Just An Observation

[Frank Johnson]

Don't know if y'all realize it or not, but this site is very highly respected out there!

As I research on mandolins and go to many different sites, I find they all have two things in common.............

1: each site will ask and answer the same questions over and over
2: each site will refer the reader to the Mandolin Cafe.

If I search for "music", "bluegrass", or "mandolin", the Cafe is always near the top of the results page. That's remarkable!

[Elliot Luber]

Scott's doing his homework.

[MikeEdgerton]

...If I search for "music", "bluegrass", or "mandolin", the Cafe is always near the top of the results page. That's remarkable!

The cafe is an amazing resource for mandolin information.

It doesn't hurt that the site owner optimizes search engine results for a living either. ~:>

[Rod_Neep]

That's my experience. As a Martin nut I have frequented the UMGF for years. Over there, there are folks who play mandolin of course, and there is a section that deals with "4 string" instruments including mandolin, who are happy to answer questions..... but the bottom line advice is always to come over here to get the real answers.:)

That's why I am here.

Rod

[mandozilla]

The Cafe is not only an incredible and vast resource for mandolinists but it's also loads of fun and the people are great...Thanks Scott. :mandosmiley:

[Nighttrain]

Thanks Scott for mandolin cafe. What a great place to find a wealth of information, humor and of course good people. When I travel it seems that it somehow always comes up in conversation.
(Happy Playing !)

[Countrygirl]

This is a recent venture for me, and every time I look up resources it brings right back to the cafe. I love this site! Thank you to the owners and mods of the cafe. I am hoping to be a long time patron! :)

[Mike Snyder]

Frequenting other music sites, it does not take long to realize that the Cafe is very unique due to the professional abilities of its' founder.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Scott deservers all the credit that comes his way re.the 'Cafe for sure - but,he also realises that without 'us' ( & i refer mainly to the 'proper' Mandolinists/Luthiers on here),the Cafe would cease to exist. I'm a member of the Banjo Hangout & there's a whole heap of good stuff on there re.'all things Banjo',but these 'wooden creations',conceived by wonderful craftsmen,have left the 'mostly metal' Banjo brigade way behind (IMHO).
Banjos 'do sound/can be made to sound' different,but to a lesser degree than Mandolins. Plus,the design of our instruments - & i'm talking ALL designs - seems to have greater significance to us than to Banjo players,& i'm speaking as a Banjo player of 45 years experience.There aren't too many 'new' Banjo designs that step away from the 'standard' Gibson Mastertone pattern.Only the Nechville & Scott Vestal's "Stealth" instruments have departed from the 'norm' & are great in their own right.
Mandolin players,due to the very nature of the instrument (& i suspect that Guitar players may be the same) take great interest in the materials & designs of their instrument.Wood has so many varying properties,& in the hands of different luthiers,can be made to sound so 'different' that we can & do talk about Mandolins more as 'creations' than as mere musical instruments,that's why this site is so spectacularly successful. Also,the fact that there are so many great makers on here & great musicians,plus,all of us with our different experiences over the years,make this site a treasure house of information & advice - long may it survive,
Saska ;)

[JeffD]

Scott deservers all the credit that comes his way re.the 'Cafe for sure - but,he also realises that without 'us' ( & i refer mainly to the 'proper' Mandolinists/Luthiers on here),the Cafe would cease to exist.
Saska ;)

That is a very interesting point - could a site this rich in content and this supportive and informative, could a site like this exist about other musical instruments - or is there something about the mandolin, its versatility, its minority status, or the kinds of folks who are attracted to it, that make this kind of a site possible?

I, for one, am extremely happy Scott decided to do this on mandolins, and not on, say euphoniums, or pipe thread standards, or something. :))

I think the key thing is that we all have a real serious enthusiasm for the mandolin, and Scott shares or exceeds or enthusiasm at every step. Not that others don't, but we do.

I think a banjo cafe is perfectly possible, (seriously for a moment), and it would take someone with the talent and enthusiasm and vision to do it.

A violin cafe would work, I would bet, as well.

They would be different of course, but there is nothing in those insruments or those audiences that precludes something as rich and usefull and fun as this site.

I have doubts that a guitar cafe is possible however. I think the guitar audience is just too large and diverse and too many levels of enthusiasm and commitment, and most importantly (I say ducking under my desk), too young and less than musically serious. I may be wrong.

IMO.


Jeff

[Ivan Kelsall]

The 'Banjo Hangout' site, does indeed already have a 'Guitar Hangout' (or whatever it's called).
I haven't visited it,purely because of my overwhelming interest in Mandolins. I play Guitar,but not to the same extent or level of musicianship,that i play Banjo or Mandolin,
Saska

[mandolirius]

Does anyone know of a similar spot on the net for bass players?