A great mix

[red7flag]

I just got back from the family Chrismas. I took the Pomeroy F4 and the Lebeda A mandola. My cousin brought his new Eastman 505, an A with f holes, mandovoodooed by Steve Perry. After doing a lot of ABing, the Lebeda and Pomeroy sounded the most similar. So the oval hole seemed to have more influence in the tone than the body shape. They had more sustain and warmth. The Eastman was very impressive in comparison and was an able partner. It was brighter. A happy little mandolin. I was very impressed. My cousin finger picks chords when playing mando and I would cross pick melodies across the chords. The Lebeda sounded great against both the Pomeroy and Eastman when he was finger picking. The Lebeda seemed to have an almost classical sound, while the Pom sounded old timey and the Eastman, brassy but with a full sound, sort of a grass sound. We had a great time playing those fine instruments. I was aware during this time that Chris was shipping my new Stanley F5. What a Christmas.
Tony

[JeffD]

While much of the time mandolin is played with other instruments, fiddles, guitars, etc., an ensemble of mandolins and mandolin family insruments sure sounds great.

There is a certain cheerfullness, even when playing more serious tunes. Dare I say it, a "pluckiness".