Search:

I watch ridiculous amounts of baseball. I also enjoy the occasional hike in the mountains. Also, from time to time, I've been known to play XBox. But lately I've been holding off on that one because...

Check out ireal b, JamBuddy, Garageband, and Anytune Pro, which is a slowdowner.
Anytune has a steep price (15 bucks) but in my opinion is well worth the money. They have a trial version that you...

Wow, I don't know what portable recording device you use, but this is near studio-quality.
The instrumentation of these songs is fantastic. Sorry to hear about your bud moving away, you guys sound...

Congratulations on your first dip into the mandolin family. Get ready for years of fun. I like how you went for the mandola on your first purchase. Awesome.
As far as books go, you'll probably get...

I read lots of Patrick O'Brian (see Master & Commander), and just thinking about those ships kicking up ocean spray sailing around the Cape of Good Hope is incredibly musical to me.

Well, I certainly wasn't using the word impress to mean I wanted to convey a perceived musical superiority over any one individual. I think my original post shows what context it's being used in.
I...

You just hit the meat of my main concern, right there. I think the mandolin certainly has the potential to be a fine solo instrument. But the stuff I usually play when I practice by myself is singe...

This is all great stuff, thanks for all the suggestions. This question came about after a real-life situation where my neighbor actually asked me what was in the case. When I pulled it out, I was at...

All good stuff. Keep them coming.

That is what I'm looking for, in particular. Something with lots of double stops, lots of neat sounding turn arounds, something that makes the mandolin sing outside of an ensemble situation.

Situation:
You are walking in your neighborhood with your mandolin in it's case, and your neighbor sees you and says, 'Wow, what do you have in the case?'
When you bring it out of the case to show...

What are some other features besides neck width and fret wire?

So, for the last 2 years I have had some major issues with arthritis and tendinitis in both hands (which continue to get aggravated after prolonged mando playing). I love my current instrument, Weber...

Two words: uh huh!

Thanks for the recommendations, thus far. I will try to check out as many of these artists as I can. Keep the recommendations coming!

So, I noticed there were countless threads on how to achieve perfection in tremolo technique, but I could not find any guidance on where I could hear tremolo besides an instructional video:
Where...

Many valid suggestions. I will have to especially reexamine the setup on my instrument. And yes Randi, I've heard the recommendation that I shouldn't play stringed instruments from my doctor too....

Hey all,

I'm trying to get an understanding of what level of pain or discomfort (in the hands) mandolinists deal with or tolerate on a day to day basis. I have been having issues with hand pain...

Ed,

That is by no means a silly comment. In fact, the only other hobby I really have besides mandolin is video gaming. I usually don't have much time to play those anymore, but when it was...

Thanks again for all the input. I am taking all these great suggestions into consideration.
Where I am at right now -
Starting to look into some hand tendinitis stretches, and will start doing...

Thanks for the input, Barbara. I agree that I shouldn't have tension anywhere when playing. I try really hard to eliminate it when I discover I am tensing up. I do find it hard to play some types of...

Paul, I agree with you on the acupuncture, and I think that's probably my next move.
Actually, I showed your post to my wife, and it seems that she (also a musician and computer user) has had that...

Thank you Paul and Bob.
Unfortunately I currently live in Omaha, which seems to be about 8 hours away from any of the 'super-specialist' doctors that I probably need to see. Thank you though for the...

Thanks for all the input.
David: I might have to try that new pick out. No matter how hard I consciously try to lighten my grip, it seems to always tense up eventually.

Randi: I did actually see...

Hey there,
I searched a little bit on the forums to see if there was already something similar written up, but I didn't see it so I'll just go ahead:

I picked up the mandolin about 1 year ago,...