I've got a lurker question. I bought a Fylde Octavius octave mandolin a little over a year ago from a Cafe member. I am very happy with it. In the last couple of weeks a Touchstone octave mandolin has shown up in the Gumtree classifieds in the UK. This seems to be a rare occurrence - and I expect will be even more rare once I return to the US next month. So I'm debating whether to pick it up and live with the grief from my family about another acquisition. I'm trying to situate this on a spectrum from "no brainer" through "no right or wrong choice" to "don't do it because the Touchstone is a different model but not significantly different." I'd be grateful for any insight.
I'd tend to say no right or wrong, because tone-wise they are quite similar, but the Touchstone will give you more punch volume-wise. So I'd take a Touchstone to a session, but not an Octavius.
A very belated thanks for the feedback, Bertram. I did wind up getting the Touchstone (it arrived just a couple days before we left, so cut the time window pretty tight). I agree with you that they are pretty close in tone. I slightly prefer the Touchstone, and find that I have less trouble getting some of the notes on the low G string to stay in tune. I showed both to a friend in Indianapolis (who is a much better mandolin player than I'll ever be). He agreed they are similar, and he slightly prefers the Octavius. We are situated enough with the move across the pond that I've got a picture of my 3 Fyldes (two octaves plus single malt). I will add once I can figure out the "post images" thing with the forum.
