Johnson

[Cajun]

all i can afford cuz i have 6 kids and 2 grandchildren 3 dogs 2 cats and hardly ever get to work lol but i like it :)75102

[Crabgrass]

Welcome Cajun. Times are tough for sure. I'm in the same position....couldn't really afford the pricey ones.

You can have a lot of fun with a cheap mando, but try to get it "set up" by a local shop. It should only cost around $25-35 and will make your mando sound and play much better.

[Paul Busman]

Welcome. Nothing to be ashamed of there. A good setup as suggested and good strings and you'll be able to make fine music with it. I often wonder how many people out there have killer expensive instruments and can't play them worth a darn, and how many people can really make a well set up cheapie sing.

[F-2 Dave]

Good looking mandolin there Cajun. Hope you enjoy it. Welcome to the Cafe.

[McBenet]

Welcome. Nothing to be ashamed of there. A good setup as suggested and good strings and you'll be able to make fine music with it. I often wonder how many people out there have killer expensive instruments and can't play them worth a darn, and how many people can really make a well set up cheapie sing.

I have a F9 that I can't play very well. I also have an old Kay and for some odd reason, can't play that very well either. :disbelief:

Barry

[chipotle]

That is just like the first one I bought, from ebay. When I took my first instruction, the man I took lessons from set it up and played it like I couldn't believe. I still aspire to play like him and he let me know that was a good place to start.

[JEStanek]

Welcome, Cajun and that Johnson'll do just fine. Have fun, that's the point. And the advice about having a good set up (adjust nut, bridge, check everything out) is a good idea if you've not had it done yet.

Jamie

[stevenmando]

Aint no shame in having a cheap instrument its the sound that counts some just have that sweet voice that you just want to hear and when you pluck those strings and a bit of heaven comes out thats is what counts.

[epicentre]

My first mandolin was a Johnston, and it sounded not too shabby. After a couple of years the neck got some severe "relief", and side warp. No truss rod.

It was followed by an Epiphone, which also sounded good. If the Johnson hadn't destructed, I'd probably still be playing it...(after a fashion) Sold the Eppy, and regretted it............for a while.

My choices are still driven by poverty. What the heck.

[CES]

Paul, count me in the "no talent" category, though I don't have an "expensive" mandolin yet...it is fun to make noise, though!

If you wanna see someone who can play make a Johnson sing, check out Sierra Hull on youtube. There are some clips up when she was maybe 12 (can't remember, been a while since I saw them). Dad's on mando, someone off camera on bass, and she's flat out ripping up a Johnson dreadnaught in their basement...

Good quality instruments are a luxury, and I believe they do make learning and playing more enjoyable, but they're sure not a necessity...if you can play, you can play, regardless of the tool. So, OP, enjoy the heck outta that thing!!

:mandosmiley:

[Cajun]

haha got my mine from e-bay as well gosh maybe 5 years ago.

[scootergirl62]

Congrats and Welcome! I think you'll do fine - there is a lot to be said for how you play.....not what you play! Enjoy and have fun!

[rico mando]

Music comes from the heart not the instrument .

[JeffD]

You can have excellent fun with that instrument from now till the end of time.

I have the feeling that when ever we can afford some music, even a tiny amount, we are rich.

[Jeff Oxley]

+1 on the Johnson, Cajun. My first mando as well, still have it though it's no longer playable: it was a casualty of WVA's upper Gauley river when the raft it was riding in flipped at Pillow Rock, and the dry bag it was in (stowed at the very top of the raft, which when inverted became to LOWEST point in the raft) got dragged over Volkswagon Rock just below, puncturing it. Curiously though, the guitar that the Johnson was sharing the dry bag with at the time came through with no ill effects, after carefully drying it out that evening when we set up camp somewhere along the middle G. Wish I could say the same for the Johnson, I tried to reattach the neck to the body with a lag bolt, but alas it was never the same. True story, I have witnesses!