Perseverance
Aug-26-2012, 8:58pm
Hi,
I'm new to mandolin, new to music and new to this forum (but I admit that I've been reading and learning from it for about six months). Although I had never played an instrument in my life, I got bit by the mandolin bug pretty hard in late 2011. As I am not exactly a spring chicken, the learning process has been slow but I am enjoying it and I'm keeping at it. My teenage daughter, who started playing cello and bass in elementary school, now tells me I sound slightly better than the fourth graders she helps out in the local elementary orchestra.
My very short, intense mandolin journey started with an ultra cheap import mandolin that I won in a raffle. Then I quickly decided to move up when I saw a good deal on a used Eastman 504. While I love the oval hole sound, I also wanted to try a classic f-hole and, based on what I had been reading here, kept my eyes open for a Stradolin. I had just ordered one from someone here on the Cafe when I visited a music store in Baker City, Oregon. There I found something special, an oval-hole built by a local luthier in 1972.
His name was Thomas Benjamin Haynes and he was apparently something of a local musical legend. His niece owns the music store and told me a little of the mandolin's history. When she was a child she went out with him as he cut down the trees that would later become this and many other instruments. The top is spruce and the back and sides are black walnut. This was one of his first instruments. He went on to build other mandolins and also guitars, but became best known for his violins. Some pictures of his shop and his work can be seen at a University of Oregon local history website -- http://boundless.uoregon.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/folklore&CISOBOX1=Haynes%2C+Thomas+B.%2C+1905-
I spent about two hours playing around with this in the store, and kept comparing it to my Eastman. The sound just blew me away. I felt like Harry Potter when he found the right wand. It is remarkably rich and resonant, with unbelievable volume for something this size. Although the neck is quite thick, it fits my hands well and feels very comfortable (I have large hands for a woman). My husband (to whom I had just confessed about the Stradolin that was even then on its way to our house) sighed and said that I could go ahead and get it, although he'd rather not have an entire herd of mandolins in the house. So after playing with and listening to all three instruments (the Haynes, the Stradolin and the Eastman) I decided that while I love the tone of the Eastman, overall I prefer a vintage sound. The Eastman is now for sale in the Classifieds.
While I've never seen an early century Gibson A, from the pictures and from what I've read I suspect that Mr. Haynes copied one when he built this mandolin. The dimensions and shape all seem very similar and I suspect that this has the kind of tone I've read about for the Gibson A's. For some reason, Mr. Haynes used guitar tuners rather than mandolin tuners. Maybe that was all he had available at the time. They are good quality Schaller tuners, so I'm not going to worry about changing them. They just add to the unique nature of the mandolin. If anyone else knows about Mr. Haynes and his work, I'd very much like to hear it.
I do have a few questions for the group. Even though I'm a newbie, it does seem to me as though the action is high. What is the best way to get this lowered? I've included a picture of the bridge, which looks like a classic Gibson bridge. Are these hard to modify? Also, I'd like to put lighter strings on it, to moderate the volume a little and also make it easier on my newbie fingers. I don't know what's on it now, but they seem pretty heavy. Any suggestions for the strings?
Thanks for all your help (even when you didn't know you were giving it to me). I've really appreciated having a place to come and learn about mandolins. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more, and maybe meeting some of you when I get up the nerve to start playing outside of the house.
Jac Davies
I'm new to mandolin, new to music and new to this forum (but I admit that I've been reading and learning from it for about six months). Although I had never played an instrument in my life, I got bit by the mandolin bug pretty hard in late 2011. As I am not exactly a spring chicken, the learning process has been slow but I am enjoying it and I'm keeping at it. My teenage daughter, who started playing cello and bass in elementary school, now tells me I sound slightly better than the fourth graders she helps out in the local elementary orchestra.
My very short, intense mandolin journey started with an ultra cheap import mandolin that I won in a raffle. Then I quickly decided to move up when I saw a good deal on a used Eastman 504. While I love the oval hole sound, I also wanted to try a classic f-hole and, based on what I had been reading here, kept my eyes open for a Stradolin. I had just ordered one from someone here on the Cafe when I visited a music store in Baker City, Oregon. There I found something special, an oval-hole built by a local luthier in 1972.
His name was Thomas Benjamin Haynes and he was apparently something of a local musical legend. His niece owns the music store and told me a little of the mandolin's history. When she was a child she went out with him as he cut down the trees that would later become this and many other instruments. The top is spruce and the back and sides are black walnut. This was one of his first instruments. He went on to build other mandolins and also guitars, but became best known for his violins. Some pictures of his shop and his work can be seen at a University of Oregon local history website -- http://boundless.uoregon.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOROOT=/folklore&CISOBOX1=Haynes%2C+Thomas+B.%2C+1905-
I spent about two hours playing around with this in the store, and kept comparing it to my Eastman. The sound just blew me away. I felt like Harry Potter when he found the right wand. It is remarkably rich and resonant, with unbelievable volume for something this size. Although the neck is quite thick, it fits my hands well and feels very comfortable (I have large hands for a woman). My husband (to whom I had just confessed about the Stradolin that was even then on its way to our house) sighed and said that I could go ahead and get it, although he'd rather not have an entire herd of mandolins in the house. So after playing with and listening to all three instruments (the Haynes, the Stradolin and the Eastman) I decided that while I love the tone of the Eastman, overall I prefer a vintage sound. The Eastman is now for sale in the Classifieds.
While I've never seen an early century Gibson A, from the pictures and from what I've read I suspect that Mr. Haynes copied one when he built this mandolin. The dimensions and shape all seem very similar and I suspect that this has the kind of tone I've read about for the Gibson A's. For some reason, Mr. Haynes used guitar tuners rather than mandolin tuners. Maybe that was all he had available at the time. They are good quality Schaller tuners, so I'm not going to worry about changing them. They just add to the unique nature of the mandolin. If anyone else knows about Mr. Haynes and his work, I'd very much like to hear it.
I do have a few questions for the group. Even though I'm a newbie, it does seem to me as though the action is high. What is the best way to get this lowered? I've included a picture of the bridge, which looks like a classic Gibson bridge. Are these hard to modify? Also, I'd like to put lighter strings on it, to moderate the volume a little and also make it easier on my newbie fingers. I don't know what's on it now, but they seem pretty heavy. Any suggestions for the strings?
Thanks for all your help (even when you didn't know you were giving it to me). I've really appreciated having a place to come and learn about mandolins. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more, and maybe meeting some of you when I get up the nerve to start playing outside of the house.
Jac Davies