Are you happy with your choice of instrument?

  1. Jandante
    Jandante
    I have had several stringed instruments, and finally have one I love, my octave mandolin.

    So far I have only been playing chords in public, along with guitarists, and also a group, but I my goal is to play tunes as well.

    What about you?
  2. fredy
    fredy
    I love mine it goes with my voice
  3. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    It is regularly my first choice when I go to pick up an instrument - ahead of mandolin and quite often ahead of guitar! Use it a lot in our band and for lead work and chordal stuff - mainly ceilidh/Scottish/Celtic. It's great for rendering pipe tunes too!
  4. derbex
    derbex
    I haven't had mine that long and it hasn't made it to first choice yet, I mostly play my mandolin. On a Monday I play my tenor banjo/mandolin in a session. Tuesday is the OM in an 'English' session, although I still feel it doen't really cut through enough. I did buy it to try and sing with -but I haven't tried that yet, the current project is to learm to finger pick 'Freight Train' on the OM.

    Coincidentally I listened to some of your youtube tracks yesterday John, I particularly liked Angus Grant's March. Good version of Atoll Highlanders too. You are in good company, YouTube followed you up with B.B. KIng
  5. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    Hey Debrex, thanks very much for your kind words. Interesting that you are trying to finger pick on the OM. I do too at times and the big thing is ensuring that I get both strings for each note. Great too to see B.B. King finally getting the recognition he deserves - always felt he should be playing more strathspeys and reels on Lucille!
  6. JH Murray
    JH Murray
    I am still very much a beginner. I sang yesterday at church and played the chords on my octave mandolin. First time for that. A few weeks ago I had sung for the same group and had played my mandolin. First time ever to sing and play in public. The octave suits my voice better. I am still learning what my Trinity College OM is capable of.
  7. Killian King
    Killian King
    Interesting question. The whole reason I play mandolin now was because I wanted to play OM (it was going to take a while for Phil Crump to build it, so I bought a mandolin to learn how to play an instrument tuned in 5ths).

    When I finally received the instrument, a Crump OMIIs, I found it a lot more difficult to play than I anticipated. The fret spacing and string tension are so different from mandolin. Since I've mostly focused on note playing on the mandolin, (plus some chop chords), the string spacing is all the worse since playing tunes is what I know at this point

    I think the Crump OM is an incredible instrument, all things considered, but the jury is still out on whether I am going to find myself embracing the OM as much as the mandolin. Part of the problem is wanting to play guitar, mandolin, OM and finding the time to spend on each one in order to do them all justice. Right now, the OM is definitely the odd man out.
  8. Pasha Alden
    Pasha Alden
    Am happy with my mandolin(s). However, the two things to make my collection perfect would be a lute and a mandola. Then I think I will be satisfied. Oh perhaps an oval hole A style? Other than that I am happy with my two instruments. Having said that, who knows what other stringed fancy may hold me captive in future? Though I must say here down South we are ruled by economics. <big smile>
  9. John Kelly
    John Kelly
    You are showing all the classic symptoms of the dreaded Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome (MAS), Pasha! Happy with your mandolins BUT there are other additions that would make the collection just that bit better! The thing is that you must learn not to fight this addiction but let it take its course.

    Happy collecting and playing.
  10. Shawn Collins
    Shawn Collins
    I bought a TC octave mando a few years ago off the classifieds here. I've been quite happy with it. The bigger size works well for my hands, as I can struggle to fit my fingers in the fret space on my mandolin. I also love the deeper tone (not surprisingly, my tenor and bass recorders are my favored instruments in that collection for the same reason). Through gradual onset of MAS after moving to the UK about a year ago, I recently became the proud owner of a Fylde Octavius mandola - also bought from someone else on Mandolin Cafe. I'm enjoying it greatly.
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