Anyone found the mandolin?

[FrDNicholas]

As I was looking at the classifieds and see people buying, trading and upgrading, I had a question: Has anyone gotten a mandolin and stuck with it as it was just what they wanted? I say this only because I have had a Gibson A4 snakehead for 23 years now and have never traded it or bought another mandolin. Of course, the fact that I have never been able to afford another quality mandolin may be part of it, but I have been thoroughly delighted with the sound and playability of the one I have. Has anyone else stayed with one mandolin for a period of time. I also don't play professionally, so the mandolin is mainly home with occaisonal trips to friends' houses.

[Jim Garber]

So, you are saying that you don't have MAS? That is very admirable. OTOH you do have prob one of the most desirable of Gibsons so, unless you hear a different sound you want there is no real need to get another (for you).

I have a snakehead A2 which is my best Gibson but I also have quite a few bowlbacks (a collection, really!) some of which are seriously wonderful players but completely different that the Gibson. I also have a few other Gibsons and other carved mandolins. Not to go into a long list of my (too many) mandolins but, yes i could easilky play everything on the Gibson but also find the subtlety of difference in tones something to explore. To each his own.

Actually for many years I did only have that Gibson but found that when I played mandolin almost exclusively I had no instrument when that on was in the shop. So I had to buy a backup. The start of a long decline http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Jim

[recon]

Great question Daniel. I can't wait to read some of the responses. I've been playing mandolin for about 18 months and I've had my Bulldog #7 for the last 15 of those months.

[MikeEdgerton]

Has anyone gotten a mandolin and stuck with it as it was just what they wanted?

I'll let you know in 20 years http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[FrDNicholas]

I had to think about the MAS question. I think my finances, being a public school teacher with a family, have not allowed me to allow myself that MAS feeling. I will say that at one point in time, I traded in my Martin D 18 on a Gibson H2 mandola, but that instrument had to be sold so we could pay the rent. I have recently bought a Trinity College mandola, and while it's not a Gibson, it has a fairly nice rich sound. I have also picked up a Jackie English concertina, but that's for a different forum. I just think the sound of my A4 is so wonderful, and I haven't been around alot of other quality mandolins, which has helped with the temptation. Being here in New Mexico, I have played a Bill Bussman Old Wave mandolin that I thought was fantastic, and oh, I have played a Collins mandolin that was also incredible. But I realized when I bought the Gibson, that this was the mandolin for life. I had owned lots of the Japanese mandolins of the 70s, (who knew they'd be valuable one day!) but wasn't happy with any of them.

[ajh]

Part of the problem (with MAS)is that you get to kick the tires on a mandolin that either sounds better (or different)or plays better than your current favorite . But you can't afford the new toy...and you can't forget it (Mine was a beat up Lawrence Smart F5 that Greg Boyd had 3 or 4 years ago). So you continually search for "the deal". Some folks get lucky early.

Tony

[fatt-dad]

I've had my white-face Gibson A3 for 22 years and still play it regularly. That said, if I HAD to reduce my fleet to just one mandolin I'd keep my Flatiron A5-1, which so far, I've only had for about 5 years.

f-d

[mythicfish]

I've played a Gibson A-4 for over 25 years and it wasn't until recently that I felt the need to "supplement my holdings".

Curt

[El Greco]

I love my Epiphone MM-50 http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif








I mean, come on guys. Me wanting a better sounding mandolin is not MAS is MASlow's hierarchy of needs. Self-actualization to be correct. Try intonating the little rattler...impossible. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[fredfrank]

I've been through a good many mandolins before I came to my Red Diamond. This mandolin is the one that speaks to me. So much so, in fact, that I've sold all but that one mandolin.

In some ways I'm sad to be dropping out of the Luthier's Finacial Support Group, but no too sad.

[Patrick Killeen]

I bought my first mandolin off some friends when they were upgrading, it wasn't much but it got me started. #When I came to upgrade myself I got a local luthier to build me my dream mandolin and I've stuck with it (apart from getting a Risa mando-solid which is really just for when I can't play my main istrument).

On the other hand, I have bought a couple of guitars and a viola since then so getting my dream mando has just let me spend my money elsewhere. #I think I've got it under control now, no more new instuments for me until I learn to play the ones I've got (honest). http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Patrick

[John Flynn]

This discussion reminds me of a line from a movie where two gals are watching and commenting on guys at a bar. One gal says to the other, "He doesn't exactly look like Mr. Right." The other one retorts, "I'm not looking for Mr. Right. I'm looking for Mr. Right-Now!"

I think that for it to even be possible for me to say I have found "the one" mandolin, I would have to accept that I am never going to change the kind of music I play, my playing style is never going to evolve, my ability to hear and appreciate subtleties in instrument tone would never improve and new and better mandolins are never going to be produced. I am not willing to accept any of those things.

So I have found "the one" for "right-now," my Old Wave Oval A. It has been an increasingly satisfying purchase for two years. But there may be better out there and I may be able to afford it someday, I don't know. Also, my needs may change if I get into different music and the technology may change.

In conjunction with reviewing the Mix A-5 I got to try out, I was reading about carbon fiber violins, which are a more mature product line than thier mandolin counterparts. No one is saying they are the best violins out there, by any means, but they are starting to find thier way into symphonies playing against instruments that cost 4-6 times as much. If a new technology comes along that produces $10K-sounding mandolins for $2K, I may well go for it. MAS is never cured. It only goes into remission and can come back at any time.

[12 fret]

Got my first mandolin 24 years ago, still have it, a Harmony Batmando. Have bought a few others, mostly inexpensive, since then. Only one I ever let go was a Weber Aspen I bought when they first came out. Had a bad case of the Wants for a Martin 000-28 and traded the Aspen, still regret it.

[Jim Garber]

I have my 23 Gibson A2 for about 26 years and my Flatiron A5-2 about 23, FWIW.

Jim

[MartinD_GibsonA]

Has anyone gotten a mandolin and stuck with it as it was just what they wanted?
Yes. #I bought a '24 Gibson A-Jr several years ago. #It's my only mandolin. #It will probably be my only mandolin.

Don Smith

[DryBones]

still looking.

[JeffD]

What was in the water 23 years ago, with all these Gibson purchases?

Back in I purchased my 1923 Gibson A2 snakehead in 1984 or 5. My justification for doing so was my buddy's phrase "someday you will purchase the last mandolin you will ever need, it might as well be now." Well it was the last one I NEEDED to buy I suppose. And it has been my main axe.

But I have indulged my MAS to a degree. When I bought the Gibson I had a Flatiron mandola, and a Martin bowlback. Since then I found another bowlback at auction for a song, I have since acquired and sold a Sobell bouzouki, and purchased a Weber Aspen II and another bowlbacks with the proceeds.

Regular participation in this forum is like pouring gasoline on the flames of MAS.

[billhay4]

I started building instruments when I started playing in hopes of eventually being able to build a better instrument than I could afford. Three into the process, my building is ahead of my playing, but neither are very advanced. Maybe they'll intersect at some point, who knows? My last one is okay, maybe even pretty nice, but I'm still taking months to learn a new song.
Old age is tough on budding musicians.
Bill

[woodwizard]

I have also been thru a good many mandolins before my current Gibson Goldrush which I've had now for only a little under a year. It so far has cured my MAS I think? I do need atleast one more though. It has been a while sense I only had one in the house. You know ... another just incase. Well maybe there is no cure for MAS.

[dt in ky]

new to the mando world but i just finished building my first f5 tap tuned and all it is sweet.i don't ever seeing myself parting with it.

[om21ed]

I have been very happy with my Flatiron performer for a few years now, with occassional yearning for a Collings,but that passes without incident. The bigger problem is lately I've developed a wish for, of all things, a Telecaster. Its moved into the stage where I'M dropping by Guitar Center at lunch time and thinking up rationalizations. I'm definately in the danger zone--time to, as Barney Fife once said "nip it! nip it in the bud" but it would be fun

[johnwalser]

I have four keepers after buying and selling about fifteen other instruments including a Rigel and a Weber. They are four different instruments with different sounds entirely. The order of acquiring these instruments is as follows:

1. MK Firefly Flame F5 ( one of the very first made and bought directly from Tracy before dealerships ) and it sang right out of the box. It has improved with age and is just slightly short tonally of a Gilchrist I played at LoarFest this year. Most of the Loars I've played are short of that Gilchrist.

2. A four string Schwab with 14.5" inch scale I string up as mandola tuning.

3. A 1920s Birdseye Banjo Mandolin I've done lots of work on ( plastic clear head, fat frets, replacement hardware hooks and an ebony bridge I made ).

4. A new Pomeroy 16" scale oval hole Mandola I received in February is also going to be a keeper. It's tone and sustain are truly outstanding and with the addition of Ted's JazzDola strings, I would put this youngster up against about anything out there.

John

[Rufus]

I don't know that I've been playing mandolin long enough to really say. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif I've gone through 3 mandos in a bout a year -- an Agile F-style import, which I almost immediately returned due to poor workmanship, a used Rigel Comet which I liked a lot but wanted/needed something with a wider nut, and currently a Breedlove KF in natural finish. I don't really anticipate a change at this point as I like the Breedlove quite a bit and the prohibitive prices of the higher-end mandos make it unlikely that I'd seriously consider one, but I guess one never really knows for sure.

I do think I've basically found "the ones" as far as my guitars are concerned (my primary instrument, at least as afar as experience a time committted), as I have no desire to try new guitars. I'm not sure I can say the same about mandos just because I'm curious and haven't played all that many varieties yet.

[MNDOLNR]

I've been playing about 8 years and I've had my Givens for 4 years. Not only does it have great tone and volume, but Bob's instruments are increasingly rare so I don't really see myself ever replacing it. But I still do have the recurring MAS that drives me to desire an equally fantastic mandola, OM, mandocello...MAS comes in many shapes and sizes I guess.

[Gutbucket]

Hi, my name is Gutbucket, and I am a mandoholic. Hopefully, I'll never be cured.

[jim simpson]

One gal says to the other, "He doesn't exactly look like Mr. Right." The other one retorts, "I'm not looking for Mr. Right. I'm looking for Mr. Right-Now!"

What a great line!

I held on to my 1st good mando for about 10 years before I realized what I wanted. It took a while before I ended up with "the keeper".

List 1st to latest:
GN Anderson
Chris Warner
Ratliff
Gibson A - 1917
Flatiron Performer A
Kentucky KM1000 - 82
Weber Yellowstone
Gibson F5G
Daley std. F

I would have kept the F5G as it was a close 2nd to the Daley but I promised to raise some funds for our current house purchase.

Jim

[LKN2MYIS]

I'm drawn to the differences in each, suiting my mood/ability at the time. Some guitars (mando's, motorcycles, whatever) I miss, some I don't, and there'll always be something that catches my fancy on the horizon.

Some stay longer, some shorter.

Never really thought about a 'keeper' - I always thought that mandolins were all 'catch-and-release'.

[EdSherry]

I originally bought an old Harmony back in the late 1970s, and sold it in 1985 to the girlfriend of a friend who was looking for a mando, intending to upgrade. #

I was fortunate back in 1985 to buy one of the first F-5s that Flatiron made from Mandolin Brothers in NYC. #I bought better than I knew. #No regrets, no intention to trade, still my main axe.

That said, since then I've bought dozens more (I have a BAD case of MAS!). #Current "second favorites" are a recent National Resonator mando, a Gibson Snakehead, a Gibson A-5L, and a lovely old Gibson A-4.

[allenhopkins]

I usually acquire a mandolin for a specific role, sound or musical need. Trouble is, I never get rid of any (see below). I've had my F-5 for almost 25 years, my Flatiron OM, Sobell 'dola and F-2 for close to 20. The B&J Victoria bowl-back came to me through my family 36 years ago. But when I see an attractive instrument, at a reasonable price, that is different from the ones in my current aresenal, I often yield to temptation. Recently acquired a Regal Octofone, e.g., and am enjoying learning what I can do with it.

[jmcgann]

John Zeidler gave me what amounted to free upgrade since I bought my first mando from him in 1982 or so- since then, I've only played Zeidlers. I guess that's 25 years...he also gave me a Harmony that he refinished as a starter instrument which I played for a few years before getting my first JRZ.

[entau]

love my rigel g-110

miss my freshwater octave ( died in a car crash)

but I do need a mandola and a mandocello and some kind of octave/ cittern

[stevenmando]

I have hade my bowlback for close to going on 20 years, it was one that I picked up in a store in Studio City california and I forgot the maker ,I think the owner of the music store made it he made violins and other instrunment and its a good instrument but I just bought an Eastman 515f and I still want to get others so my family of instrument is just starting to grow ,Damm its taken a long time to git the family to grow, but money and old age slows you down a bit when it comes to wanting to expand the little family.

[FrDNicholas]

Having never played a quality bowl-back, I've never been tempted to want one for playing classical music. I do love to play Vivaldi on the mandolin. I guess there are some advantages to not having a lot of quality mandolins around!

[swinginmandolins]

I've only had my Holst for 5 months and can't see myself parting with it for any reason. It has the tone I was looking for and feels great in my hands. I did order a second one from Steve though, just because I know from this one that he can deliver exactly what I want. It's about a year wait so if I do start getting itchy I will know a new one is coming soon. I think the only mandos at this point that could tempt me would be out of my budget, so MAS should be under control http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif Especially since there are no stores with mandolins very close to me.

[Dena Haselwander]

Driftwood # 21. Tonally and aesthetically.


Dena

[Mikey G]

I have five mandolins, three of them Gibsons, with my last being a beautiful 2001 F5L which I got a year ago on July 16. I told my wife that it would be THE mandolin and that I would sell off some of my other ones to pay for it. I also told her that I would never need another Christmas present ever from her because I had THE mandolin. A year has now passed and I still have all five of the mandolins and rarely play anything other than the F5L. It's a tremendous mandolin and I just recently bought a Master Model case to keep her in. A friend of mine inspired me to buy it when he bought his F9: He said that he wasn't ready to buy the mandolin "that he was going to be buried with," and I figured that I was ready for that mandolin.

HOWEVER, MAS has resurfaced and I am in the hunt for a Gibson Master Model...I've got it bad. I have a daughter who is graduating from college in December and another who will beginning in August, so I had to put off my plans for buying a Master Model until Christmas, but what a Christmas present that would be. I really don't need another mandolin, and should sell a few of my other ones, but I have become very attached to them, and there's a "special story" behind each one of them which justifys me keping them. For instance, I have a 2001 Flatiron that I bought new that is an absolute Hoss, but she rarely gets played. She's the first really good mandolin I bought and the only new onre I've bought, so she's got to stay around. I bought a 1978 Ibanez 524 after receiving exactly the cost of that mandolin for participating in a workshop that I would have attended for free, so it's like I'm out nothing, so she hasa to stay. The mandolin I learned to play on has to stay because i need one that i can take camping, (which I haven't done in several years,) and she's the one that I'll let a friend borrow if they are in need of a mandolin to play if they haven't got theirs with them. I bought a two point mandolin in Costa Rica that I can't part with because it sustained me while I was in the jungle...it hasn't been played in five years, but for sentimental reasons, she has to stay.

My point is that MAS can work two ways: You can always be looking for THE mandolin by selling some off, OR you can keep searching for THE mandolin while adding to your stable. I'm pretty sure that MAS never really goes away and that most of us will stay in the hunt forever. I have more mandolins that I need or ever wanted, but to say I have THE mandolin is hard to acknowledge. My wife told me that she thought the F5L was THE mandolin, and I told her it was. Of course, I'm hoping and plotting for the next great mandolin up the ladder. Each mandolin that I've bought has always been a little better than the one before it. Her comment is that "you'll never be happy until you ahve a Loar." Now that's a thought....

[Mandomaiden]

Mikey G:

Just read your post to my husband, and he smiled benignly, because it sounds so familiar...I'm married to a saint!

[olddavy]

That is a good thought,but even tho Ive had some great mandolins and sold, traded, and up and down graded,I still have an old Harmony that I bought 15 years ago. It has done alot of recording and performing and is really one of the best sounding mandos Ive played. It was made in the 20s and has all the woods and apointments you could ask for. A truely amazing mandolin.
Trouble is... there are so many mandos and so little time. I just love playing a different one now and then. Not to say I dont have other keepers, but in order to play new ones I have to sell or trade some. I find it somewhat of my passion in life. Olddavy

[johnsmusic]

Kevin Mathers Old Time F4 3point that is in the photo here: #http://www.oldtimemandolin.com/ # #going on 3 years now after dozens of others. It amazes me every time I pick it up. #John

[Bob A]

Well, I was happy with a '21 F4 for a couple decades, then decided I needed a mandola. I was happy with a mandolin and a mandola for a couple years, but then I got the vintage bug and started buying guitars.

It was so cool; they each had something different to recommend them, and each one taught me something new.

Then a roommate picked up a Unicorn F5 to sell for someone; I bought it, and it was good. An A2Z appeared, and the dealer was going to keep it, but when I begged him, well, you know.

I started hanging around here, and fell into bad company in the Classical section. It was obvious that I needed a bowlback. But they're so cute, and each maker's instruments are different, and many of them are so underpriced, that before long I had a pretty good bowlback collection going. It was obvious that I needed (yes, needed) to get bowlbacks by the Big Three Italian makers. Eventually I did.

You know, there's a few guys here who play Catch and Release with their mandoins. I really envy them.

Lessee, now, the original question . . . as it happens, I have found the mandolin. (In fact I keep stumbling over them). It's the one I feel like playing at any given time. I could probably be satisfied with only three or four, but I've got grandkids, and each one will probably get one when I croak, and meanwhile I get to enjoy them.

But you know, Ihaven't bought a mandolin in nearly a year now. (I'm so proud of myself). And even better, I haven't had to change strings in months. (I once worked with a Korean lady, who got a flat tire and was so disappointed that her car could let her down that way, she bought a new one). So if you're sick of changing strings, just do what I do: buy another mandolin instead.

[mandroid]

Gibby A40 was OK '22 oval hole A replaced it, still have that one , then local shop had an A4 on consignment, so I got that , to go with the banjo mandolin, then the Mandola followed me home..

.. and so it goes..

[mythicfish]

It's a delicate balance between dollars and sense.

Curt

[Dan Adams]

Much like Allen, I have purchased mandos and play each of them for specific kinds of music, or in particular situations. I still have my first mandolin ever purchased 34 years ago, my second purchased 33 years ago, etc... Two old Gibsons(trying to trade one, no need for two, could be the first mandolin I ever get rid of) for Old Time music, one Flatiron pancake for Celtic, two performance mandolins, one Gibson and one Fisch, one electric in case we have to plug in, one octave... They all suit the purpose in which they are intended. Or so I've tried to justify the collection. I still have my original guitar I bought 31 or some odd years ago. I think I've found the perfect instrument everytime.. Dan

[stevenmando]

That,s right to the point
[QUOTE]It's a delicate balance between dollars and sense.
no matter what one says, its what he said.

[C. Carr]

Don Smith wrote : "Yes. #I bought a '24 Gibson A-Jr several years ago. #It's my only mandolin. #It will probably be my only mandolin."



[I]I too purchased a 24 Gibson A-jr. It was my first mandolin and it came from Cotten Music in Nashville. It was a good deal and I said that if I played every day for a year I'd upgrade. Well after a year I upgraded, purchasing a Thompson F-5 and a Henderson A. Each of the upgrades are fine fine mandolins, and keepers in their own right. Nonetheless, that little A-jr is absolutely magical! I ought to sell it but just can't bring myself to do so. The amazing thing is I've been triply blessed and would be hard pressed to choose which one is best! Still I'm tempted by the stuff that crops up on ebay and in the Cafe classifieds.

Regards,

Charlie
New Orleans

[FrDNicholas]

Well, when I bought the Gibson A4 snakehead, I just knew this was the mandolin for life. I had played a Gibson straight A model that I liked, but it wasn't quite it. My wife convinced me to get rid of the old mildewy case it came in, (who knew that a moldy case would increase the value)The original tuners didn't work so I had them replaced. Again, not knowing that would affect the value, but wanting tuners that worked. When the mandolin was shipped to Albuquerque, the head snapped. It has been expertly repaired such that you can't tell there was ever a crack. Anyway, the value of the instrument is not in it's resale value to me, but in the exquisitely beautiful sound it makes. If I had the money would I be tempted? Maybe, but I don't think so.

[David Hanson]

The only reason I play more than one mandolin is to spread the wear and tear.
They are all good instruments, but if something I like becomes available at the right price.........?

Dave H

[grassrootphilosopher]

I guess it amounts to what your aim is when you (long for or) buy an instrument.

A picking buddy of mine bought is first good guitar in about '93 or so and it was a Martin D 41. The price was high and so was he (emotionally). He bought a '71 D 28 in the late 90ies. The price (and sound) was right. Then he bought a D 17 (or so). He chickened out of a deal with a boutique luthier in the late 90ies too. Could have been a great deal though. Why would he make such acquisitions. I dunno, go figure. He told me about the different sounds he can produce with his instruments. Well, like me he is not a pro picker and doesn´t make his living (or a portion of it) by playing music, so it´s okay with me if he sees it that way even as I am at loss to understand his train of thought.

I on the other hand bought my first good guitar in 1990 (Martin D 16 M, soundwise and such a mainstay) and only "upgraded" to a high falutin´ box in 1999 when an opportunity arose that was too good to turn down. I´d play anything on these instruments. In mandolins, the story is similar. I started to play the mandolin and looked for an instrument, that would please not only my abilities as a picker but likewise my pocketbook. So as I hunted for the instrument of choice at a Hamburg (Germany) mandolin store in the blessed year of 1993, I played about everything they had, cheapo mandolins not worth the mention of any brand name, Kentucky mandolins, old gibson oval holes from the teens and twens, the builder´s own creation ... the hot comodity of the time - the Gibson Bill Monroe model. Well, since the Bill Monroe Model was out of reach concerning the price I settled for the next best thing, sound and pricewise - a 30ies Strad-O-Lin. It looked beat up, but the voice of the mandolin has never let me down (for any kind of music). At festival jam-sessions I had it happen that people picked up on the sound of my mandolin from the other end of the camp ground and ambled over to see what instrument might be played there. I played it back to back with really good instruments only to turn back to my Strad-O-Lin because those instruments would not justify (for me) to cough up the amount of dough needed to buy something for mostly cosmetic reason. I have had many people (professional or semi professional players as well as builders too) comment on my mandolin as very nice sounding. Just the wish to have a better playability (complimenting my own abilities) and the opportunity (again) to play an instrument that is out there with the best of them (2006 Duff F 5), made me "upgrade" again. I can think of playing any kind of music on these instruments.

That makes me the owner of an instrument that I will play in bars, outdoor jam sessions etc. and an instrument I will play at bigger events, theatres, in private settings...

The storal of the mory? Please support your luthier of choice as well as you can, play the instruments you like and the best ones you can afford and be satisfied with what you have.

[MartinD_GibsonA]

Don Smith wrote : "Yes. I bought a '24 Gibson A-Jr several years ago. It's my only mandolin. It will probably be my only mandolin."

[I]I too purchased a 24 Gibson A-jr. It was my first mandolin and it came from Cotten Music in Nashville. It was a good deal and I said that if I played every day for a year I'd upgrade. Well after a year I upgraded
The reason I don't plan to upgrade is that I play probably 85% guitar, 15% mandolin and 5% tenor banjo. One nice mandolin is quite enough for me, thank you. I'm not in any way criticizing anyone who owns more than one; it's just that I don't need more than one! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Don Smith

[C. Carr]

In an earlier post I wrote; "I too purchased a 24 Gibson A-jr. It was my first mandolin and it came from Cotten Music in Nashville. It was a good deal and I said that if I played every day for a year I'd upgrade. Well, after a year I upgraded."

That came off rather poorly, my intent was to say that while I thought that an upgrade was necessary, having done so came to the realization that the '24 Gibson Ajr was so good that 'the chase' was in vain.

There is another conundrum involved in owning a number of fine instruments. When evacuating New Orleans during hurricane season one can only take so much 'stuff'. Two kids, three dogs, three cats, photographs, and some essential heirlooms leave precious little space for more than one mandolin. One good disaster can change your perspective about what matters.

Regards,

Charlie Carr
(still rebuilding, but doing quite well)
New Orleans