Chris Browne
Nov-03-2014, 2:44pm
I'm new around here, but wanted to share this with some people who might appreciate it...long story short, I've recently left an electric band I've played with for 15+ years and wanted to mark the occasion by getting back to the mandolin. I haven't played in years, and only even owned entry level instruments. A few days after I made up my mind to buy an Eastman from a local store, up pops this on Kijji (the Canadian Craig's list if you haven't heard of it). It was made by a local here in New Brunswick, Canada, and years ago I played a few of his instruments and they became a sort of bench-mark for me. They also spoiled me - stores around here carry Epis, Fenders, and low end Eastmans, and while the fellow is an acquaintance and we've played together a few times, his prices (while very reasonable, I've since learned) were far out of my league.
The asking price in the ad was excellent, but still I just don't have money lying around.
So one afternoon after a beer I called the number in the ad and ended up having a nice long talk with the fellow selling the mandolin. From the sound of it I was the first caller. I told him I'd try to pull some funds together and call him back. I played a few gigs with my soon-to-be ex band, sold an amp, and when I checked the ad not only was it still there but the price had dropped. I called him back. This time he had had lots of inquiries about it, but nobody had made the trek out to his place to see it, and I leaped. I didn't even have to play it to know what an excellent instrument it was, and now I can't put it down. It's a lot better than I am, but boy is it making me want to get better!
The asking price in the ad was excellent, but still I just don't have money lying around.
So one afternoon after a beer I called the number in the ad and ended up having a nice long talk with the fellow selling the mandolin. From the sound of it I was the first caller. I told him I'd try to pull some funds together and call him back. I played a few gigs with my soon-to-be ex band, sold an amp, and when I checked the ad not only was it still there but the price had dropped. I called him back. This time he had had lots of inquiries about it, but nobody had made the trek out to his place to see it, and I leaped. I didn't even have to play it to know what an excellent instrument it was, and now I can't put it down. It's a lot better than I am, but boy is it making me want to get better!