New to the Mando!

[SavannahGAMandoMan]

Hey guys and girls,

I've owned a mandolin for about 4 years now and after much neglect I have finally picked it up to start playing seriously.

I am really into traiditional celtic type stuff and I was wondering what body style of mandolins are best for this genre (or if it even matters...). I am also in to celtic/ irish punk rock that has mandolin in it and will trying to start a project like this in Savannah, GA.

ANy suggestions?

[mandroid]

Loud Punk rock suggests a solid body electric,
as stage volumes would drive you nuts trying to deal with feedback
with an acoustic and pickup and the monitors to hear yourself ..

Check out the electric 4.5&8 string section, and read back thru prior posts ..

and may I suggest: search, using that function too.

[man dough nollij]

Welcome, SGMM!

I think most of us associate flat-top, round-holed mandolin-family instruments as fitting the celtic scene. This forum is mostly threads about tuners and other accessories and equipment. You might get more responses if you were to start this thread in the "Looking for information about mandolins" forum, or the "Celtic, U.K., Nordic..." forum. Just a suggestion.

Happy Pickin',

Lee

[Tim2723]

Hi and welcome!

While there is no specific 'Celtic' mandolin (as mandolins don't have an ancient tradition in Celtic music as the harp and flute do), Lee is correct that many players associate the flat top, round hole sound with Celtic forms. Many builders now provide "Irish style" mandolins that have flat tops, round holes, and tend toward over-sized bodies for volume and depth.

Since you're interested in both traditional and contemporary styles, may I be so bold as to strongly recommend the Ovation instruments. I have found them the ideal balance for live performance of Celtic styles at loud performance volumes. They have a flat top, a round hole (actually a number of them), and the over-sized body. Their electronics are perfectly suited for near feedback-proof performance at screamingly loud volumes. They possess a broad tonal pallet, and are robust enough to survive the mosh pit. Couple this with near-zero maintenance, ultra-low handling noise, legendary tuning stability, and they become, IMHO, the optimum performance mandolin for the amplified Celtic player.

There are a number of fine acoustic-electric and solid-body electrics to choose from, and of course, any acoustic mandolin can be amplified, but when someone writes in with those specific needs, the Ovation stands out head and shoulders in my mind.

[SavannahGAMandoMan]

Thank you very much for all of your responses! Very helpful...

Tim, I will def check out the Ovation, I remember playing one in a music store about 6 or 7 years ago... def need to revisit them!

[mandroid]

Looked at Pogues clips on youtube , had a mandolin player in there,
one clip a oval hole 2 point, 'A5', and, the other a F hole A5.

So I'd conclude ... really doesn't matter what kind, there's that Ovation , Godin A8 electrics ... michael kelley F5 with a pickup and preamp, has been mentioned

maybe a 'whatever' with a pickup, and perhaps a pre-amp..

Peter Mix's A4/or5 would be beer resistant .. it's carbon fiber .(I like mine)

could be painted with shamrocks, or green white and orange.. :grin:


:popcorn:

[Tim2723]

Actually, I think it would matter somewhat. The Pouges, like all the big names, have top sound techs keeping things under control for them. Savannah may not have that luxury. The Ovation is at least feedback proof. Besides that, it sounds like an Irish mandolin. If he weren't talking about Celtic music, I'd recommend all the others you mentioned as well, but I really believe the Ovation was born to do the job in this case. I took me two F-5s to realize that I should go back to the Ovation for exactly the kind of thing he's talking about.

Don't get me wrong, all the others are great, but when he said Celtic that changed things in my mind.

[SavannahGAMandoMan]

The Pogues are def one of my main influences!

I checked out the carbon fiber mandolins, those are pretty sweet... and pretty expensive haha.

Thank you all for taking the time to discuss, surely does help!

[mandroid]

Magnetic pickup[2] and, perhaps, an effects pedal board, or the piezoelectric bridge pickup,
[4,7] bronze wound string acoustic-electric sound are 2 different paths to contemplate , also.

Kind of why one of each is often the solution.

[Tim2723]

Kind of why one of each is often the solution.

Yup. Said like a pro. :)