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F's and A's far as I know.

Gail Hester is still building. She's trying to get away from repair work. I would take my guitar or mandolin to Gary Wagner. He's incredible at repair work. You might also want to consider contacting...

There are so many great players. Not yet mentioned, but definitely should be on the list are: Jesse Brock, Michael Cleveland, and Skip Gorman.

I was always told not to leave in instrument in a car in conditions that you wouldn't leave a dog or baby.

I've attended both Swannanoa and Monroe camps. I returned to Monroe camp several times, although not within the last several years due to unrelated issues. Both camps are great. You will be exposed...

I'd put Gail Hesters mandolins up there with other great builders. Biggest mistake I ever made was selling the F she made for me. Fit and finish are excellent. Dry woody tone. It is extremely rare...

I second the AT 4033. There's a bunch of used ones, was well as new ones, on Reverb. You will safe $$$$ and will find that it works just as well as ET's. No matter which mic you buy, you still have...

I recently purchased some XS mando strings from D'Addario. When restringing my mando, one of the E strings broke at the loop winding. I sent an email regarding the possible faulty string. A customer...

There is a Seattle Bluegrass Club on Facebook. I bet you can find more jam info there.

Maltby has a monthly jam. Maltby is east of Seattle. Wintergrass festival at end of February. Wenatchee BG festival in June. Darrington BG festival in July. Stevenson BG festival in July. Bluegrass...

They say practice makes perfect. But then they also say nobody's perfect. So I don't practice.

Certainly no offense to Collings. Guitars are awesome. I find their mandos to be inconsistent. But that's just my personal opinion.
Best I ever heard was Nick Dumas' A. With regard to Hester...

One of the guys in my band has a Gil that has an extremely loud chop. Seriously hurts my ears if I'm facing him.

If you want to get a decent upright, I'd recommend a Thompson bass from String Emporium in Arizona. Thompson's are very similar to Shen, and I believe the company was started by ex-Shen employees....

Just go to Monroe camp. Both Kimball and Duff will be there and you can try out their instruments.

I have the honor of playing in a band with this guy. He's a great player. Here's his take on a Christmas classic. Hope you enjoy.

https://youtu.be/R_1IDIbszKc

Their latest model is now starting at $7500. Wow. Something I've learned, and it's proven to me year after year, it's not the mando, it's the player. We have a festival in Washington State every May...

First of all, thank you for all the work that you do on this site. I love the Cafe. But your response to Ivan is kinda harsh. Other folks, including those who are IBMA members have similar feelings....

My experience has been that it comes down to a power-play by the gate agents. A couple years ago I flew to Nashville with a guitar. As we lined up to board, I saw to other persons with guitars in...

I just put Silk and Steel on my mando. They started out sounding really dead. But the more I play, the more alive they are sounding. Much mellower than other strings I've tried.

While I haven't taken any lessons in person, I have had a few Skype lessons, and I've played in bands with world-class mandolin players. Guess what, they all have different ways of holding picks and...

I'm kinda feeling like I have the ability to play louder and perform double-stop/tremolo better with a free floating hand. When I rest my wrist on the bridge, I pick more with a scooping motion....

It's a great little festival. Other than Wintergrass, it's basically the first festival of the season in Washington State. The main concert venue is the school theater. The acoustics are great. The...

Crap! As any of you who are in bands know, coming up with a band name is the most difficult part of being in a band. I don't know why I was surprised to hear there is another band named String Theory...

While I appreciate the effort to keep the music acoustic, and I guess traditional, I don't understand the idea that an electrified bass is off limits. Monroe didn't have an electric bass, but other...