Shock,horror !

[Ivan Kelsall]

Oh My Lord ! - I just finished an hour or so's practice & was putting my most treasured possession away when i noticed wear on the raised part of the scroll,in the usual place,obviously caused by the strap. How do you get over something like this ?. It's never happened to me before - i'm in total shock. I don't mind seeing that sort of wear on other people's Mandolins but NOT ON MINE !!. I'm off for a long lie down in a dark room (wipes tear from eye),
Saska http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[Chris Biorkman]

My suggestion is to drink heavily. Just kidding. The first scratch is always the worst, but in a way it's liberating. The only way for an instrument to remain pristine is to not play it.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Thanks for the few kind & reassuring words Chris. I remember discovering a lot of very fine indentations on the back of my Banjo years ago. I always protect my instrument from belt buckles & things like that. But at the time i used to wear jeans a lot & it was the
rounded edges of the rivets that was causing the trouble.
I'm off to make a soft suede leather strap for my Mandolin,that,the cotton wool padding & the safety net should do it. I don't know which is more distressed,me or the Mandolin - now where the heck was that bottle of Southern Comfort ?!,
Saska

[JEStanek]

Think of it like the fist bumps and bruises your kids get when learning to walk. You feel a little bad but it's bound to happen and it means a whole new place for them to be.

Jamie

[Aran]

The first cut is always the deepest.

I now have a small ding on the top near the bridge and a huge one on the neck at the dovetail end (so not a disaster) and the headstock is chipped and scratched.

It's only 3 months old too..... I can't imagine how rough it's going to look in a year.

Anyway I'm over it now. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Ivan Kelsall]

LOL Aran ! - I'd be mortified if it was mine. I'm going to wear dark glasses in future when i play mine,that way i won't see the wear - if i can't see,it ain't there. It called the Ostrich method !!,
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # Saska: http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[John Rosett]

You should be happy. Some people pay a lot of money for that "distressed" look.

[Hans]

Just like a car, after the first scratch it's transportation.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I now HAVE a distressed look - so does my Mandolin & i DID pay a lot of money for it !!!.
( i take your point though John) - i'm off to look for that bottle anyway & the sleeping pills & the rope - no,heck !,forget the rope - i'll get over it,
Saska http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[F5GRun]

At least its from wear and is self inflicted. My first serious ding on my mandolin was casued by my room mates breaking into my room at night when I was sleeping to play a prank on me. My mandolin was leaning aganist my desk, and to make a long story short a desk drawer fell on top of it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif Man oh man was I PO'd.

[Jim Broyles]

Moral of the story - put your mandolin in the case when you go to bed. If you want to keep it out, get a secure hanger for the wall and hang it up. Leaning against the desk was a disaster waiting to happen, and it did.

[sgarrity]

Mandolins with no wear belong to owners that don't need them. These are tools, not collectors items meant to be hidden behind glass and looked at. That being said, the first ding is the hardest. After that, you can play it and have fun and not have to worry!

[grassrootphilosopher]

I have read about David Grisman that at first he did not take "Crusher" out on gigs because the mandolin was in an almost imaculate condition. Then he thought that it might not get the playing time it deserved. He apparently started to play it on stage and as I read "it´s all banged up now". (Wasn´t it in the Bill Graham article here on the cafe that this was so reported?).

Actually, things happen to instruments, but like with humans it is allwas the toll of time and it´s kind of sad to see the first scratches and battle scars of life appear. On the other hand, some call it character.

[F5GRun]

Yup, I keep it in the case now. However it was all down hill from there

[jim_n_virginia]

OH NO Mr Saska! The mandolin is RUINED!!!

Now you must sell said mandolin in the classifieds at a deep, DEEP discount and get a new one!

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Gutbucket]

At least its from wear and is self inflicted. #My first serious ding on my mandolin was casued by my room mates breaking into my room at night when I was sleeping to play a prank on me. My mandolin was leaning aganist my desk, and to make a long story short a desk drawer fell on top of it. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif #Man oh man was I PO'd.
How many dings do they have on them now? I'd of been soaking my knuckles in salt water. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif

[David Lloyd]

A good luthier could probably make it close to "good as new" .
There are lots of them lurking in the corners here. I WOULD EITHER FIX MINE OR HAVE IT DONE! Actually I refinished the whole thing. It plays and sounds better now. But,mine wasn't worth alot to start with, just as Washburn M3SW.
Good Luck with it!
Dave

[Chip Booth]

Congradulations, you're playing it!

[Phil Goodson]

I was a little ticked when I noticed a little belt buckle rash on the back of my new mandolin the FIRST DAY I HAD IT, after I was nice enough to let a couple of guys try it.

Didn't matter, 'cause a few months later, I was sitting in my chair, half asleep with the mando on my lap; I reached over to hang it on its stand, and MISSED THE STAND in my sleepy state.
It hit the floor & did a Bill Monroe number to the headstock scroll! Still hanging by the binding but cracked!!

I called the luthier who made it and he had it glued & touched up within 3 hours of the incident, but it really got my attention!! No more sleepy handling of instruments.

But like it's been said above, now I can just enjoy playing my nice mando. I wasn't planning to ever sell it anyhow. It's a keeper, crack & all!!

Enjoying life, EVERY DAY.

[Stephen Lind]

two words


Willie Nelson
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[F5G WIZ]

Wait until you drop it and break off the headstock scroll. That's enough to make you cuss in church, which happens to be where I was when I broke mine. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[Tim2723]

I broke the scroll off my MK a couple of months back. Fixed it with Elmer's Glue and rubber bands. You probably wouldn't want to know what I'd do with a Fern. Mr. S, I feel your pain, but just not as much (MK's really don't break your heart after all!) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Ivan Kelsall]

I'll live with it guys.The amount of wear is only very small,but at least it is through honest playing & not my usual clumsiness.I'd probably feel the same way if it was one of Weber's 'pre-distressed' models,i'd still be looking out for self-inflicted wear. I'm putting new strings on it later today & i'll spend a couple of hours playing my new 'self distressed' mandolin,
Saska http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[F5G WIZ]

Got news for you. If it's a varnish finish it will happen a lot more. Varnish ain't near as tough as Laquer.

[Ivan Kelsall]

It's a Laquer finish Darrin. I think that much of it is down to the strap i've been using.The flat strap i got from John Brown down in Miami,is a bit too thick to fit the tailpiece strap button,so i bought a Mandolin strap & modified it with a piece of belt leather. I think that the leather is a bit abrasive,so i'm going to take it off & replace it with a thick cotton bootlace. I'm also going to unscrew the tailpiece button
a fraction,to make it protrude from the mandolin more,that way my John Brown strap might fit as well,
# # # # # #Saska

[F5G WIZ]

I made the mistake of taking my brand new varnished Poe camping the weekend I got it and the heat and humidity from resting against my body did a number on the varnish finish. Got a tone gaurd after that to kep it away from my body heat.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've heard tales re.the type of varnish/laquer finishes that some makers use being 'soft'. A friend of mine who works in a big music store in Manchester,UK,has an Eastman Mandola. He told me a few months ago that the finish was very soft & easily marked. I think that this is more true of varnish finishes than laquer,hence your problem above Darrin,
Saska

[F5G WIZ]

Yeah it just takes more time for varnish to cure.

[fanomando]

Just think how Mr. Monroe must have felt!!!
David

[Ivan Kelsall]

From what i've heard/read Dave,it probably just made it easier for Bill to scrape it off,
Saska

[allenhopkins]

I've heard tales re.the type of varnish/laquer finishes that some makers use being 'soft'. A friend of mine who works in a big music store in Manchester,UK,has an Eastman Mandola. He told me a few months ago that the finish was very soft & easily marked. I think that this is more true of varnish finishes than laquer,hence your problem above Darrin,
# # # # # # # # # # Saska
Had the same problem with my Eastman mandola. Played it outdoors on a hot sunny day a few weeks after buying it, and found I'd rubbed right through the finish where my ring finger and pinky rest on the top (I know, I'm not supposed to do that, but anyway...).

I just consider it "early distressed."

[Ken Olmstead]

Think of the distressing as "bulding equity!" You pay extra for that in a new mandolin don't cha know!! Saska, mine is starting too. Just proves I am getting my moneys worth out of it! Cheers!

[f5loar]

You can attach the strap to the headstock like Dean Webb does or like Monroe did when he first got his minty Loar or you can place photos of Monroe's, Marshall's and Waller's Loars in your case and keep saying "mine ain't that bad after all!"

[Mikey G]

I have a Gibson MM that Steve Perry just did a little french polish touch up on the top. He told me that if people who owned these instruments would leave them in a glass case where they belonged, they wouldn't get all messed up...pretty funny! Now I just take it in stride and don't get too concerned bout the natural distressing the mandolin is receiving. I'm kind of getting used to it now.

[pager]

Time to sell it. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

[F5GRun]

GutBucket- When the drawer fell on it it gave it 4 big dings...one in the back, one on the side and two on the top. THe one in the back was the worst(dime size and the finish was gone). My friend was gonna pay to get it fixed but It wasnt worth it and he was already broke. A few weeks later I dinged his HD-35 its was not bad, but he got real mad too, so we just called it even.

[Greg H.]

Hey Saska, at least yours was self inflicted. I got to sit and watch (and open up a nice little hole in my lower lip) as a former Bluegrass Boy planted his ring and little finger on my Prucha while he played (and I could see the finish wearing off as he played). I was able to buff it sufficiently that it's not too noticeable anymore but. . . .

[Ivan Kelsall]

It was bound to happen sooner or later. At least i didn't damage it like i did to the back of a previously owned Guitar. I just inadvertently buffed it up with my belt buckle.I'd only had it a couple of weeks when i decided to get it professionally set up.
The luthier i took it to,layed it flat on it's face on his workbench & i saw to my utter disbelief,a large indentation right in the middle of the back. I didn't know it was there until then - i was shocked. Anyway,as well as a set-up,i had him locally re-spray & polish the area & i got the Guitar back as good (better than) as new,
Saska

[Gutbucket]

GutBucket- #When the drawer fell on it it gave it 4 big dings...one in the back, one on the side and two on the top. #THe one in the back was the worst(dime size and the finish was gone). #My friend was gonna pay to get it fixed but It wasnt worth it and he was already broke. #A few weeks later I dinged his HD-35 its was not bad, but he got real mad too, so we just called it even.
Great! I love a happy outcome to a tragic story. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif