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I am not a luthier. I do other stuff. But I do appreciate a piece of equipment that was designed taking into account maintenance.

I deal with electrical equipment used to respond to emergencies....

I had the florida scooped on a mandolin, a Paris Swing. And faux frets put in to keep the visuals. But that mandolin was all about visuals.

While it is true we can't look in two places at once, almost nobody stares continuously at their hands. So I think it quite possible to fulfil your obligations as a musician to catch the smiles of...

Oh my goodness. Banjolins. I have played a few.


* Are they much louder and/or more cutting than a decent bluegrass mandolin?

Yes. Very much so. With great power comes great responsibility....

I have tried many a Collings, and not a klunker in the bunch.

That said I would really really try to avoid buying an instrument I hadn't tried, or at least get a 48 hour return policy. "In the...

I look all the time, especially when shifting. I don't look continuously, but I visually check in very frequently.

I don't think it matters much. There is no harm in looking, and no virtue in...

I wear a terry cloth sweat band on my arm, like some tennis players use, whenever I am playing with short sleeves. Keeps the sweat off the instrument, and is much more comfortable than the edge of...

There are specific kinds of physical therapists and occupational therapists that deal with musicians and their experiences. If you can find one of those you can probably get some real advice. You can...

:disbelief::))

Nah. :)

While true musicians have earned my respect and awe, the instrument has more possibilities than even they use. All musicians, no matter how good or accomplished, have their "querencia" out...

While you are correct, I disagree. :)

It is my personal opinion that in ensemble performance, in most cases, I am not responsible for every darn note in the chord. Some guitar or banjo or maybe...

I have the habit of buying a packet of strings every time I visit a bricks and mortar music store, just to "pay" something for my time poking around. As a result I have a massive emergency chest of...

The mandolin is an ocean, with infinite pathways traversing its surface. You don't need to learn them all. You only need to learn how to get to where you want to get to, and how to get either back...

I think this kind of thing described above provides much more immediate competence than learning chord configurations and copping the chords from the guitar. Which believe me is how I tried to go...

I see that I have already responded with everything I think about the subject. But I continue to want to be helpful, and if the original poster Sherry, or anyone else, has an ahaaa moment from...

I have a whole range of colors, from almost yellow to blonde to mahogany to sheridan brown to black. Some glossy and some matt finish. When considering a purchase the color and finish are not at the...

I think this is a great idea. Both of these books are very useful in answering specifically what you are after.

You are asking the right questions.

Any musical instrument is an ocean of...

I do not mind honest wear. I bought an old delicate bowlback years ago. I was drawn to it in part because it had these wonderful light scratches across the face indicating that someone was doing some...

This is a good point. At some point the collection itself seems to made the decisions. You do or don't get this because of what you don't or do have in the collection, as opposed to what you may...

OMG don't get me started on books. My accumulation of books is going to drown me. And the same lack of criteria. I bought the book because i wanted it at the time.

It is a collection only in so...

Nobody is looking at that all steel mandolin? OMG are you kidding me? That thing looks so darn cool. The store is a several hour drive from me but if work goes well and no pending snow storm I may...

Ummm... nah. ~o)

I think it is a matter of perspective. And in what we put our treasure.

I know a lower brass enthusiast, a player, who has a stunning, absolutely insane collection of...

I kept a journal, hoping it would help motivate me and track my progress. What I found is that I was wasting practice time journaling. And that I could tell if I was improving by how much better I...

I did for a while, on someone's advice. I thought they changed the tone of the RM-1 too much though, so I went back to the John Pearse strings.

I am no judge of what would be a good idea. That said, I would by several.