About to jump in the water....

[B381]

Well, about to try this mandolin thing out. Thought about it awhile back but stuck with the guitar.

Did a search and hit a deal on a Rogue. Got the setup book offered on here and 26 pages into that. Rogue should be here Friday.

Here we go.....Google Shopping site deal.

[Ron McMillan]

Congratulations. You will likely need the set-up book's advice, but the Rogue will almost certainly be the first of many

[Folkmusician.com]

Congrats on the new journey! The Rogue can be setup to play well, so no problem there (just a good deal of work).

[Capt. E]

You may find, as I did, that a mandolin is a much more logical instrument than a guitar. Perhaps not as versatile, but in the end more enjoyable. I will admit to recently getting involved with a Tenor guitar...tuned like an octave mandolin, so the chords etc transfer perfectly.

[Mike Scott]

Welcome to the monkey house (in the words of Mr Kurt Vonnegut). Enjoy the Rogue. I have only played one of those (it had been set up and played well). It will definitely get you going.....

[Randi Gormley]

A great place to start -- along with the cafe! welcome to both!

[MikeZito]

Sounds like you're off to a good start - enjoy the ride and check in with us often.

[B381]

It must have been a good day at the factory when this one was put together. Intonation is good, holds tune (I didn't realize just how much tension a mando had), sounds very nice and the action is nice and low. I have not done any setup to it at this point and it is doing good. The only problem I have seen so far is that the tuners on the D string feel a bit "grind ish"....so going to take a look at that. They work fine but just not as smooth as they should be.

[B381]

Interesting thing, watching mando lessons, picking this up faster than I did guitar. I'm hooked.

[trabb]

I found mandolin far easier to make progress on than guitar. And then I picked up "mandolin exercises for dummies" and that progress started going even faster. You may want to give that a try. I'm finding that the exercises make the fretboard make sense without having someone trying to tell me how it works.

[HonketyHank]

B381: Welcome to the herd. Sorry I missed your initial post, but I am glad this thread came around again. As a mandolin beginner but not completely new to music, I am still having a lot of fun watching myself make progress. It is far from instantaneous gratification, but it is indeed fun.

I have set up a Rogue for a friend using Rob's ebook and I recommend going ahead and doing all the steps even if you think the setup is already OK. Reason: to give yourself the confidence to do that kind of stuff to your mandolin even if it is a multi-thousand dollar instrument. Or at least to know what needs to be done if you elect to take it to a luthier. The Rogue is a good way to get an inexpensive education on luthery and a good way to get started with a playable mandolin.

Keep on picking!

[jhowell]

I found mandolin far easier to make progress on than guitar. And then I picked up "mandolin exercises for dummies" and that progress started going even faster. ....

Both of Don's books are worthwhile. I also started with a Rogue and Rob's e-book on mandolin setups. I have a bit better axe now, but the Rogue is still here for camping and canoe trips. Welcome to the wild and woolly world of mandolining.