Dead-ish strings and not flawlessly played; quick demo of Gretsch G9350 - just in case anyone has been thinking of getting in to a decent beginner/intermediate oval hole mandolin that won't break the bank. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNRj-fDIbFk
Mike, I really like your playing I've been thinking oval for a long time now, and when the time is right, I'll get one. I've also been looking at and intersted in cheapies. Seriously considered a Michael Kelly last year, but time wasn't right.
Mike, thanks for the demo. I love that oval sound also. I have an Eastman 404. The sound is very similar, perhaps a bit more pop however, less chime (bell) like tone. Of course, that could be my pickin style.
I am often accused of being a contrarian and I do label myself as a capital-S Skeptic when it comes to "conventional wisdom". That having been said ... I have several nice mandolins. I am embarrassed to catalog them because most, if not all, are much nicer than my skill level. I do favor Weber and Collings. Some oval holers and some f holers. I love them all. There is a wide range of 'sounds'. I play them all regularly and often do A-B comparisons among them searching for 'the one' for a particular tune. I have to say that I have been unable to define an 'oval hole sound' as it might apply to my mandolins. Maybe I have some exceptions-to-rules mandolins. Maybe I need to sample a wider range of makes and models. But I will say that with my old standby EJ74 strings, my Collings MTO is way brighter that I expected for an oval hole and my Weber Vintage F is way darker. I use different strings on these two to shift the sound to something I like better. And I have a very dark sounding f-holer that I brighten up with different strings. What's my point here? I guess it is to reiterate the commonly voiced advice "try before you buy" and to add "buy a set of your favorite strings and install them before you try before you buy".
Not helpful, Mike and Mark—I'm trying to stave off the MAS bug, specifically in regards to an oval hole, and you two are just stirring the pot! Henry, interesting to hear your perspective on the subject. By any chance, do you have matching oval hole and F hole instruments? An MT and an MTO, for example? Do you find your ovals do have longer sustain?
Louise, no I don’t and not that I have noticed, but my hearing is less than perfect. So, could be, but if so not a big difference.
Louise, I played briefly a couple of similar Eastmans, a 504 and and a 515 in my recent search and I played the F-hole just to validate that I preferred oval holes. Not a direct comparison as it's A/Oval vs. F/F but it was what they had in stock. Both were great sounding instruments so the comparisons are relative rather than absolute. To me the F hole emphasised the treble more whereas the Oval hole had a more balanced sound with perhaps more sustain but I wasn't specifically looking for sustain so can't be 100% certain. Probably not helpful but the best test wold be for you to find a dealer and play some examples side by side
Sorry Louise - I meant no harm . . . and you probably don't want to watch this quick demo of a Kentucky KM-272 either! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeBMkN5YcC8
Brat.
Thanks Mike. Your oval hole seemed to have more sustain to my (very untrainted!) ear.
Louise better not read my message also. My 404 has sustain for days. One of the reasons why I love it. Also I like the tubby sound. As I mentioned before it does have a fair amount of pop to the notes also. I have a Eastman 305 also, however have not done a direct comparison for quite a while. The 305 lives at my sisters house in Cali now. Also the 404 has the neck join the body at the 10th fret vs 12th fret like most modern mandolins. Plus, if I remember correctly, the 404 is made from different species of wood. Overall I find it to be a significantly different sound from my other mandolins. Great for much of the Old Time Music and folk/rock ballads that I enjoy. As Onechord noted, ovals have a more balanced sound with 'f' emphasizing the treble. Perhaps this is generally true, yet I found a Pava in California that sounded better than any other mandolin till I got north of 5k. She's a blonde so was named Marilyn and is my primary axe with the 404 (Cleopatra) #2.
Oh, you guys. Mike, the Kentucky 272 looks interesting—longer neck, but still mounted on the body. Meeting at the 14th fret would make it easier to reach the high stuff. Nice sound, and I love the look, reminiscent of the old Lyon & Healy or Martin instruments. People that have played them seem to be very impressed. Yours has a nice, full sound. Trav'lin, if you have a Pava yet still love the 404, that says a lot for the Eastman. OneChord, what did you end up choosing? Reverb has had a number of old L & Hs recently. Lovely, but awfully expensive. Girouard is making a gorgeous symmetrical two-point oval, again going for the L & H look, as are a couple of other builders. Unfortunately, price is an object.
Louise I ended up with the Paul Hathway, an English builder, that’s pictured in my profile.
As long as I'm at it . . . here is one more very inexpensive oval hole demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgoG-zyWU-A
Well, gentlemen, congratulate yourselves. A KM272 with my name on it left Phoenix today, should be here Thursday.
You won't be sorry, Louise, congrats on the new addition to the herd!!
You gave Mark and I a hard time in post #5 . . . but when the Kentucky arrives, you'll be saying 'Thank you'. You're welcome.
Sweet!
It seemed like the thing to do. I just can't justify the $$$ it would take to get into something like the Girouard or old Lyons & Healy, and I would be up the proverbial creek without a paddle if I had problems with an antique instrument. No one here seems to know much about mandolins in general. After hearing Mike's recording, and the one by Jimmy Gaudreau, the Kentuckys have a lovely sound. We'll see.
I think the Kentucky ones are fine. I would really love to own a Vega cylinder back if I had an antique instrument. And if I had a few thousand for a modern instrument, I'd try the MTO first. My gut says that if I get an oval hole, it'll probably be the Kentucky or the Michael Kelly. Excited for you to have a NMD coming soon!
I want that tubby old gibson sound. I think maybe an A-3 whiteface someday
Hey Kevin! Check the classifieds: https://www.mandolincafe.com/ads/124033#124033
Yep, Going oval hole. Had a chance to spend a minute or two at TMS yesterday. A used Eastman 514 followed me back out to my truck. So now I have 2 oval and 2 f hole styles riding around the country with me. (And a Godin A8 solid body electric) How does she sound ? Where my 404 is dark and woody sounding the 514 is more crisp and bright. Not quite as much sustain and pop. Using a Wegen M150 pick with some success. I usually prefer a more pointed tip on my picks. I need more hours in the day to play AND a bigger truck.
Larry, I'm happy for you and envious as well. What a wonderful collection you've got going there. Toasting you: Here's to more hours in the day, a bigger truck and many years of enjoyment with these fine instruments.
Mark, thank you. I am blessed to be able to play mandolin (however poorly) and spend time here with all of you. And the disposable income to afford multiple instruments.
fortunately for my marital status I didn't see Louise's post until the ad was gone
I thought my MAS was bad, but I really think there would be plenty of room for my collection in an 18-wheeler.
Congratulations, Trav. Does that give you an oval and an f-hole in both an A and an F? Next time, shut that shop door quickly before anything else runs out and jumps in the truck!
@henry, I think I understand you ... get the 18 wheeler in order to get MORE mandolins!! Makes sense to me! And you can then start an 18 wheeler collection ... Larry, best wishes for lots of playing on your new baby. The trick is to let the other three you love them just as much.
On another site I belong to, there was a discussion about sound holes, what was better for clarity, volume, sustain amongst other attributes, even though it pertained to guitars, I'm sure it transcends to a lot of stringed instruments, out of all the sound holes, oval, round custom and "F' holes, in a listen only and using recording devices for testing, guess who won, the "F" hole, not surprised as it's been used for a long time in many professional instruments. Not saying others aren't as pleasing, diversity is what makes music so beautiful. A sound hole design I used on a custom 3 string rustic resonator I made for my brother. [IMG][/IMG]
An 18-wheeler could work - but I prefer the Randy Bachman method . . . his collection is so voluminous that he has a separate HOUSE for his guitar collection; (with a nice little recording studio built-in, for good measure). p.s. - I see a cat in the background of Mr. Dean's picture . . . I am going to assume that there was probably an open case somewhere near by!
flew right over my head....open case?
If you read through this thread you will see multiple discussions about the affection that cats seems to have for mandolin cases . . . . https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/g...260&do=discuss
ahhhh, missed that somehow, in that case, I must have had multiple cases open with 3 of-em running around here
Louise you are correct. 2 A body ovals and 2 F body f hole. Each of them have a different voice. My 404 is still the most unique or different from the others. Henry, I think I have reached critical mass in this truck. However word from the higher up's is that I have a new truck arriving in Salt Lake City soon. Hopefully more room inside. RH, a well documented but little known fact. Cats love mandolin cases. Those hummingbird holes on that resonator are very sweet.
Thanks, I build a lot of 3 and 4 string custom instruments from cigar box guitars to regular custom pieces, restore some older guitars. Cats love my fur lined Martin case, have to keep it shut or it will be full of cat hair, they're ornery little characters but you gotta love them.
