View Profile: allenhopkins - Mandolin Cafe Forum

Today, 12:09pm

allenhopkins started a thread Bill Staines passes (NMC) in General Mandolin Discussions

For the folkies on the Cafe, noting the death of Bill Staines on Sunday. A week ago, he announced his retirement from touring at age 74, due to the...

2 replies | 243 view(s)

Dec-05-2021, 1:54pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Need help to identify this in Looking for Information About Mandolins

See if this from our FAQ helps.

7 replies | 405 view(s)

Dec-05-2021, 1:44pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Happy Hanukkah! in General Mandolin Discussions

Doing my third Chanukah program with long-time partner Bonnie Abrams today. I'm on mandolin (3-point Gibson F-2, if I remember correctly).

4 replies | 569 view(s)

Dec-05-2021, 1:35pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Wound ball end strings put on backwards? in Equipment

If you crush the ball with pliers, you can generally slip it intact out of the loop –– especially if you use an awl as pops1 suggests. Crush the...

12 replies | 582 view(s)

Dec-04-2021, 12:58pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread VEGA tenor lute. banjo - tenor guitar - octave mandolin! in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

Planetary banjo pegs, same as my Gibson TL. Definitely (IMHO) attempts by both companies to reach out to tenor banjoists, in search of a...

8 replies | 406 view(s)

Dec-04-2021, 12:52pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Right-handed fiddle player, left-handed mando player in General Mandolin Discussions

Piano players do basically the same thing with each hand, at least as far as finger and wrist actions are concerned. I haven't seen the need for...

27 replies | 817 view(s)

Dec-03-2021, 10:24pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Anyone else have no players near them? in General Mandolin Discussions

Hey, it's COVID, right? My weekly jam at the coffee shop around the corner is kaput, and so's the coffeehouse. Local folk club weekly sing-around...

25 replies | 1329 view(s)

Dec-03-2021, 12:20pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread acoustic/electric mandolin in 2021 in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Your friend may have to negotiate with Customs if bringing back an instrument purchased in the US; leaving that up to him/her, you can find MM-68's...

15 replies | 794 view(s)

Dec-03-2021, 12:12pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Gibson, Tonk & Kalamazoo in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Gibson Inc. manufactured instruments under a variety of names, with Kalamazoo being one of the more common -- but there are dozens, a bewildering...

8 replies | 390 view(s)

Dec-03-2021, 11:59am

allenhopkins replied to a thread What kind of Mandolin in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Think about Pegheds -- geared tuners disguised as friction pegs. Might fit your existing holes. One concern is that they're basically designed for...

22 replies | 1298 view(s)

Dec-03-2021, 11:43am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Interesting: Vintage 1937 Gibson/Kalamaz guitar-bodied Mandocello in Vintage Instruments

Retrofret description says there's a "Kalamazoo" logo under the screwed-on "Gibson" nameplate. They also note that it's marked "Made in USA" so...

8 replies | 441 view(s)

Dec-02-2021, 11:06pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Hey guys and gals, I need some help please . . . old newbie in CBOM

I own each of the instruments you're considering, and went from mandolin to octave mandolin to mandola to mandocello (added a mando-bass last year,...

20 replies | 1136 view(s)

Dec-02-2021, 11:41am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Box-shaped electric resonator mandolin in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

I think that "resonator" has a plumbing-supplies pedigree...

5 replies | 406 view(s)

Dec-02-2021, 11:35am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Right-handed fiddle player, left-handed mando player in General Mandolin Discussions

Scissors are generally constructed so that the thumb and finger pressures from the right hand force the cutting blades together, making cutting...

27 replies | 817 view(s)

Dec-01-2021, 3:22pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Long Scale Gibson Banjo question... in Vintage Instruments

I've been playing a long-neck "Pete Seeger style" banjo for about 20 years now; my RB-3 Mastertone (repro neck on a GB-3) sits largely unpicked in...

9 replies | 403 view(s)

Dec-01-2021, 11:57am

allenhopkins replied to a thread Price increases coming soon or already here in General Mandolin Discussions

When I worked for Eldon Stutzman back in the Cretaceous Period (actually, early 1970's), he wouldn't sell anyone -- me included -- a Gibson mandolin...

57 replies | 6367 view(s)

Nov-29-2021, 9:16pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Trying to ID an UNMARKED "A" Style Mando - 3" thick? in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Paracho (Mexico) product, maybe? Kinda looks like it...

4 replies | 491 view(s)

Nov-28-2021, 1:18pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Thanksgiving Thoughts in General Mandolin Discussions

Just reiterating my thoughts of seven years ago. Spent Thanksgiving in Boston/Cambridge with kids and grandkids. Took my Strad-O-Lin and a...

36 replies | 7851 view(s)

Nov-28-2021, 1:13pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Local instructor - Rochester NY ? in General Mandolin Discussions

Weighing in: my good friend Bob Olyslager (Blue Ridge Country Ramblers, Group Therapy) has been teaching mandolin and banjo at his house for decades,...

7 replies | 425 view(s)

Nov-28-2021, 1:05pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Cheap beater mandolins that play, for leaving in the car etc? in General Mandolin Discussions

Maybe 30 years ago I bought a badly cracked Strad-O-Lin for $50 from an elderly NYCity lady who'd kept it under her bed for decades, in its canvas...

49 replies | 2786 view(s)

Nov-21-2021, 8:47pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Estate Sale Bowlback in Looking for Information About Mandolins

Fancy model, lots of rosewood ribs, vine inlaid fretboard, mother-of-pearl binding and, as you say, lots of "bling." Carving on the neck heel is...

8 replies | 474 view(s)

Nov-20-2021, 12:32pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Any musical stamp collectors out there? in General Mandolin Discussions

By the way, here's a ten-year-old thread discussing a possible Bill Monroe commemorative US stamp; Google finds more discussion of it around 2014,...

12 replies | 548 view(s)

Nov-20-2021, 12:27pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Have I Been Scammed? in General Mandolin Discussions

A product offered at one-twentieth of the standard market price on eBay -- well, I'm sure there have been legitimate transactions, for a variety of...

19 replies | 2418 view(s)

Nov-20-2021, 12:21pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Vintage photo of a Lyon & Healy mando cello in Vintage Instruments

Gee, apparently the Fairmont Creamery Old-Timers had both a "Shorty" and a "Slim" as members. Old-time radio days...

12 replies | 848 view(s)

Nov-19-2021, 4:43pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread This weeks mandolin that won't get a bid or buyer in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

Well, I paid about $600 for my Triolian mandolin, and it's in better shape that this one -- still has its pickguard, as well. However, I know prices...

1284 replies | 349440 view(s)

Nov-19-2021, 4:29pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Mandolin - Resonator by Republic in eBay, Craig's List, etc.

You got one-a those??? Always wanted one... With regard to JeffD's post, the other type of resonator that has a less-brash, more musical sound,...

86 replies | 2372 view(s)

Nov-19-2021, 4:13pm

allenhopkins replied to a thread Kentucky K1000 Master Model need help with serial number in Looking for Information About Mandolins

"Flammy?" Guess they mean "flame-y" or something similar...?

22 replies | 784 view(s)