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If it sounds as good as it looks, then it's a killer!

Curiously, it's not Sitka spruce that may become scarce.

A few months ago, National Public Radio had a long story about pernumbuco (sp?), which is used to make violin and other bows. It comes...

Allen,

It's interesting that with all the interest in mandos these days, there's been so little interest in this thread. Maybe National is smart NOT to tool up for for a metal mando. On the other...

Thanks for all the good info.

Kinda' funny that somebody went to all the trouble to build a fake, and then it's going to bring so little. Kind of like going to all the trouble (and risk) of...

Very cool. And hey, if you don't want to play it, it'll probably work as a hubcap or maybe a replacement for a George Foreman hamburger cooker.

You guys know way more about vintage mandos than I do, so I can't get into all the nuances. (Can't afford them, so I don't really think about them.) But, I used to repair a very specialized lines of...

Hey, all you resonator mando fans, I need your help getting National to offer a metal mandolin again.

In recent email correspondence with Eric at National about a guitar, I mentioned the fact that...

I had one of these for a very short time. It rattled like a bunch of ball bearings in an empty can. ALL the cover plate screws were loose. I tightened them to finger tightness, and discovered one was...

I use Dawg picks. I think somebody mentioned Dawg II picks. Never heard of them. I'll have to try them.

Oh, not that changing picks will help me to play any better. God, if it was only that...

On one of the threads about selecting mandocello strings, guys are saying they often break strings when bringing them up to pitch. Sounds like it's a problem on D and A. They kinda' make it sound...

Dude, I thought I was about the only person into Yank. ("If the river was wiskey, and I was a divin' duck.....")

I live in Maine, or we'd hook up.

Good luck!!!!!

Wish I could answer your question, but I'm just getting started in mandocello. Seriously considering buying an Eastman mandocello.

Perhaps you can answer a question.

Have you found any music...

In the first thread, the author mentioned having a problem with his Eastman. They've come highly recommended, and a lot of folks on this site sing (pick?) their praises.

I'm seriously considering...

Dittos

I "play" every evening, and sometimes for an hour or two in the morning—no one could practice more than I do—but you wouldn't want to hear it!!!!

So, I collect, too.

Glad to know I'm...

I love the Tone Poems transcriptions.

Haven't gotten into Dawg After Dark, but I'll look at it tonight.

Have you tried Homespun's "Dawg Mandolin" instructional CDs. Six disks of some pretty...

Someone mentioned the angst involved in shipping a Loar. And why, when these mandos are in the neighborhood of $200K, would someone not cough up the extra few hundred dollars for an airplane ticket...

By the way, all this string talk reminded me to change strings. Man, it really does make a difference. It's easy to let an instrument slip into poor tone and not entirely realize it. (It's kind of...

Thanks for filling me in that Gibson does in fact make their own strings. Gotta admit I'm surprised.

You learn something new everyday.

Thanks for FYI.

You're absolutely right about violin strings lasting longer than mando strings.

AND, you're dead right about Sam Bush and the punishment he puts on strings. He even adresses this on his 2-DVD...

One of the nicest things about mando strings is that they're so inexpensive and you can really experiment. Good violin strings, on the other hand, run $20 to $30 a pack, so it's hard to try them all....

Hey, I'm the guy who started this thread. I said I was in a mando workshop where the teacher said he rarely changed G strings.

Bingo, the teacher was in fact Skip Gorman. (Give a prize to the guy...

Guys/gals,

In a mando workshop a year or two ago, students (and the teacher) started talking about changing strings. The teach and a couple of the more experienced students said they usually...

I do know that there's a luthier in Maine who uses an inlaid dragonfly as his trademark. I don't remeber his name, but he's usually at the Grand Lake Stream Folk Festival. (Maybe they have a Web site...

In one of the discussions, someone mentioned instrument insurance. I have a couple of very nice isntruments, and have considered insuring them. Other than adding them to the home-owners policy, does...

Sam's two-disk instructional DVD is also AMAZING!!!!! He gives lessons on a couple of tunes from Glamor and Grits which makes the whole thing worthwhile. Play it over and over and over again, and...