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I love this place--or rather, the people who frequent it. Look at the answers that include a link, a photo of a product, a careful description of the type of cutters that will do the job without...

Let me be the first bumbleing (sic) picker to note that I don't think my instrument is going to stay in tune all the time. ;)

Welcome, Dan, and I hope your stay is enjoyable. You're 20 miles west of me, yes? I don't think there's much apart from open desert (which is beautiful, but none too comfy for a three-month stay) 20...

Thank you, Theo, for sharing the perspective from your physics-addled brain. My brain is addled by stream-of-consciousness nonfiction, which doesn't really illuminate this discussion. It does...

Interesting. I'm wondering if wood conducts heat well enough to transmit warmth to the strings? Although of course, one's fingers are on the strings, so that would be the more likely source of...

It's more a matter of curiosity than concern for me, Zach. Thank you for sharing your experience. We live in very different climates, so it would be interesting if environment proved to be the...

That's interesting, Jon. We're in a desert environment, so the humidity outdoors is nearly always lower than indoors. My husband takes his mountain dulcimer outside to play a lot. I haven't taken my...

Thank you for this reply from my ancestral homeland. The change isn't specific to certain strings. I will check tuning after playing for an hour and see what that investigation reveals. I'm grateful...

I play nearly every day; with a goal of daily play and occasional interventions by life. We live in the desert, so humidity is mostly something we remember.

I'm not feeling hijacked at all! I think it adds to the discussion that two of us can share experiences.

And please don't overlook the pathos of the untimely death of the collector who had originally commissioned the set. It's so tragic.

During my years with the violin, tuning always involved bringing strings that had gone flat back up to the proper note.

I'm finding that my mandolin, an Eastman 305 (but not my Eastman 305 octave...

Please change my user name to Sheila Lagrand. Thank you--for this small revision and for this phenomenal website.

I have Soliver armrests on my mandolin and my octave mandolin. I find the ergonomic improvement allows me to play longer at a stretch. This benefit is especially valuable to me as my joints are,...

Another really tough spot to be, as a musician, is one I found myself in when I was a youngster: I'd walk in, and folks would ask me to play a fiddle tune. I'd have to tell them, "I'm sorry. I don't...

I'm not sure I know what "float fingers" means, but when I was playing today I made a point to take notice. The only place my right arm is in contact with my mandolin is at the armrest. So maybe I...

And then there's the resonator mandolin---which I am Jonesing for just because it's unique.

Me too, too!

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will give these techniques a shot. They sound promising.

Sometimes I'm only picking one of the strings in a course. Any tips or practice techniques to help me improve my technique? TIA!

Any time!:cool:

Maybe I'm too tired or preoccupied to be granted access to a keyboard today. I read your phrase, "...even though I normally just use nails" and I pictured those long metal things one buys by the...

Me too, curious about the coasters for tremolo!

I wish I had one of those for my case! Instead I have a husband with allergies and three fine canines. Actually, one of the dogs would climb into my case, I think, if I left it somewhere accessible...

I ask from curiosity, and in a search for inspiration: Other than your mandolin, what do you keep in your case or gig bag? I keep an extra set of strings and some picks. How about you?