View Full Version : Newbie help
jerseyguy
Feb-12-2008, 4:28pm
Hi everyone, I'm a long-time (but not great) guitar player with a little arthritis in my left hand. I also play some octave mando and would now like to try some mandolin. Do you know of mandolins that have fretboards that are a little wider than others? I know that Washburn makes one such model
http://www.washburn.com/products/bluegrass/mandolins/m120.aspx
and there's a Beharrel up on ebay right now that the same claim is made for (I know there's another thread on that here). Any others? Thanks.
Eric F.
Feb-12-2008, 5:24pm
Breedlove fretboards are 1 3/16, I believe. Big Muddy offers 1 1/4 as an option. Many others make 1 3/16 or offer it as an option. I think Collings offers that option now.
Lee Callicutt
Feb-12-2008, 9:25pm
You'll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you get used to that skinny little neck!
cbarry
Feb-22-2008, 5:12pm
You could also look for a used Rigel. They were 1 3/16ths, too. And radiused. I tried my best to get used to a Flatiron with a 1 1/16th nut, but I just made far fewer mistakes when playing a mando with a wider nut, so I sold it. And it was a great sounding instrument! Nothing wrong with wider nuts. Radim Zenkl and Sam Bush seem to like them just fine.
Chuck
It's not just the nut width, its the neck profile that matters. Try an Old Wave. Mine is the most playable mandolin for middle-aged hands I've yet to encounter.
John L
Feb-23-2008, 11:32am
I know a great mandolin player with hands the size of baseball gloves - you get used to the size of the neck and probably will not want a wide neck one once you do.
Siminole
Feb-23-2008, 12:57pm
I am a bit older myself, and have minor problems with arthritis, I have never found the standard fretboard to be a problem, believe me your finger will adapt. #Not really a big deal. #Good luck and enjoy....
Al # # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif
JGWoods
Feb-23-2008, 2:36pm
Old oval hole Gibsons from the teens had big fat necks on them. I am not sure when they changed to a narrower neck, whether in the 20s or earlier, but my 1917 A4 is nice and wide.
Rigels mostly had 1 and 3/16" nut/necks.
Breedloves have the same.
I have stiff hands from age and profession and it took me two years before I could easily curl my index finger for the first and second fret on the E strings.
dhmando
Feb-24-2008, 8:16pm
We have several wide neck models, Bush F-5's are 1 1/4" and radius, wide neck F-5G's are the same, but flat. We also have a brand new model with a 1 3/16" nut width. It's called the Victorian F-5 and was a hit at the recent NAMM show. VERY comfortable to play I might add!