Tampabay mandolin shops?

[taibhse]

I live in tampa, fl or close enough to it anyways.

my friend gave me a mandolin he bought but couldn't get into, he said he spent 20 bucks on it so I'm guessing it's not a really good mandolin(especially after his friend tried to play thrash metal on it)

I figure I can at least use it to learn and get a nice one when I get better, but I do think it needs new strings and I need a place to learn is there anyone here that knows of a shop and or place to learn to play the mandolin in the tampabay area(clearwater dunedin st pete tampa)?

thank you

[MandoSquirrel]

Never been there, but there's a place something like "The Bluegrass Parlor"?

[dochardee]

Well, you've got the Bluegrass Shop in St. Petersburg on 66th St. North and the Bluegrass Parlour in Tampa on Busch Blvd. Either one can help you with lessons, and strings and things.

[Dave Cowles]

If you're up for a road trip, don't forget about My Favorite Guitars in Naples. It would be 2 1/2 hours each way, but Jon Garon is a jewel of a guy, and has a wall of superb mandolins. They may be a bit pricey for you at this point, but well worth the trip, just to get exposed to Jon's store and the sound and feel of some good mandolins.
Dave (Sarasota)

[MandoSquirrel]

I'm in the Naples area (18 & 1/2 years) & I've never heard of that one. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

just looked & found it in the phone book.

[taibhse]

I guess my final question is.

If I'm learning the mandolin from a bluegrass place, will that mess me up when I want to play celtic tunes?

[catmandu2]

That's kinda like saying, "will taking vitamins mess me up when I want to eat a meal?.."

There's a Sam Ash in Clearwater too--worth the visit just to check out the grounds.