View Full Version : Would anybody really want...
Tim2723
Dec-29-2009, 10:29pm
a shiny fiddle made of gold? It would weigh like 75 pounds and sound awful.
smedley
Dec-29-2009, 10:57pm
;) I would !!!
With the price of gold being what it is,
I could melt it down and sell the gold and then have
the money to buy a Gibson with Mr. Loar's
signature inside.
ccravens
Dec-29-2009, 11:08pm
This is a topic? I guess we all have too much holiday time on our hands! :grin:
Mike Snyder
Dec-29-2009, 11:53pm
Evidently Johnny did. Dr. Faustis meets Americana.
It's probably not necessary to offer critical comments about others' posts.
This is a friendly forum. Just don't post, if you think something is dumb.
JEStanek
Dec-30-2009, 12:27am
Too much of the Daniels brothers, perhaps. Charlie and Jack.
I would melt it down and pay off me debts! Then have some fun using what's left.
Jamie
BlueMt.
Dec-30-2009, 12:33am
Me! Me! I'll take one!
catmandu2
Dec-30-2009, 2:17am
Well, it may not be optimal...but a shiny, gold fiddle is probably better than no fiddle at all..
Would probably be resistant to damage from those who would ignore it falling off its stand at a jam, too. (Just sayin)
a shiny fiddle made of gold? It would weigh like 75 pounds and sound awful.
Maybe so but dude you'd be stylin'!
...
Would probably be resistant to damage from those who would ignore it falling off its stand at a jam, too. (Just sayin)
:))
Mike Bunting
Dec-30-2009, 2:55am
Ultimate bling!
David Rambo
Dec-30-2009, 7:31am
I could sure have fun in the classifieds after selling that fiddle! Storage and the wife could be a problem, but oh well!
ccravens
Dec-30-2009, 8:31am
OK, after having been chastised by Mike I see his point, and I offer my apology for having implied that "would anybody really want a shiny fiddle made of gold?" was a kind of ridiculous topic. The original comment was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, not meant as harsh ridicule, thus my smiley face at the end.
In my defense, I came looking for info on my mandolin, string and set up choice, etc., and found instead many topics that had zero mandolin, music or other related content. So I got frustrated. Maybe I'm in the wrong area or message board, but I don't know any other mando boards to turn to.
I guess I'm going on the idea that people who open a new thread have some relevant and sometimes serious questions and/or problems that they seek the collective wisdom of the forum members about. As a result, I don't open a thread unless I believe it is somewhat serious and relevant, and other people might respond, or in looking at it, get some info or help themselves. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Maybe I'm in the minority here.
Maybe I'm in the wrong area, or I'm "trolling" for more serious info than I should be, or maybe I should know better. In any event, my apologies if someone's feeling were hurt. Back to the question. :)
Tim2723
Dec-30-2009, 8:39am
It didn't bother me, Chris. I saw the smiley face right away!
One of the charms of this kind of forum is, at least I think, the ability to have some fun while sharing all the serious information. It makes us a lively community of friends rather than just a stale repository of technical data. Because this is such a big group of really nice folks, I've come to think of the Cafe as an island of civility in the tawdry ocean of the Internet. Hang around with us and jump in!
John Hill
Dec-30-2009, 8:44am
Chris, you'll find answers to all your mando questions here (probably many times over with all the generous folks here on the Cafe).
Occasionally, such as the holiday season, there are light, funny & not necessarily mando-centric topics. Fear not, we're definitely a mando obsessed group.
I for one will take that shiny fiddle made o' gold...then sell it...then indulge in quelling MAS on a serious level.
ccravens
Dec-30-2009, 8:55am
Good points, both Tim ("community of friends rather than just a stale repository of technical data") and John (about this being the holiday season), and well taken by myself. Maybe I need to loosen up a bit. In any event, to prove I can be loose and play nice I'll answer the question:
I'd hold onto the fiddle for a future increase in value, since the weak dollar and low interest rates means that commodities (oil, gas, copper, gold) are increasing in value. Then when I saw interest rates start to climb up, as they may very well do this year, and the dollar start to rise in value, I would get ready to sell said fiddle in anticipation of a general decline in the value of commodities. Or hold onto it as a long-term investment and wait for the next round of deflation.
I can feel myself getting loose already! :grin:
Randi Gormley
Dec-30-2009, 9:23am
Fiddle of Gold sounds like it could become an interesting ballad, I think. With a nice -- loose -- lyric and beat ... hmmm. what would the key be, I wonder?
Tim2723
Dec-30-2009, 9:28am
G, of course. :)
Now, where does that lyric sit? In Devil Went Down To Georgia? Maybe others.
One person's wheat is another's chaff. I, too, sometimes pine for more relevant threads, but if I can laugh at 1 out of 10, it's worth it (and could be worse).
EdHanrahan
Dec-30-2009, 9:37am
...but a shiny, gold fiddle is probably better than no fiddle at all.
And way better than no GOLD at all!
Tim2723
Dec-30-2009, 9:53am
And in another story totally unrelated to mandolin playing, I see that the Cafe's membership is at 17,999! Who will be number 18,000?
Dan Hoover
Dec-30-2009, 9:53am
a fiddle of gold...every chiropractor in america just perked up...
onassis
Dec-30-2009, 9:57am
Funny how different our tastes in threads can be. Personally, I find that I have much less interest in the technical threads, and find myself more drawn to the marginalia. Always something interesting on this board, if you look hard enough.
onassis
Dec-30-2009, 10:00am
Also, I have to say I really liked the devil's solo better. :grin:
JEStanek
Dec-30-2009, 10:01am
Fiddle of Gold sounds like it could become an interesting ballad, I think. With a nice -- loose -- lyric and beat ... hmmm. what would the key be, I wonder?
Might be in G Augmented. Finally, this must be a gold fiddle once owned by Gert Fröbe.
Jamie
PS. Yes, you are in the right place. The community has ALL the mandolin knowledge and trivia you can hope for. We're also a quirky bunch with everything from technical engineers to free form artists. Welcome to the Café.
Tim2723
Dec-30-2009, 10:10am
Besides, where else can you find people who use words like marginalia?
journeybear
Dec-30-2009, 10:26am
Also, I have to say I really liked the devil's solo better. :grin:
Me too! But I think the contest was rigged. :))
BTW, Chris, bear in mind this thread was started by the Destroyer Of Mandolins. You should have known by that that you weren't in Kansas anymore. ;) As has been noted, there are plenty of serious-minded sectons of the Café where one can find more goal-oriented information. Hereabouts things get a little rambling and rambunctious. There's room for all kinds at the Café. :mandosmiley:
Now, if the gold were thin enough and the top were graded and tuned just so to provide maximal resonance - actually, upon further thought, gold is too ductile a metal for this purpose. Titanium would work better. ;)
,,,In my defense, I came looking for info on my mandolin, string and set up choice, etc., and found instead many topics that had zero mandolin, music or other related content. So I got frustrated...
If you don't see any current discussions on a particular topic you can always try the Search tool and you'll find that just about any topic you can think of has been discussed ad nausem. For some reason a lot of users have trouble using the search function. If you ever have trouble with it all you have to do is mention it in a thread and in about two seconds one moderator, who shall remain nameless, (although his first name starts with Mike and his last name ends with Edgerton ;) ) will show you about 50 relevant search results.
Speaking of moderators we also have one who knows the periodic table of elements name of every chord!!! :cool:
Might be in G Augmented...
allenhopkins
Dec-30-2009, 12:01pm
Well, I have a mandolin of aluminum! (At least the bowl is.) Johnny could have nailed it on eBay for $175, and avoided risking his soul -- and becoming a ten-thousand-plays-a-day yawner on mainstream AM radio.
By the way, if the Devil went down to GA because "he was in a bind, he was 'way behind," who was setting his quota? Sounds like a parking monitor writing tickets, rather than the Prince of Darkness.
And, regarding the thread's subtext, how could anyone complain that there's not enough information about mandolins here? Is there any aspect of Mandolin Universe that hasn't been probed to the nth degree?
Harrmob
Dec-30-2009, 12:29pm
I did some research, here is the mandolin content to Tim's awesome question.
http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/The_Devil_Went_Down_To_Georgia
a fiddle made of gold is actually a mandolin...
catmandu2
Dec-30-2009, 12:31pm
And, regarding the thread's subtext, how could anyone complain that there's not enough information about mandolins here? Is there any aspect of Mandolin Universe that hasn't been probed to the nth degree?
Well, now that you mention it...I've observed a noticeable lack of threads pertaining to mandolins made from fishing lures. I was under the impression that, if anywhere, I would find that here. :(
Richard Morrison
Dec-30-2009, 12:43pm
All Hail the Fiddle of Gold...Clap Dammit!
http://www.mcgill.ca/files/donorreport05-07/golden_violin.jpg
fishtownmike
Dec-30-2009, 4:58pm
I already have one. Oops! i checked and its a violin not a fiddle.:grin:
Bill Snyder
Dec-30-2009, 9:57pm
I don't know what this aluminum fiddle weighs, but I would guess about what a wooden fiddle would. Gold is about 7.3 times heavier than aluminum . Wooden fiddles weigh in at about one pound. If the aluminum violin is twice that it is only 2 pounds so a gold fiddle would probably not be over 15 pounds. If the fingerboard is gold as well that could add close to 4 pounds and the neck and peghead about 15 more pounds. That would make 34 pounds. Gold is weighed in Troy ounces instead of imperial so 12x34=408 Troy ounces and gold closed at $1097.80 today making a 24k gold fiddle worth $447,902.40.
Sell it. You could pick up a Loar and new house to enjoy it in.
journeybear
Dec-30-2009, 11:52pm
Sometimes there is nothing funnier than a serious statistical analysis of an absurd proposition. Well done! :))
This reminds me of an old joke:
Goofus: I wish I had the money to buy an elephant.
Doofus: What do you want with an elephant?
Goofus: I don't want an elephant. I just want the money.
Same here. I don't want a gold violin, but I could use its purchasing power. ;)