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Go to the top of this site and click on the banner announcing Mel Bay's 40% off sale on books. They have about 20 pages of mandolin books, both paper and electronic. I would highly recommend Marilynn...

Looks like an LM-520 is an F5 type. Although the Fs are beloved by bluegrassers, Gibson originally designed them for classical players. You'll be just fine. You may have to experiment a bit to find...

If you happened to know a dendrochronologist he or she could answer all these questions. Kind of a niche field, though.

Wow, Jeff, the Oswald/Ruby one is dark. I guess Friday is the anniversary of the Kennedy assassination.

Violinist Gidon Kremer once left his multi-million-dollar Guarneri del Gesu on an Amtrak. I believe his explanation was that he was putting markings in his music and dropped his pencil as the train...

Very pretty. Play it in good health.

My luthier wants to replace the tuners on my F-style with Rubners. They seem to be back in production for A-style, but last I heard it will be about the end of the year before Fs are available.

V70416, Candyman in Santa Fe. Originally guitars, records, then added stereo equipment. Stereos and LPs went the way of the brontosaurus, but they still have guitars, ukuleles, the odd banjo or...

One of the guitar, etc., shops around here had their 50th celebration a week ago. The first owner died about 10 years ago and a longtime employee bought the business. It seems like music stores...

Photoshop magic. The Happy Hipster's left hand is straight off a guitar. Remove guitar, insert mando, everyone's happy.

Of course they didn't offer thanks for the tailpiece—they were hoping you would give them a whole new instrument.

The Ellis raven and full moon at the top of the site is pretty nice.

Looks like it passed.

You might look at Marilynn Mair's The Complete Mandolinist, available from Mel Bay. She has compiled scales and etudes in keys up to four flats and four sharps. Other sections deal with developing...

When I worked as a picture framer we used white casein paint, rubbed in with a soft cloth then finished with wax, usually on maple. I don't know why it wouldn't work on spruce as well. Shiva is the...

I get enough abuse playing viola. No need to take up banjo and accordion as well.

I was still in grade school—out of the question.

Save yourself the time and hassle of running a giveaway and just send it to me now. You're welcome.

Very classy. I like the long, narrow f-holes.

So glad you're alive. There's a special place in hell for people who don't stop after an accident like that.

I hd been wondering how you were getting along. So sorry to hear the chemo didn't get good results.

All in all, left hand position is much more similar to violin than guitar. Mandolin necks are hugely variable, though. You'll find a lot more variation in mandolinists' than violinists' technique....

This is a complicated subject, and almost anyone you talk to will give you a different answer. For a sampling, this thread has some discussion from desert dwellers.

To further confuse the issue,...

14" on a violin would most often refer to the length of the back rather than the string length.

This is your best course of action. You really want us to collectively talk you into buying the Collings. It's used, so you'll pay way, way less than for a new one. With the Ellis as your cover,...