View Full Version : F4 mando
Lane Pryce
Oct-19-2004, 9:05pm
Here is a question for you F4 players. Will they chop? #Lp
evanreilly
Oct-19-2004, 9:25pm
Absolutely! With the best of them!!
f5joe
Oct-20-2004, 11:34am
......... but a different tone than an F5, to my ear.
b.pat
Oct-20-2004, 11:39am
I've got one by Grady Jones that will bring down a tree.
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif B.Pat
Moose
Oct-20-2004, 11:58am
Hey!.. b.pat.. - your comment reminds me of some remarks someone told me years ago.. "...ya' know, that Bob Osborne can sing tenor to a dog whistle" - Another on Bobby.. : "...he talks in the key of 'B'." - To add to your F4 comment...; How about that Jimmy Martin Gibson F4!! - Used on MANY of his "hits" - I saw him years ago, and he held up THAT mandolin and said(as only Jimmy can!) "..this here's the Jimmy Martin F4. It's on most of my records." - Sorry to digress.. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif
Spruce
Oct-20-2004, 12:10pm
You're not digressing, Moose, you're making the point...
A good chunk of bluegrass history featured the F4 chop, which I happen to love...
It's like the LA snare sound (fat and tubby like the F4) compared to an 80's modern snare sound (F5) that is snappy and crisp...
At least once during every festival I like to go out and wang on a '14 Blackface F4, and it (not the player!) always gets nods of approval for it's "unique" bluegrass sound, even though it's an F4 you're hearing on a lot of the old Stanley Brothers and Jimmy Martin recordings...
I'd love to hear a modern player bring the F4 back to the forefront in a prominanat band...
It'll happen someday.....
Jim M.
Oct-20-2004, 12:20pm
Eric Thompson, who picked bluegrass with Garcia, Grisman, et al, in the early '60s, uses an F4 with Bluegrass Intentions, a SF Bay Area band. He rocks! Not as prominent as he should be, Eric is a really great picker (won at Galax and other contests, I believe), and I've heard he's a great teacher too. I hope to free up some time and take some lessons with him some day.
Thanks Jim. I was going to mention Eric in this thread as well. I've seen Bluegrass Intentions several times and Eric's chop is right there. It is not an F5 chop - Spruce you nailed the description - but Bill Evans' banjo can't cover it up.
Wayne
Spruce
Jan-09-2005, 4:53pm
"I'd love to hear a modern player bring the F4 back to the forefront in a prominanat band...
It'll happen someday..... "
Well, that didn't take long...
Saw Mike Compton last night with the NBB, and he smoked on a Gilchrist F4 for the whole set....
Chopped great...
Sounded great in the mix...
Nice to hear that F4 tone in a band context....
Jim M.
Jan-10-2005, 10:16am
I have a 1918 F2 that has a great chop. Took it to a classical session yesterday, and it fit right in there too.
No chopping allowed, though. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
What strings are you guys using on your old Gibson F4's to get the best chop? I've got a 1918 F4. Beautiful tone, but not the best chop.
Jim M.
Jan-11-2005, 10:04am
That's a pretty one. Actually, I think the F4 style is really the ultimate mando aesthetically. J74's work for me. I haven't tried any others yet.
Spruce
Jan-11-2005, 3:30pm
I've never used Thomastics, and someone recently sent me a set....
Would it be a good match for an F4?
That's a pretty one. Actually, I think the F4 style is really the ultimate mando aesthetically.
Me too.