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Well, the week started out great! Been working more and more with the new MM, and really feeling comfortable with it.
New song-of-the-month in the Newbies section is Gold Rush, and for some reason, this one just clicked with me as one I wanted to put some hard work into. Don't know why it never dawned on me before that almost all the "hot" bluegrassy licks I hear come from these old fiddle tunes, but it really hit me with this one.Long weekend, decided to really pour it into this ...

Hello everyone I was wondering if someone had a tab for the song Old Man by Neil Young. This is my favorite song of all time and I wanted to learn to play it on my mando but I'm not that great at creating covers as I can't find a copy of it. Could anyone please help me! Let me know and thank you for you time!

No harm done in wondering how things could be improved in our little corner of the stringed instrument world. Here are three scenarios we'd like to see.

1) An abbreviated mandolin line from the C.F. Martin company.

No, it's not an April Fool's subject. Isn't it time for another U.S. based company to step up and be great, and what better choice than the legendary Martin? No need to engage in model sprawl (hint, hint, your guitars, Martin). Gibson? Sadly, limited to ...

This is where get dangerous,and my 60's heritage starts to show! I do tend to ramble, but Hey! It's my blog,right?
Was reading a post on the Cafe from a fellow who just enjoyed his first time jamming with other people, talking about how much fun he had. Made me start thinking about the fact that this is why I do this. Music is a force that must be shared to truly experience. You can sit in your basement and practice and play till your fingers bleed, and get really,really good.Until you take ...

So, you can probably guess what this is going to be about, based on the unique title of my post.....

After a long hard day of work, there is truly nothing better than sitting down to a little mandolin picking to calm a girl down. Sometimes, between the pre-needs and at-needs and all the demands that go into working a funeral and satisfying a family, I can get kind of overwhelmed.

I was having a particularly busy day this week. In one day I had a 9 am pre-need, followed ...

I feel like I've been into this whole Mandolin Madness thing long enough to put down a few thoughts. As much to look at objectively for myself as any other reason.Didn't know for sure I'd be this "into" it to start, that's why I got the cheap Rogue off ebay. after a decent setup, it isn't a bad player at all, enough to let me know I'm In. Now that I have my Morgan Monroe, I feel like I'm progressing a bit quicker, just due to the really comfortable neck, makes it easier to play.
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Hello! I am traveling and looking for a strong but lightweight travel case for my A-3/1913/0val hole.
Any suggestions?? Thanks.

Murphy has a new book out and there will be a release party at the Winchester Book Gallery. She will be there to sign books and there will be live music as well. Come out and pick up this wonderful book!
The event is Saturday June 8 at 3pm at the Winchester Book Gallery 185 N Loudoun St Winchester VA 22601.

I am looking for a good mandolin mic to use with my band. We are using 1 large diaphragm condenser mic made by Neumann for vocals, and the banjo player uses a sure small diaphragm. Should I go with a small diaphragm or just use an sm 57? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Its hard enough to describe to you musical folks, and almost impossible to talk about in mixed (musical and non musical) company.

You watch the postman put it in your mail box... It could be one of those boxes with the smile on it, or maybe just a rough looking well traveled brown paper package. You bring it in all shaky with anticipation, and because Christmas traditions do not limit themselves to December, you tear into that package like it contained the last donut.

And ...