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…is apparently to go play a bunch of other mandolins.
Tried a handful of Eastman and comparable A and F styles down at woodsongs in Boulder yesterday and couldn’t find anything I liked better than my old beat up Gibson F5 knockoff.
There were a couple of 2k+ models too and I was just like ‘meh’
Either my mandolin is nicer than I thought or I’m a crotchety old man at 40. Or both haha.
Anybody else get this as well, or am I the odd man out? ;)
I don't think it has to be the either/or (nice mando/crotchety old man) you've described.
It could be that you've just gotten so used to the particular sound of your mando, that others that sound different don't do it for you.
I could see myself playing your mando and one of the 2K that you tried and think to myself "It's not even close. What does he see in his mando?"
Another reminder that tone is SO subjective..
Yeah that’s a good point. It’s all super subjective.
This old beater is just “what a mandolin is supposed to sound like” for me.
I assume all youse guys with 3+ Mandos must have a favorite of the bunch though?
If you're happy with your beater, don't question it; just enjoy!
I suppose part of it is where you want to be. I had a lot of fun buying, selling, trading, and learning but now I want to learn what it's like to really get to know an instrument over years or (hopefully) decades. I tried to assemble a mando family collection, one of each A5, A4, mandola, bouzouki and then stick to those 4. None of them are "beaters" at all. All 4 are amazing and rather expensive but I think they hit the sweet spot where I would need to spend a lot more to really improve.
Not gonna lie, that Apitius in the classifieds is pretty tempting but I'm very happy with where I am........
I do this every now and then when I think I want a new guitar. I always end up liking my guitar better than anything else I play in the store.Quote:
Originally Posted by Librarydog
Its funny. When I am out trying a bunch of mandolins I rarely get tempted. Even really nice mandolins don't seem to have much power over me. But...
The times I have been looking for a particular mandolin. When I have found it, I seem to have a reduced ability to resist going through with the transaction. Best examples for me are when after several years of searching and waiting I found my L&H two pointer, or when I fell hard for a National RM-1 and finally had one in my hand.
The devil doesn't come when he is not invited, but is irresistable when I go in search of him. :)
As long as you understand there is no known cure for M.A.S. then you are better able to live with it day to day. Using going out and playing other mandolins is like taking an Advil for the cure. It won't last long. You got to buy a few at least every year to live with M.A.S. Something I've learned from suffering from M.A.S. is that owning more than one Loar will not cure it. Skaggs, Grisman and many other pros found that out too. Heck Monroe had 2 Loars and still died owning a closet full of mandolins.
Only one known solution.
Attachment 197798
See you on the other side.
https://youtu.be/3sfhTKvC7bo
I knew a man who collected double basses (he had 7, took up a whole room), so MAS may not be the worst.
My catch. & release program works well for maintaining a stable fleet until I catch more than I release!
My wife (RIP <3) had a pretty good deterrent: One-in-one-out. It controlled my MAS for a while, till I figured (dummy that I am) that she never checked the cases as I took them out! Even after losing her, pushing 80 with arthritis and trigger-finger, and living in a travel trailer with little room, I am plagued! My rationale: He (she) who dies with the most mandolins, wins!
:popcorn:
Many years ago Christies had an auction in NYC of a collector who had a whole house full of antique church basses. He was quite wealthy but I think his wife was going to divorce him. I was entertained by the wall display of a bunch of those instruments which look like comic caricatures of cellos.Quote:
Originally Posted by maxr
My biggest fear is that when I die my wife will sell my mandolins for what I told her I paid for them. I've even tired that "there is empty case coming in next week" and she fell for it as mandolins are light in weight, unlike those that suffer with B.A.S. You know when those Mastertones arrive at the door.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush Burkhardt
Got to put it in a letter to be delivered after your passing, or in your will, something. You'll be out of harm's way and won't hear her cursing. ;)
Yeah, this is a one-in-one-out (OOIO) house, too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush Burkhardt
But lucky for me, I'm in the same situation as Librarydog: My mando and guitars all do it for me better than anything on the rack. With mandos, the OIOO process went like this: cheezy plywood Fender > very cool Mid-Missouri > highly swanky Red Line > beat up old Gibson Junior — the keeper. Home free!
Same story with my folk guitar. Some people don't understand why I stick with an old Guild dread when there are so many Martins (had a couple) and Gibsons (had more than a couple) and Yamahas (no comment) and Takamines (no comment) and Taylors (blechhh) out there. Because it sounds better than any other folk guitar I've ever picked up, that's why!
And my partscasters are the same story. I've had a few Fender and Gibson electrics, and none of 'em sounded as good as the three electrics I threw together myself — and at a nicer price, too.
Come to think of it, my old-school stereo is the same OIOO story. Bought a used low-end Fischer system years ago for $200, and replaced the components with good ones over the years — amp, speakers, tape deck, turntable, CD player, tuner. I now have a just-right, rock-awesome stereo.
Bottom line: One-in-one-out works for me and doesn't take coffee breaks!
My biggest fear is to leave my wife and kids with a mountain of mandolins and other instruments and no backhoe to bury the instruments with. :)
A dear friend and fellow collector of the same degree as myself knew he sadly had limited time so he asked me to sell his 9 mandolins after he passed and consigned the rest to a respected vintage dealer. Almost all were sold as of a few years ago and my friend's widow had one 19th century guitar i sold for her to one of the Cafe denizens. Phew!
Probably the best for our loved ones is to provide a detailed inventory list of all the collection with current estimated retail prices.
I certainly understand the theme of this thread but I, like many others here, have been buying and selling instruments for many years and,yes, it is rare for me to find something I lust after that would be better than what I have but that is mainly because I have been refining my main set of instruments over the years. Also, in terms of mandolins, places that carry more than a few are few and far between. For instance, I saw and played briefly my very first and only Girouard mandolin—they have been in biz for over 15 years—but only because a friend of a friend of mine had it when we all got together to play.
Another method is to be in a band (or two) and have folks start to expect a certain instrument to show up. Both right now seem very happy with the Coombe. So that has cut back a lot of "want" on my MAS list. Still doesn't mean something else won't end up coming home. Just slightly less likely at present. (And yes, the shortage of actual instruments for sale nearby does help).
I can imagine a strange conversation with the missus:
“I need to go play some other mandolins”
“Why?”
“So that I don’t buy one.”
“…?”
My main problem is that Instead of many mandolins, I seem to want one of every instrument (mandola, tenor banjo, standup bass, accordion, etc etc etc)
Yes! That is it! At one time I had a quartet of black Gibsons including the mandobass. All but the mandolin is gone now. But I still have a at least one of everything except for the mandobass. I even have an accordion or three but rarely touch those.Quote:
Originally Posted by Librarydog
Do you know that you can buy vintage Castlefirdardo boxes off ebay all day long for much less $ than they were new? :popcorn: A particular hobby of mine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Librarydog
I like being a rank beginner. The Breedlove sounds good to me and I have not the skill to find it's limitations. So, maybe ignorance if what it COULD be like is the cure for MAS. I have very little GAS, but I have 9 guitars to cover my spectrum range.
Sounds like the mando world may also suffer from instrument envy. They say the first statement made at an expert bagpiper's passing is:
"He was a great piper - we'll not see his like again" (affirmative rumble from all present).
Next comes this:
"Who's getting his pipes?"
Oops, brain wasn't working very well last night. That should be Castelfidardo.
Ya, mndlns are great for collecting. But boxes are yet more so - they come in endless varieties, sizes, colors...and they tend to stack easier than mndlns :)