Eppito
Oct-06-2016, 1:56pm
This is going to be some long wind, so bear with me.
Last year was one of the worst in my life; my father passed away, our cat was killed (I had to watch him die), and my wife suffered a stroke. It was a lot to cope with but I managed to get through it. I reached a point where I wanted to express what I had gone through in music and I wanted to howl as I did it. So, what did I do? I went online and ordered an Epiphone Blueshawk Deluxe (already had an amp). I wanted to plug in, crank to 11, and wail away. The guitar arrived. I plugged in. I cranked it, and felt nothing; nada, hole of a donut, smoke ring in a strong wind. I tried and tried, but just didn’t feel it. I put it in the case, where it has sat for months, and I’m trying to sell it as I tap this. And then a couple of months ago a friend asked me if I had any mandolin music, as he was interested in getting one. And when he made that query a light went off in my head! Ten years before I had been interested in the mando myself but never pulled the trigger, and here was a friend of over 30 years considering acquiring one. Instead of burning a CD I bought him a copy of Hot Dawg and mailed it to him, and then I leaped onto the net and researched mandolins! Within days I was mad with MAS, and I was convinced I could achieve what I wanted acoustically with a mando; the tonality, the textures, the overtones.
This will be quite a leap for me but I am greatly looking forward to it.
In some ways, this is my history repeating itself. Ten years ago I wanted to express in music my Katrina experiences. I plugged in my Strat and wailed away and the same thing happened, I felt nothing. What did I do? I bought a Seagull 12 string (still regret selling it) and played it exclusively for three and a half years before switching to the Chinese Zhongruan (see pic). At present I’m trying to sell the Blueshawk and a Washburn archtop, but whether they go or not I’ll be ordering a mandolin next week. At this point I have no idea what I’ll be getting, as the selection for entry level mandos is bewildering, but the plethora of reviews here are helping me make my choice. If this works out I’ll probably be done with the guitar indefinitely (I’m holding onto a Gretsch Boxcar dobro, the only guitar I currently play). I think I’m in for a heck of a ride.
Eric
150138
Last year was one of the worst in my life; my father passed away, our cat was killed (I had to watch him die), and my wife suffered a stroke. It was a lot to cope with but I managed to get through it. I reached a point where I wanted to express what I had gone through in music and I wanted to howl as I did it. So, what did I do? I went online and ordered an Epiphone Blueshawk Deluxe (already had an amp). I wanted to plug in, crank to 11, and wail away. The guitar arrived. I plugged in. I cranked it, and felt nothing; nada, hole of a donut, smoke ring in a strong wind. I tried and tried, but just didn’t feel it. I put it in the case, where it has sat for months, and I’m trying to sell it as I tap this. And then a couple of months ago a friend asked me if I had any mandolin music, as he was interested in getting one. And when he made that query a light went off in my head! Ten years before I had been interested in the mando myself but never pulled the trigger, and here was a friend of over 30 years considering acquiring one. Instead of burning a CD I bought him a copy of Hot Dawg and mailed it to him, and then I leaped onto the net and researched mandolins! Within days I was mad with MAS, and I was convinced I could achieve what I wanted acoustically with a mando; the tonality, the textures, the overtones.
This will be quite a leap for me but I am greatly looking forward to it.
In some ways, this is my history repeating itself. Ten years ago I wanted to express in music my Katrina experiences. I plugged in my Strat and wailed away and the same thing happened, I felt nothing. What did I do? I bought a Seagull 12 string (still regret selling it) and played it exclusively for three and a half years before switching to the Chinese Zhongruan (see pic). At present I’m trying to sell the Blueshawk and a Washburn archtop, but whether they go or not I’ll be ordering a mandolin next week. At this point I have no idea what I’ll be getting, as the selection for entry level mandos is bewildering, but the plethora of reviews here are helping me make my choice. If this works out I’ll probably be done with the guitar indefinitely (I’m holding onto a Gretsch Boxcar dobro, the only guitar I currently play). I think I’m in for a heck of a ride.
Eric
150138