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This is why I prefer to think of chords not as shapes such as 523x but more along the lines of the 1 3 5 7 of a chord. For example, using the graphic shown below, just put the 1 whereever you want...

Mandojan,
I like your idea of intervals. I had thought to just tune the secondaries to the 1 3 5 in a chord; basically whatever note the mandolin resonated to.

Implementing this would not be...

Gene,
I'm in a similar position being new to the mandolin but with <mumble> years of experience on the guitar. I'm finding the mandolin string patterns pretty straight forward to pickup. But it...

¡Hola Tocotoda!
Estoy en los estados unidos cerca de Dallas, Texas. Mi familia y yo vivimos in McKinney, Texas, que es norte de la Dallas.

I agree with WillPick4Beer on the 'find your own' philosopy. I'm including several jpg's to show how I do it. The 1st shows the G Major scale on the mandolin fretboard. The 2nd shows the same G Major...

More Engineers! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif Yeah, I'll submit the CAD drawings at some point http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif...

Yes, that's what I was saying. I believe you'd actually be transfering more of the force to the back and relieving pressure from the top by doing this. I'll have to draw it up and do the moments to...

Flowerpot,

Thanks for the comments! Some comments:

Through Body String Mounting

On an electric guitar, it is generally accepted that a trapeze tailpiece gives a warmer and 'jazzier' tone...

Learning by ear is too slow for me, and tab is too limited, so what I do is use the tab to get the 'hang' of a song and figure out what key and what scales the song is played in, THEN play it 'by...

Thanks Chris, I probably should just BUY one from you like we discussed (and I may still...), but I can't let you have ALL the fun http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif I...

Thanks for all the comments guys! Good advice in all cases.

I am very impatiently waiting for delivery of the Siminoff book!

That makes sense to me. Tieing the two together also makes it a stiffer structure that would vibrate less. Thanks John.

Johann,

On the issue of connecting the top to the back: the theory is that, since the bridge transfers energy to the top, which vibrates and creates sound waves, a similarly constructed bridge...

Yep, "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is MUCH more common, and is generally good advice. But curiousity killed the cat (although satisfaction brought it back...

Jacob,
I think that it would be VERY difficult to ascertain a difference between the two. However,

a) being an engineer http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif string...

John,
I have heard of using a cf (carbon fiber) insert. As a guitar player for many years, I admit to being biased towards a truss rod. It scares me to think of NEVER being able to adjust the neck!...

All,

I'm planning to build my first mandolin and have done extensive research here and elsewhere. I have the Siminoff "Ultimate" book on order, have a decent shop at home and access to a NICE...

I have used Yahoo! Webhosting for several years and have found it to be very reliable, have good features, and competitive. I have a business hosting account there that allows me to setup bulletin...

Is there any reason other than tradition not to construct a mandolin similar to Thinline guitars where the back and sides are one piece routed out?

Thanks,

For what it's worth...

The way I teach my students to deal with chords is to memorize both the basic formula and the patterns on the fretboard. For example;
Major: 1 3 5
Maj7: 1 3 5 7
Dom7:...

If it's what I'm thinking, I do that a lot playing the guitar, although I'm not good enough to do it on the mando yet. Essentially it's a full or partial chord hammer-on. This works particularly on...

Thanks for the reply Fatt-Dad. That's what I was looking for; a decent low cost set of tuners!

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I did oil them but next time I change strings I'll take them apart and clean them. They actually DO stay in tune well enough for now, but with the roughness of...

I want to upgrade the tuners on my Kentucky 150s. The stock tuners are REAL gritty. Has anyone tried the stewmac A style economy?

http://www.stewmac.com/shop....details

They're only $14...

Welcome, I'm a new guy here too and have been playing mandolin for only two weeks now! But, like you, I've been playing guitar for a long time. I'm finding the mandolin both a lot of fun to play and,...