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welcome to the mandolin and the cafe!

i think the advice to wait on opening a new instrument is to make sure the inside of the package is the same temperature as the room (someone correct me if...

What a lovely reason to have to wait!

also, on the difference between oval and ff hole versions, iirc oval hole sound is easier heard by the player and ff by the audience. also, the eastman does have a truss rod (I just checked) in...

I, too, am lucky in my spouse, normally referred to on here as my-husband-the-guitar-player. We started playing duets together while we were dating back in the 1970s and picked up ITM as a pair back...

welcome!

welcome to the mandolin and cafe! if you want specifics on what to look for in a well set up mandolin, shoot an email to rob meldrum and he'll send you his free guide to doing your own setup -- it...

Depending on the case ... extra picks, wire cutters, string winder, Oasis humidifier too dried out to use, band biz cards. i keep the tuner on the mandolin(s) and a pick in the strings. I believe one...

Sometimes the musicians are fulfilling expectations by playing at breakneck speeds. Certain songs/tunes are remembered by listeners or players as being super fast (well or badly played) and if you're...

Snow through my window
Mandolin sits on crossed knee
Which hornpipe is next?

My strad and one of my bandolims are blondes. My first mandolin (a bowlback) was a blonde -- so I guess I'm more attracted to blondes than other colors. My two next favorites are a matte brown (my...

I have to admit, when I played it, it was pretty darn silent!

Odd that nobody mentioned 'price point' for collections. you know, the best you can get for, say, under $600.

I like the idea that a collection is something you deliberately set out to do, not...

What a great story!

Showed up on Facebook posted by a fiddler friend.

Jeez. Sorry to see this

Buddy of mine lives in Buffalo and plays mandolin. he might be able to help you out if you run into trouble or just want to meet another mandolin player. He plays Irish (and rock and roll and just...

I'll second (or third) the comment that mandolin technique isn't guitar or bass technique. for one thing, your callouses are most likely in the wrong place for the mandolin. then, there's the chance...

You seem to be on the right path -- I learned the mandolin from Mel Bay (back in the dark ages when there was no tab that i recall) and the first lessons were all about where to put which finger on...

Lovely version! Thanks to both of you!

what a lovely thing! congrats!

I've never tried one, but the Silver Angels, I've heard, have a darker sound. They're beautiful instruments either way.

I started with a bowlback which was perfectly fine until i put it away for 20 years and when i finally got back to it, the neck was too bent to keep the instrument in tune. Sigh. My next was a lovely...

Lass on the Strand is another hornpipe that's loads of fun to play, lots of arpeggios. I was going to mention the difference between the bluegrass/old time hornpipe rhythm and that of ITM (or at...

in the last picture -- does the instrument also lack frets, at least up near the head? because if so, those need replaced, too, i'd think.

OK, now i have to go back and actually learn Tullycrine and Galway Bay, which I've played but not memorized.