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Thanks everyone for the really helpful replies. Sounds like there are some good options.

@SimonDS, the Russian folk orchestra I played with was the Washington Balalaika Society, and their link is...

Well, in the summer of 2022 I moved to Kazakhstan for work, and I thought that I would keep up with mandolin, but it's an unknown instrument here, so I've pretty much kept to guitar. But I'm ready to...

Well, it's about a year and a half later. I did get to that museum, and it is absolutely amazing. Traditional instruments, particularly from Central Asia, but from all over the world. Loved it.

Howdy everyone, I recently moved to Almaty, Kazakhstan from Virginia, and most of my things haven't arrived yet. Thankfully my mandolin has, but none of my sheet music has. That may take several...

Thanks everyone; I appreciate all the insights.

I have started learning a few tunes with the ASD on my phone. Years ago I bought a book of sheet music with 16 old time tunes, and it came with a...

Well, it's been nearly a year, but the violin was restored, and was recently used in a concert. The Totenbergs still own it, although plan to sell. Today's Washington Post has an article about the...

That's the headline for an article in yesterday's NY Times, which reports on a study published by the National Academy of Sciences that says that the wood for Strads may have been subject to mineral...

That's a contrabass balalaika. A bass is smaller; enough so that it's played while sitting (at least every one I've seen).

We have 3 contrabass balalaikas, and audiences love them. bb

I'd have to throw my hat in with David on that one. While I'm no expert, I do play in a Russian orchestra with about 55 musicians, about a third of which are domras. We have primas, altos, tenors,...

Thanks! It's tuned just like a mandolin, E A D G. It's pretty much the same size as well, such that switching from mandolin to the domra doesn't require much mental adjustment. Except the domra...

Here are some photos of my new prima domra, made by a luthier in Russia. I'm using it in the Russian orchestra I play with. Pretty psyched about it! bb

145520

Some may recall that last August a Stradivarius, stolen in 1980 from Roman Totenberg (father of NPR's Nina Totenberg), was returned to the Totenberg family. The Washington Post has published an...

According to the blog post at the link below, Customs denies making the mark, and instead points the finger at the hotel or car company.

I'm with Allen, if you lock it, Customs is going to bust...

Mondo Mando by Grisman. bb

Tamara and her husband played with our orchestra (WBS) last spring, and she will be doing so again on the 17th of this month. They are both great. It's a joy hear her play the domra.

I play a...

And worth noting is that they have done 2 or 3 albums together, the most recent of which won a Grammy. Check out thilemeyer.com.
bb

Oh man, I read the book so many years ago, I guess it was the late 90's (well before I started picking on the mando). Let me join the chorus saying that the book is excellent. The movie abysmal. I...

It seems to me what you're asking about is effectively chord melodies (at least for part of the song). I agree that this provides more depth, particularly if you're playing solo. I thought there...

The Washington Post has an interesting article (link below) about traveling to/from the US with ivory in your instrument (and also rosewood, tortoise shell, etc., but mostly ivory). Apparently...

Thanks everyone for the continued posting of terrific info.

Our gig Saturday was at a retirement home, and it went well. A lot of our Christmas music has only 2 parts plus chords, so one of the...

I think we need a "Man, that's utter lunacy" button. ;)

On a more serious note, I don't know what it is, but I like when someone thanks one of my posts. And now I get frustrated on some of the...

The purchaser (Jim Irsay, Colts owner) seems to agree. He's quoted as saying that this guitar is not the holy grail (paragraph below is from article at link). Turns out Irsay has some interesting...

2 chord shapes I use a lot for chopping are 5576 (C7) and 7587 (G7). They can both be moved up and down the neck for whatever 7th chord you need. It took me forever to be able to use the 2nd shape,...

I've been taking classical lessons for the last 3 years. My instructor has been playing for something like 4 decades, and was conservatory trained. She often emphasizes that, if possible, it's good...

That's the gist of the LA Times article found at the link below (mandos not mentioned in the article).

The article reports that Fender says that this will help the dealers, but some dealers take...