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My feeling is if you can't hear the difference several thousands of dollars buys, whatever nut you have on your mandolin is just fine. Obviously it sounds very good to you. But for no good reason but...

So true I’m not a violinist, but my wife is and I know the cost of maintaining the things are more than all of my instruments combined. I don’t see mandolins as expensive any more when a new mando...

Thanks for everything Ted. MandolinCafe and JazzMando are the two heavyweights of online mandolin discussion for me.

Ted's leadership as this forum's chief moderator has been instrumental in the Cafe's enduring online presence so this change, of which I've been aware of for some time, gives me heartburn and then...

(Sigh)

This kind of talk only serves to further confuse the beginner.

ALL chord shapes are movable - on guitar, mndln, or any other stringed instrument.

So called "open"/cowboy chords are...

I agree wholeheartedly with this, since it relates to practice focus. As a jam player, not a performer, I don't want to play tunes or breaks note for note, I want to add my little something to the...

This touches on a situation where I think people can often set themselves up for disappointment. Without a picture of what they want to become it can be hard to keep going long term. Even if what we...

Well .... warm up on FFcP scales and Dom7 arpeggios played in the groups that they work in .. ie by key. Work on a tune or song you are learning for fifteen minutes or so. Lastly play some things you...

Mark G's and Mark W's advice is really helpful IMO. Different practice routines work better for different people, and I can't follow exactly the same one every time without getting bored, but in...

There is no substitute for someone watching you and offering trained advice on what you need to do to progress more effectively. You don't have to take more than one or two lessons at a time for...

In a sense, everyone who plays is "self learnt", because no teacher can do the learning for you, he/she can teach only in the sense of showing you how to play, showing you how to learn and how to...

I found that jumping in and joining others not only boosted my confidence but gave me the insight of what I need to practice on. I always start with scales repeatedly, sometimes 30 min or more and...

I just received this stunning A4 from Tom Ellis for a customer.

http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/xx216/trevor_moyle/trevor_moyle141/e%203_zps0y7pknox.jpg
...

Everything makes a difference ... density of material ... the size of that difference is always open to debate .... hooray for the Cafe and like Forums ... it gives us something to talk about and...

I'll bet you can find a better $200 mandolin made in China than you could $200 made entirely in USA.

I'll bet you can find a better $20,000 mandolin made entirely in USA you could a $20,000...

Great mandolins can be built anywhere...Well, okay, not in my workshop, but just about anywhere else. :grin:

When you stop striving for excellence, stop trying to improve...stop really trying, then you'll stagnate. That's different than hitting a plateau. A suggestion already mentioned...listen to all...

I think (lookout!) we as players often get to a level where we reach a comfort zone and tend to not reach outside that zone unless pushed; either by ourselves or other musicians. Learn a few chords,...

It's funny, but players at all levels struggle with this. I don't believe that the majority of us are destined to be 'stellar' musicians. I can play a guitar, a mandolin, a dobro, all with some...

The skills increase when you "work" at it.

Musicians plateau on an instrument when they lose there passion for it or they get so busy with life, work etc. that music gets put on a back burner.
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I don't know if it's an option, or something you already do, but playing regularly with other people has been the single biggest motivator/inspiration for me. I'm lucky enough to play weekly with...

Hog, listen, listen, listen, practice, practice, practice, play, play, play, jam with others, jam with others, jam with others, take some lessons, take some lessons, take some lessons, this and as...