Jacobson mandolin videos

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  1. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Here's the first, which I also posted on the main forum, but I thought I should have it here too for posterity. I'm playing #21, and Marty has #16, the oval hole with Thomastiks. Both of these mandolins sound beautiful in person, and are a joy to play.

  2. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Thanks for posting, David! Looking forward to see what else you come up with.
  3. Pete Jenner
    Pete Jenner
    You guys are great players and the mandos sound fantastic. I've got a lot of practising to do before we meet in November.
  4. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Well, get to it Pete. Maybe when you do I'll bring a bass player and a guitarist along too, if I can persuade them.
  5. Stephen Porter
    Stephen Porter
    Thanks for posting this. Both instruments sound great.
  6. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Here's another one, this time, just me playing Jerusalem Ridge on 5 of Marty's mandos, and an extra run-through at the end on my old Eastman 515 as a comparison.

  7. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Here's #20 by itself...
  8. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Super job, Marty, that mandolin really has some great things going on. Here's my studio recording with #21:

  9. Steve-o
    Steve-o
    David,
    Hey, thanks for all the sound clips. I especially liked how you spliced together the Jerusalem Ridge comparisons. The Jacobsons are sounding very pleasing.
    Steve
  10. Stephen Porter
    Stephen Porter
    Here's another one, this time, just me playing Jerusalem Ridge on 5 of Marty's mandos, and an extra run-through at the end on my old Eastman 515 as a comparison.


    Am I missing the 5th mandolin? I keep seeing 4 + the Eastman. I'm starting to get confused now--they all sound excellent, each in their own way. The 2nd instrument--#16, right?--has it's own distinct sound to me. It sounds super well-balanced from bass to treble and has a very clear, ringing tone--nice!

    The others sound more like each other, with individual characteristics of course. All of the others have a hint of "thunkiness" (???!!!) in the bass, some more than others--which I like. Marty's recording of "Mill Valley Waltz" on # 20 is great; as is David's studio recording of #21--that's a super one.

    At first I was surprised at the Eastman--I thought I kind of liked it, but after afew listenings, it sounds kind of "dead" compared to all of the Jacobsens. Maybe it's a bit louder and has more of a bluegrass-ey sound, but the tone seems a little flat--not nearly as rich as the J's.

    I'm really getting confused now If someone said "Take your pick--NOW!" I'd be hard pressed to choose. Probably #'s 16, 20, and 21, would be the first cut, but I'm not even certain about that--gotta listen more.

    The Silverangel is a completely different kind of instrument and in David's hands it sounds great, but WAY different! If I could only have one, I think a Jacobsen would win my heart at this point!

    Thanks for putting these vids out. If these are only the first 21 MJ's, I can see some AWESOME stuff down the line.

    STP
  11. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Stephen, I think you nailed it on the Eastman. I played it for a second... and my response was, "Well.. It's a mandolin!"

    It's not a bad mandolin. Surprisingly pleasant to play, actually. But it definitely is lean sounding, and although I only got to play it for a second, I'd say it is harder to push the tone in different directions. It's a pretty consistent tonal palette, whereas a better instrument will give you more room to zing in a bit of clamor, and respond better to picking way up the fretboard to warm things up.

    I think you're right... #18 isn't in that video. I had noticed it but I wasn't going to fault David, since he did all the work. :-)

    #16 is a really cool instrument. In the next batch, I'm going to do a redwood topped, Nouveau-hole, parallel braced, voiced for TI's mandolin. Basically, imagine the demon love child of #16 and #18. I think that might be the one you're waiting for (minus the demon part).
  12. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Forgot about this one...
  13. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    That's a fantastic one Marty. I realized when someone commented they liked the fourth one and I went to look and - where's #18? Oh well, here's the bonus track that didn't make the director's cut:

  14. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    Nice videos, guys, and some very nice picking! Fantastic idea to segue from one to the next thru the same song. Really shows off each one's distinct differences. I swear I love those two Nouveau F hole models. Good, rich tone, and they just seem to pack a bit more punch to me. David, really appreciate your work with Marty to get these vids out. Anything in the box on #19?
  15. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks Mike, it was all Marty's idea, he's a smart fellow. Stephen, I'm sure it'll be worth waiting for that demon love child if you can bear to.
  16. Pete Jenner
    Pete Jenner
    I've got an Eastman and I don't like it at all. The G string sounds great but only because the soundhole is so small. The other strings are timid at best and tinny and baffled at worst. They are overbuilt IMO.
  17. Stephen Porter
    Stephen Porter
    I've been recovering from a MAS anxiety attack and also just discovered that apparently I'm not getting notified of new posts to the group. I may have subscribed to "weekly" instead of "daily" updates. (I wish the social groups were organized more like the forums.)

    At any rate, I was very pleasantly surprised when I checked in today and found more vids!

    Marty: that Bach prelude shows off the instruments magnificently! Thanks for posting it. I am knocked out by #18...(I think it's #18--the highly figured top with Nouveau F's. Any way to identify instruments in future vids?). #16 sounds great too, but for the first time, I noticed a little fall off as far as volume and maybe even complexity? Very nice playing also--what a beautiful piece of music!

    David wrote: Stephen, I'm sure it'll be worth waiting for that demon love child if you can bear to.

    I'll do my best. The more I hear the more I like!

    BTW, these videos are a great service to potential buyers. Something lacking at most makers' sites.

    This is a bit off topic, but after hearing the Bach, I had to post this video of Jens Kruger, one of my favorite banjoists, playing the same piece:



    I think it sounds better on the mandolin, but there can't be too much Bach, right?
  18. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    Baby Got Bach!
  19. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Stephen... most of those videos have the instruments identified in the YouTube description. Let me know if you need me to identify them for you, and I can add that to the description or comments.

    #16 tends to be unimpressive on direct comparison, but if you sit down with it and get to know it, there's a lot to like. It needs a bigger air chamber, as the bass end is pretty weak on this incarnation, but I'll fix that with the next iteration. It is noticeably less loud than the other mandolins, but not as lacking in volume as I thought it might be. Maybe 10% less volume, if I were to "subjectively quantify" it. I know that's almost completely meaningless to say.. what I mean is, it's less loud, but it's not half as loud.. just a little less loud.
    I think the complexity it's lacking in the bass end is also due to the too-small air chamber.

    So yeah.. any other as-yet-unsold instruments you want me to tear apart in public? :-)

    Jens Kruger is pretty cool, thanks for posting.
  20. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Well, I have heard and played that #16 and not only is it a beautiful-sounding instrument, well balanced and with a rich and complex tone, it is also a great joy to play, so I can personally assure anyone who owned it that they would have many thousands of happy hours on it, though you might not blast out the guys at the local bluegrass jam with it - that's not what it was designed for. And no, Marty hasn't paid me anything to say that, sadly. It certainly beats the heck out of any comparably priced instrument I've ever played.

    Plus if it's anything like #21 is turning out to be, it may still have a lot more to give.
  21. Stephen Porter
    Stephen Porter
    Marty wrote: #16 tends to be unimpressive on direct comparison, but if you sit down with it and get to know it, there's a lot to like. It needs a bigger air chamber, as the bass end is pretty weak on this incarnation, but I'll fix that with the next iteration. It is noticeably less loud than the other mandolins, but not as lacking in volume as I thought it might be. Maybe 10% less volume, if I were to "subjectively quantify" it. I know that's almost completely meaningless to say.. what I mean is, it's less loud, but it's not half as loud.. just a little less loud.
    I think the complexity it's lacking in the bass end is also due to the too-small air chamber.

    So yeah.. any other as-yet-unsold instruments you want me to tear apart in public? :-)

    Ooops.. (withdrawing my foot from my mouth). I certainly didn't mean any disparagement of #16, let alone saying that it was "unimpressive." See my previous remarks about how much I like it and would be very happy to have it! I just meant that in listening to that video I picked up on what you meant when you said it was slightly less loud.

    David's post is also 100% right on. #16 is a gorgeous-sounding mandolin, and he and I have discussed the fact that it's great setup and superior playability might make it an ideal instrument for me.

    Please forgive me if I even implied anything negative about #16!

    STP
  22. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    The thing about Marty's instruments, is, with his choice of woods and finishes, they are VERY conducive to "opening up" as they go. I think he purposefully makes choices to help this along. Gorgeous finishes, you can tell the work he puts into them, but nothing heavy or overdone. Keep in mind, all these videos are mandos that are very newly finished. Imagine what they'll sound like as they age just a bit!
  23. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    No harm, no foul, Stephen... you didn't say anything negative, I was just rambling about where I'd like to take that style of instrument in the future.
  24. Tom Haywood
    Tom Haywood
    I don't know if any of the video or audio is good enough to post, but we had a little jam session the other night at Marty's to test his mandolins with a variety of loud instruments. We had several of Marty's mandolins, including #21 which I like almost as much as David does. Marty played a couple of his, his violin, and my #2 F model which is known to be loud. David played all of Marty's mandolins that were on hand, and he played my #1 but I don't think it was recorded. Monica played her low D flute/whistle and my Greek bouzouki. I played an HD 28 guitar and the Greek bouzouki, both of which are very loud. We did several fiddle tunes, an old Irish and an old English tune, and a couple of Old Time songs to add some singing. The room itself is loud. Recording was done on a video recorder with two good mics set up about 4 feet from the instruments. To my ear Marty's mandolins performed extremely well in this setting with these styles of music. The fill licks that David played during the singing were plenty loud and distinct. His breaks, including the nice slides and ornaments he does were generally easy to hear without backing off of the rhythm and without him having to drive hard. There was one mandolin, I don't remember the number, that had a wonderful tone but didn't appear to have enough volume. We had just discussed how the microphone likes some mandolins better than others. When that recording was played back, surprisingly that mandolin dominated the recording very nicely. The mic loved it. We did not have a bass, a banjo, nor did we attempt to play any bluegrass songs. We did manage to create some feedback and some overdrive on one of the recordings. Probably should have tried some Jimi Hendrix. What stood out the most to me was when Marty switched from my mandolin to one of his to play backup chords for David. The two mandolins blended very well in smooth tone and volume and worked better in that setting than my F model.
  25. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    Sounds nice, Tom. I'd love to hear some of that, to see how Marty's instruments sound off in a group situation.Or maybe just wait til the next get-together!
  26. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    I think there's some video coming. I have some quite nice audio I got from my Tascam which I sent to Marty. It was a lot of fun - Tom kept coming up with great tunes to play, and all I had to do was sit there and play as many of Marty's mandolins as I could get my hands on. Not the worst job in the world. Thanks guys.
  27. MonicaJacobson
    MonicaJacobson
    Thanks for letting me play along a bit as well. It was my first time playing with other people, and it was way more fun than I thought it would be! I enjoyed trying out Tom's bouzouki. Tom's singing style is awesome, and David's Star of the County down has come a LONG way since that first recording he posted a while back. And I thought it was good then!
  28. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks Monica, it was great to see you there, and I really enjoyed your flute - gotta get me one of those.

    Here's a new video, just me on #21 this time, doing the Gary Harrison tune "Red Prairie Dawn":

  29. Pete Jenner
    Pete Jenner
    Very nice David. Keep the videos coming - I find them a great learning tool - not that I can play any of the tunes yet.
  30. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    David, you're just having a BALL with that #21 beauty, aren't you? Good for you,man. I enjoy listening to your playing on these vids. You have a knack for bringing out the musicality in Marty's mandos. (and ya don't sound bad on that SA, either!)
  31. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks Pete and Mike - there's also a video of me playing this on the Silverangel. Both great sounding mandos, but each with a very different sound and aesthetic. Here's a link to better quality audio (and you can also download the track) on Soundcloud:

    https://soundcloud.com/oldsausage/red-prairie-dawn
  32. Pete Jenner
    Pete Jenner
    Trying to learn nine pound hammer atm if you feel like doing one on the Jacobson.
  33. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    What key are you doing it in, Pete?
  34. Pete Jenner
    Pete Jenner
    A - as in the tonedr video on youtube but I'm also about to learn the Mike Marshall version in G.
  35. Tom Haywood
    Tom Haywood
    Monica, thanks for joining in. Your playing was beautiful and added a lot to both the musical experience and the instrument testing. The flute was stunning, and I was amazed how quickly you had the 'zouk happening. Thanks for letting me listen to it - that was the first time to play it with other instruments. I hope we can do it again before long.
  36. Stephen Porter
    Stephen Porter
    OldSausage wrote: Here's a new video, just me on #21 this time, doing the Gary Harrison tune "Red Prairie Dawn"

    #21 sounds fantastic... I listened to this and the same tune on the Silverangel and if I could have only one, I'd have to go with #21. Lucky dog, you have one of each

    STP
  37. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    So Stephen, does this mean your goals for the STP Special are any different from what we discussed? If so, send me an email.
  38. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Here's #17 finished:

  39. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    That's a nice bit of Grandfather's clock, and some really great sounds coming from #17 there.
  40. dusty miller
    dusty miller
    I was wondering what song that was, didn't want to ask.
  41. dusty miller
    dusty miller
    That awesome bright, clean mandolin sound.Now I know why people upgrade to microphones and recording equipment. Using just webcam to post videos doesn't capture that mandolin sound very well, my playing and mandolins have alittle to do with that but......sounds great Marty. Looking forward to hearing what the deeper body on the #24 will sound like.Have you made mandolins with a deeper body before? I know you explained previously what it should sound like......Kris
  42. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Kris, you can get a decent recording setup for not too much money. Your playing warrants it, and I think hearing yourself better will speed up your development as a player still further. Those are Sterling ST31 mics I got for $40 each. Cables are another $12 or so each, stands another $10 or so. Preamp is a Presonus Bluetube, but the Audiobox USB works great for going straight into the computer. Either one of those interfaces is $70 each. Those prices are all from the Guitar Center Used Gear site. Everything came in as-new condition. I think I have under $300 in the whole setup, including software.

    #17mkII has the deeper body. Still not as much air volume as a vintage Gibson A model. But the difference between a very similar mandolin and #17mkII is that there's a little more bass and more overall complexity. I don't know how to describe it too well, but it's like adding a touch of reverb to the recording. It's just more resonant and complex. If the body gets too much bigger, it ends up being "tubby", which is not a bad thing in my opinion, but it does tend to limit your options, as it exchanges projection and cleanliness of tone (i.e. note separation) for huge bass.
    I think I nailed what I was going for on #18 -- complexity, acoustic projection, balance, and clarity. #24, and really this whole batch, I will be working toward enhancing the depth of the tone and coaxing a little more bass presence without it getting muddy.
  43. dusty miller
    dusty miller
    Marty, Ya know I go to your website a lot so I should have re-checked the specs on your mandolins to see that of ofcourse there are some other deeper body mandolins, so sorry for the dumb question. Thanks for the recording info, something i should definitely look into and I'll try to keep my dumb questions to a minimum.....Kris
  44. Marty Jacobson
    Marty Jacobson
    Heh, no problem, Kris.
    I'll have some cool stuff on the summer batch posted early next week.... I'll start a "summer batch in progress" thread.
  45. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    Keep the updates. coming on that new contrption you're restoring, too. That' s an interesting project!
  46. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Here's #21 in action at the Red Light in Atlanta with Sweetwater Creek on May 30th this year. Marty was kind enough to come along and get some video for us.

  47. dusty miller
    dusty miller
    You guys Sound Great! Jacobson sounds great, I liked your basement recording as well. I bet you have been playing the heck out of the new mandolin it has an awesome sound.
  48. OldSausage
    OldSausage
    Thanks, Kris, I was just learning my way around the new mando that night, but it sure was a lot of fun exploring what it could do.
  49. dusty miller
    dusty miller
    Fun way to find out playing live
  50. Michael Bridges
    Michael Bridges
    "That was some mighty fine apickin' and asingin""! Sounded great David. #21 cuts right thru and sounds beautiful. You guys got some talent!
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