Printable View
I'm in the midst of GOMAS. I currently own the Eastman MDO-305 - an arch-top, a-body, f-hole OM.
I think I want a 20-21-in-scale arch-top guitar-body octave mandolin.
Sell me on ff hole v. oval hole. I see a lot of ff hole models and really want to sound just like Sierra Hull, but then again. . .
I just want a new octave mandolin and want to get one built.
So, ff hole or oval hole - selling points?
f-d
I have no complaints about my Clark and it has the scale length you’re looking for. It has F holes - how much are you intending to spend?
I had a buddy named Carl who used to buy and sell lots of cool mandolins. When asked for his advice on which singular one to purchase, he was known to recommend the A5 as a general rule. He argued that the f-holes were more versatile and allowed you to play any style of music, from classical to bluegrass.
I have a Weber Gallatin 22" oval hole and a Weber Black Ice 22" F hole
first there is already a huge tone and playability difference between Gallatin and Yellowstone so it is not perhaps fair to compare
but the Gallatin is slightly louder and ringy-er , but somewhat muddy on the bottom end, the neck is fatter and the action while very good is still higher than the Yellowstone, I tend to prefer it for Celtic and perhaps something like "Black River" it might be better for
The F has a sweeter tone, really good sustain, and is IMHO easier to play.
So I think you can get decent sounds from an oval hole 22", but I personally prefer the F overall.
if I had to get rid of one I would keep the Yellowstone.
hahhahhaaahaaa! And, I know this dude that builds mandolins and he got me wondering. . . Does this observation scale up to the big boxes?Quote:
Originally Posted by pheffernan
Discernment is part of the process!
f-d
So you have access to Dr. Dave Cohen, one of the leading experts on the physics and mechanics of musical instruments, and you're asking me for my opinion on sound hole selection? Discernment indeed . . . ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by fatt-dad
In my limited experience, having owned a couple of big mandos (an oval hole Weber Bridger OM which I wish I still had and an ff hole Galatin mandocello) I would say while both are great, I’d go with ff holes all the way. I just personally love the punchy percussive sound of ff holes, and I can’t think of a drawback on the larger instruments; sustain isn’t a problem on big mandos. I have heard better sustain as a rational for the oval hole being better on mandolins and I somewhat agree.
Nothing less than 22”
FF holes for an arch top
Oval for a flattop
Almost agree, but, for me 22.5 was too much scale length to make it useful for anything other than 2 or 3 finger chording, and I’m not a tiny handed guy. I used to own a Weber Hyalite that was carved top and oval holed. It was a rhythm machine but, even very well set up, lead/melody was a chore. I now have a Weber Bitteroot that’s 20 inches. With the mandola string set on it it doesn’t muddy when wailing on chords and I can play all the lead stuff I want without fatigue...thanks, FD for the string set recommendation! I’ve also owned a Weber Yellowstone MC with FF holes, but turned it into the current OM, again because of the scale length.Quote:
Originally Posted by sgarrity
Having owned both oval and FF hole OMs, and liking the tone of both, my vote is for a carved top FF hole 20-21 inch OM. Think arch top vs flat top guitars when considering the tonal diffs between arch and flat top OMs.