturally, it is negotiable, but you can't get it at say 200.
Chinese guitar and guitarist are very promising within these few years, maybe it is turn for mandolin.

[hellindc]

i spent summers of 2007 and 2008 in Shanghai, and there was a guy named "Tom" from Mongolia who played a rippin' mando at several places around town with his partner "Jerry" (yes, Tom and Jerry). There's an open mike, which I think is still going, at a bar called Oscars in the French Concession area. If Tom's still around, you find him there. He was studying classical violin at the conservatory, but he loved bluegrass more.

[Wupeide]

Hey Martin
Glad to hear you went to check out the shop. The owner is a bit of a goofball, IMO. He loves to hear the sound of his own voice. However, in my search for mandolins - his is the only shop that I have found that sells playable instruments. Everything else is complete garbage. If you find any other shops, I'd love to hear about them. Of course, I'd love to take you up on that offer. I'll drop you a line next time I am in Beijing.
Cheers,
Peter

[Liz W]

Sorry to join this conversation so late, but do you know whether the shop at Xinjiekou has accessories, too? I'm pretty brand-new to this world, having bought my first mandolin about 2.5 weeks ago (right before I came out to Beijing), and am hoping I'll be able to find the things I need to keep it happy (extra strings, humidifier, other things I probably don't even know exist yet) while I'm here.

[Wupeide]

You may want to consider online shopping for some of these things. If you use Taobao, you can find some there. Just get a Chinese person to help you make the payments, if you can't set up the payment system yourself... I tried last month and it was virtually impossible. Even though I had done it before.

Shopping online also means avoiding the trip all the way across Beijing...

[delsbrother]

What style of mandolin do you guys play? I'm curious what the Chinese public would think of a full-on BG band (including the singing), or even some Thile/Marshall inspired stuff.. Is there busking in China?

[swampstomper]

I'll be in Nanjing for the next two months, not bringing a mando but will purchase a guitar. Anyone who wants to jam there or nearby (Shanghai, Changzhou, Suzhou...), send me a PM.

[Liz W]

Shopping online also means avoiding the trip all the way across Beijing...

Actually, I checked it out a few days ago, and it's not too far away from a part of town I'll be spending a lot of time in (and worst-case, it's a 45-minute walk from where I live, which is a great excuse to get myself outside on the clear days). They had all three things of which I am currently in need, which was great to find out.

Also, I have to say, if it hadn't been for your suggestion to go there, I would never have found the 85 Degrees coffee shop at the Ping'an Li stop, which is now my favorite study spot So thank you! On numerous levels!