OK, just 4 weeks now until my Fylde Walnut Touchstone mandolin arrives. It's the same model as in the group photos. I'm not worthy, but it will be my 40th birthday and a great present! So which new plans shall I have along with my new instrument? Practise every day? Play faster? Play in public more often? Practise singing while playing? I'm curious to see whether or how the new mandolin will change my playing.
Less than two weeks now! I was lucky enough to get some playing in this weekend. I'm looking forward all the more to having my new instrument to play.
A few days to go ... I have the mandolin at home now, and it's safe in its case until I get my hands on it on Saturday. What a beautiful instrument!
I can't remember having seen a video with it yet - ?
You're right! Getting used to the new mandolin, looking after a 6-month-old baby and coping with term-time work have conspired against a good-quality video so far. But, since Wednesday, I do have a little Christmas ditty recorded on my mobile phone:
Ahaa! There it is, and all that telltale mellow sound says where it came from
I'll have to do a comparison video or something ... I like the sound of the Fylde Walnut, but it's difficult to know the differences from sitting behind it. In terms of playability, I'm still getting used to the sightly longer scale and the fretting with the little finger was already better on the old mandolin. The action is very slightly lower, which is nice. The zero fret really helps with those B flats and F naturals. And I'm beginning to explore the more subtle differences that I don't even have the vocabulary to explain properly. Upstrokes just sound and feel better, for example. Unfortunately the next Oisin Kelly session seems to be just after my return journey to England, otherwise I'd have turned up with it.
Today I recorded a video with both of my mandolins in it: The Fylde takes the first verse, the Vintage the second.
The difference is clearly audible, especially in the lower registers. The Fylde is just more "present", of a bolder character. It would be good if you turned up at Oisin Kelly's some day, because since the American league has ceased to come, it's Irish only, and there's just Benjamin (flute, whistle) and me most of the time, joined by Gila (a singer) occasionally. Oró, sé do bheatha abhaile!
Unfortunately it will be another near miss next month. We'll have to leave on 2 April to meet work commitments. So what happened to the guitarists, songwriters and sea shanty singers? I could hear a difference, but couldn't decide how to describe it. It will also be interesting to see how it develops over the next few months.
Some of them get bored, some get old or sick or both, some follow other pursuits.
