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Once you get into the antique market, prices for violins and bows skyrocket. A year or so ago, a Tourte bow sold at auction for $687,000. Prices...

I believe "Afraid to be Afraid" is the song you are referring to. Great song. I have recently become aware/obsessed with Nolan Falkner. I cant get...

A crib for my impending baby! And, while I’m on paternity leave, a cool 2-point Alvarez with a detaching fingerboard and wonky handmade nut & bridge...

What kinda interior pictures do you want?

Wow you know I struggled with the same thing when I first started not playing the pair of strings but just hitting the top one and failing to play...

I took the resonator back out, and looked inside, nothing is broke, or creaked. It could have come from the factory that way too. Do you think I...

I don't know that the "fiddle" is any cooler than the "violin." As a violinist (primarily classical, but always hoping to do more fiddle), I have two...

Thanks for the replies, and for your gracious behavior toward me this far. I agreed when I joined this site to abide by its guidelines. I failed to...

Check your measurements. I recently purchased an armrest for my mandola from Spencer Oliver. The 'dola is 2 1/2" deep, and I would guess anything in...

I can't recall Gibson ever using a herringbone soundhole rosette. The binding looks to be too white and too sloppy. Agreed that the photo's are...

Follow up, Amazon sent me the wrong strings. J72s came in today and they sound fantastic. Highly recommended! Thanks for all the info and...

Possibly, but this site to many of us is a community centered around the mandolin family of instruments, the players and builders. It's not Consumer...

I am using a Bluechip TAD-1R 40 for my octave and 1R 50 for my mandolin. ITM, fiddle tunes and Appalachian tunes are most of what I play. An...

The seller seems to deal a lot in parts, so ......... But it seems to me that with a minimum of effort he could have taken WORSE pictures. Just...

I'm by no means an expert and I don't give anybody lessons, but I have someone who seems to seek a lot of advice and yet never follows it. I wish...

Very Interesting CWRoyds which of your 3 lend themselves toward a more rich/warm tone? And wow that 3mm big stubby ain’t no joke. My friend who plays...

Restoration from parts? With modern tuners, maybe? Too bad the label is illegible.

I use a Bluechip CT55 on mandolin, or Wegen Tf140. I like the big triangle for mandolin. I find it just suits the playing style better. For...

Max Girouard is building mandolins with Port Orford Cedar tops. I think he gets his from Bruce Harvie of Orcas Island Tonewoods. I have one of those...

Today I went to get new strings. Shop didn't have the recommended 18 for my A string. We'll have to see if a 16 is up to the challenge.

Sound sample here: https://youtu.be/_FWqT9OJf4Y

As a consumer, there is nothing wrong with asking which products to avoid. Yes, it can be harsh for a builder, but it is harsh for a consumer to...

So sorry to hear of his passing, and that he’s been battling “a bad case of that ol’ C” (thanks, Sam). His family is in my prayers.

That bass players get way more gigs than mandolin players, I might have bought a bass instead

Thanks for the ideas. I wound up getting one of those multi-sided emery boards the wimmin folk use, we'll see if that does it.