Mandolin purists

[Mastersound]

Hi all

As you probably know, I'm a hobbyist making solidbody electric mandolins, and every now and then I put one up for sale on eBay. Every time I put one up I get at least one "question" from a bidder suggesting that a solidbody electric mandolin can't possibly be a legitimate instrument.

Here's a recent sample:

"What could this thing possibly sound like? I assume that with only 4 stringsit probably sounds more like a japanese string instrument, instead of the traditional mandolin which gets its sound from the twin strings. You can call it a mondolin because of it's tuning, but it probably doesn't have the characteristic manolin sound."

Does everyone get these comments from people about their emandos? It gets tedious, but I usually take the bait and respond. Here's what I sent in reply to the question:

">What could this thing possibly sound like?
>
It could possibly sound like a small electric guitar tuned to GDAE, but that would be in the ear of the beholder.

>I assume that with only 4 stringsit probably sounds more
>like a japanese string instrument, instead of the traditional
>mandolin which gets its sound from the twin strings.
>
Like a shamisen? No. The shamisen has three strings and the tuning is dependent on the style of music being played. An electric mandolin has four strings, most usually tuned GDAE, like the acoustic mandolin which is also tuned GDAE but in unison pairs. But I'm sure you already know that. Of course with an acoustic instrument the overtones are hidden in the blend of the overall sound. The 8 string electric mandolin is much less forgiving and strings tend to "beat" when slightly off frequency, which is why most electric mandolins are 4 or 5 string.

>You #can call it a mondolin because of it's tuning, but it
>probably doesn't have the characteristic manolin sound.
>
No. To hear the characteristic mandolin sound you'd need to listen to music being played by a classical mandolin ensemble. Of course some instrumentalists choose to play the coarser style called bluegrass on their mandolins, some choose to use the mandolin as an accompanying or even a featured instrument (some tracks by The Eagles and Led Zeppelin come to mind), and other have found a niche for solidbody electric mandolins like this one.

Thanks for your enquiry. As a reader of guitar, mandolin, fiddle, violin and even ukulele forums on the Web it's always interesting to see comment from individuals who perceive their genre of music and the style of instrument on which it's played as being the only pure and legitimate form. Fortunately I've never been afflicted with this attitude and have always kept an open mind to the various musical styles and the many types of instrument that exist for our enjoyment. Diversity of taste in music is just one of the great things that makes our many tastes and cultures so wonderful, don't you think? Solidbody electric instruments are fair game for criticism, and we're happy to live with that, but we do reserve the right to reply in kind.

Thanks again for your enquiry."


Any thoughts? Anyone?

[John Flynn]

There is a term I learned in the Navy, a term I have always thought handy for people such as the one you quoted. The term is "martinent." The dictionary definition is, "a person who stresses a rigid adherence to the details of forms and methods." In the service, it is used to describe a tightass. Just FWIW, the origin of the term is a 17th century French Army officer, Jean Martinet, who developed methods of military close-order drills for training, many of which are still used by all military services today.

Back to music and instruments: It makes sense that music always needs to be a balance between tradition and innovation. Unfortunately, there are always people who are stuck on one pole or the other and try to legitimize thier position by criticizing those in the middle. The rest of us should ignore them.

[Arto]

"Diversity of taste in music is just one of the great things that makes our many tastes and cultures so wonderful, don't you think?"

I enjoyed reading your reply, Mastersound, and especially the sentence above. There are so many people in all walks of life, who think that there can be only one legitimate opinion about things. One wonderful side of Mandolin Cafe is the diversity of music here.

If electric 4-string mandolins are an abomination to some, so can be other types of mandolins. I once read a beginner´s enquiry about preferable mandolin types here in our message board, and she mentioned a bowlback as one alternative. One member´s reply was memorable: "don´t even consider it, if you ever intend to play it in public".

It´s most fortunate there are many wonderful musicians playing their bowlback instruments in public, instead of bowing their heads in shame....

;-) Arto

[mrmando]

I thought Martinet was me as a kid ...

Loved the response, Rob. It's good at least to know that your instruments arouse the martinets' curiosity. I wouldn't pay too much attention to criticism from people who can't even spell "mandolin."

Took a call a while ago from a violinist in a local summer music festival. They were doing a concert version of "Don Giovanni" -- i.e., no costumes, just folks in tuxedos playing and singing. One of the arias has a mandolin part, and they were looking for a player. But they wouldn't hear of anything but a bowlback being played -- even though Seattle's top three classical mandolinists all play Gibsons. Violins have changed a lot since Mozart's time, as have pianos, clarinets, French horns and many other orchestral instruments -- but apparently mandolins have to stay as they were. The violinist ended up buying a cheap bowlback and playing the part himself.

[Arto]

Hmmh... sad to hear, but I know there are people in classical circles who feel that mandolin MUST be a bowlback. It´s as stupid as thinking there was nothing worth playing before Orville Gibson. I think I sometimes read Marilynn Mair telling how she was performing in England a long time ago and the great classical mandolinist Hugo d´Alton "defended her gallantly" against one critic who thought Ms Mair was not playing classical music at all, because the music was modern and she was playing a Lyon & Healy.

Arto

[thistle3585]

Rob,
From a marketing standpoint. You might put some soundclips on your website. That might give people a better idea as to the range of the instrument.

Andrew