Mandolin for beginner

[Sinead13]

I am a beginning mandolin player ( 3 lessons to date) and I have been borrowing my instructor's 1st mandolin. My goal is to play Irish music and folk songs, mainly songs that I can sing along to. At some point, I might play in a few sessions; however, this is mainly for myself. I am 5 feet tall and recently had 2 surgeries on my right shoulder after being attacked by a psychiatric patient. I'm right handed. The point is that I do not have a great "reach" at this point. I am strongly considering a Weber Aspen #2 A style oval, flat body with flat keyboard. I thought that the Flat body would be thinner and therefore it would be easier on my shoulder in terms of "reach". I called Weber's in MT and discussed a carved top also since it would "hold its own" better if I am playing with others. Just concerned about the difficulty I would have with the "wider" body. Any suggestions? Thanks for your time...

[Jill McAuley]

Sinead,
I don't think that there's going to be a huge difference re: the body depth of a flat top vs. carved top - I had an Aspen #2 and then moved on to a carved top Pomeroy A and didn't particularly notice a significant difference in how comfortable it felt to hold the mandolin. Probably more important for you as regards your shoulder injury, will be to make sure that you always practice good position and posture when playing, including a relaxed grip on the pick. That said, you'll not go far wrong with the Aspen #2 - they're nice mandolins and mine was very easy to play - I actually credit it with jump starting my own playing because it's ease of play meant that I just couldn't put the thing down! Best of luck to you and let us know what you decide on!

Cheers,
Jill

[Sinead13]

Hi Jill:
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond. Great points about positioning and posture. What would you say that the main differences are between a flat and a carved mandolin? Why did you switch? I am very encouraged by your comments about your initial Aspen #2 and the ease of play.

It's none of my business but are you from East Galway?

I really appreciate your help. I have absolutely no previous musical experience; however, my instructor is excellent. His main interest is Bluegrass, but he is very accommodating to my interests. After my 1st lesson, he had me playing "The Irish Washerwoman". I will keep you posted...Sinead

[ColdBeerGoCubs]

I had a shoulder injury about 2 weeks after I bought my first mando, actually a bunch of injuries, but the way the mando sat on my lap caused little to no stress on my shoulder.

[Jill McAuley]

Hi Sinead,
I'm actually from Dublin, but bought a place in East Galway a good few years ago, so that's kinda home now. The main difference in the flat top versus carved would be the sound - I actually have mp3's of both the Pomeroy and the Aspen #2 up on my myspace page if you want to compare the sound of them. Any of the tunes that just say "jig" or "reel" will be ones recorded with the Aspen #2. The one track with the Pomeroy says "jig played on a Pomeroy A4" in the title. There's also two tunes recorded on my Weber Gallatin F, which has a carved top. Just click on the blue link below my signature that says "my mp3's etc etc..." to get to the myspace page. The main reason the Aspen is no longer in the herd is that I couldn't afford to keep it and get a new mandolin at the same time - a dilemma that many of us here at the cafe share!

Cheers,
Jill

[8ch(pl)]

I think the Weber is a good choice, so would Big Muddy be.

[EdHanrahan]

REAL sorry to hear about the shoulder. But you don't say when the injury was, or where your progress is with rehab.

Long story short: Long-time guitar player. In 12/07, I dislocated & shattered my upper humerus, soon replaced by titanium. Also lots of muscle, joint, & some nerve damage. Went over a month before rehab because the stapled bits of bone needed to knit some. Was actually out of work for 6 months, primarily because of driving and commuting-by-train considerations; there are only ground-level platforms near me.

After maybe 2 or 3 months, I was able to hold an A-style, carved-top mando pretty easily, sitting in a recliner chair. Couldn't hold a guitar for over a minute until maybe 6 months, with much painful stretching & only for limited periods. Called it "extended rehab"! It was around 10 to 12 months that a dreadnought became manageable for maybe 40 minutes at a time. I can still, at 26 months, feel the difference between a 15 5/8" Martin body vs. a 16" wide Gibson-style.

In short, I suspect that the difference between a carved A-style and a flat, pancake mandolin will be relatively minor, and probably not at all noticeable before too long.

Good Luck. I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever you end up with - sounds like a nice selection!

[Capt. E]

Actually I will so so far and say that you will not notice any differences between the flat top and an arch top. If you were talking about a bowl back vs a flat back, then you would have a completely different situation.

The main differences between flat top and arch top will be the tone and many times the volume of the instrument. The arch top will usually have a richer sound to it. There are exceptions. Considering the music you want to play, you might look for an oval hole archtop A style.