MAS on a budget

[JerseyPicker]

Considering that there are no physical stores in my area that sell Mandolins (good ones, anyway), I have been resorting to Guitar Center's online store to fulfill my MAD. I wanted to throw this out there as a PSA, that even though the employees there may not be very knowledgeable about mandolins, Guitar Center has been a great way for me to try many different kinds of Mandolins.

They have a very fair return policy of 45 days, so you are able to try any of the used mandolins they have listed online for about a month for only the cost of shipping. This has enabled me to try all kinds of Mando's out and scratch the MAD itch with very little hit to my budget and very little risk.

So, if there is anyone out there who is located very far from a good Mandolin store, Guitar Center is not so bad, even if you use it just to try out something different for a month.

[Jim Garber]

MAD? Mandolin Aquisition Denial? Mothers Against Driving? Mutually Assured Destruction? Mean Absolute Deviation? Mosquito Abatement District?

I have slightly elevated PSA so I think I understand.

Nice to know that Guitar Center works for you. I guess the best part is that they have a long trial period. The not so great thing is that, for the vintage stuff they have terrible photos or barely at at all. I suppose I would just talk to the store guys with instrument in hand and ask if they can send pictures if there are any issues.

OTOH all the excellent dealers we know and deal with here in mandolin world have at least 48 hour or more approval periods for the cost of shipping.

[Seter]

On the topic of Guitar Center mandolins, there is a nice used Eastman MD-805 at my local Guitar Center miscategorized as an acoustic guitar. Sometimes they overprice, sometimes they underprice, sometimes they miscategorize and a good deal flies under the radar.

[Sherry Cadenhead]

What is MAD and what is PSA?

[Kevin Stueve]

I'm betting Mandolin Acquisition Disease and Public Service Announcement?
Although Mutually Assured Destruction and Prostate-specific antigen make for a funnier read

[Mark Wilson]

MAD must be the advanced stages of MAS. It's what happens if you don't treat MAS properly

[JerseyPicker]

MAD must be the advanced stages of MAS. It's what happens if you don't treat MAS properly

Oops! I didn't realize the preferred nomenclature was MAS when I typed my original post.

Disease.... what was I thinking? LOL

[Zach Wilson]

My case of MAS is making my wife MAD and back account thin.

[Sherry Cadenhead]

Back account? Lol

[mandroid]

Then comes MNR... mandolin needs re-frets

I got it , locally , left on a consignment sale 15 years ago.. a 1922 A4..

original buyer a WW1 vet, got it for himself and that is how it came to live here..

[Zach Wilson]

"Back account? Lol"

Doh!

[KGreene]

Oops! I didn't realize the preferred nomenclature was MAS when I typed my original post.

Disease.... what was I thinking? LOL

I was just under the assumption that the "Syndrome" left untreated, festers and manifests itself as a "Disorder" .... of which wives interpret as a mental defficiency, causing them to develop a severe case of PAS (Pissed At Spouse).

[Kevin Stueve]

yea well my PSA is acting on your MAS (without telling the wife) can result in Mad spouse.

[KGreene]

yea well my PSA is acting on your MAS (without telling the wife) can result in Mad spouse.

Got that T-shirt!!

[Jim Garber]

Aha! All this goes with the observation in my life that 95% of humor is based on hearing defects and typos.

[James Miller]

Y'all nee an acronym dictionary on this site. cannot say how many terms I've run into and wondered what in tarnation are they referring to?? Even Google didn't know. NIS?

[MissingString]

Aha! All this goes with the observation in my life that 95% of humor is based on hearing defects and typos.

And 73% of all statistics are made up on the spot...

[allenhopkins]

"Come you doctors and specialists, answer my call;
Does my PSA say that my prostrate's still small?
These blood pressure pills aren't working at all,
Or the anti-depressants I'm taking;
When I walk 'cross the room, I'm afraid I might fall,
And the times, they are a-changin'"

-- Garrison Keillor parody of Dylan, supposedly to commemorate Bob's 60th birthday

[JeffD]

I saw a video on model railroading, featuring a fellow who had a gigantic layout that consumed most of his time. They interviewed his wife and asked her what she thought, and she was very supportive. She has her own things going - plays the fiddle and mandolin.

[James Miller]

So what is an MAS and an NFI?

[Jill McAuley]

MAS = Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome

NFI = No Financial Interest

[NursingDaBlues]

Cool Dry Place
by The Traveling Wilburys

Well, I woke up this morning
The place was such a wreck
I couldn't reach the bathroom
Thought I better clear the deck
I tried to call the lawyer
And asked him what to do
He referred me to his doctor
Who referred me back to you
And when you checked the manual
You kept inside the case
It said put it in a cool dry place

Well, I drove around the city
Looking for a room
That was high above the water
Where my things could be in tune
There was no one to help me
Nobody even cared
I had to go through hell
To get those things up there
I paid my first subscription
Then I joined the idle race
And they said, "Store it in a cool dry place"

I got guitar, basses, amplifiers and drums
Accordions and mandolins and things that sometimes hum
Cymbals and harmonicas, capos by the score
And lots of things in boxes laying all around the floor

Some places they get mildew
And others get too hot
Some places are so damp that
Everything you got just rots
All kinds of condensation
Direct result of rain
And not much compensation
When everything's been stained
Some have sentimental value that
Cannot be erased
Go store it in a cool dry place

We got solids and acoustics
And some from plywood board
And some are trimmed in leather
And some are made with gourds
There's organs and trombones
And reverbs we can't use
Lots of DX-7s
And old athletic shoes

I bought a great big building
That took up one whole block
I made an inventory
Of all the things in stock
The place was getting longer
I was up all night
I used up all my pencils
But I went on despite
The blurring of my vision
The sweat upon my face
I got to put this stuff away, I mustn't leave a trace
The landlord's breathing down my neck
He says it's a disgrace
So I said, "Put it in a cool, dry place"

[Br1ck]

So besides how poorly mandolins are generally set up, what have you learned regarding what you would like to own?

[KGreene]

So besides how poorly mandolins are generally set up, what have you learned regarding what you would like to own?

?? ... Well clearly JerseyPicker now has his mind set on an F5G.

[JerseyPicker]

So besides how poorly mandolins are generally set up, what have you learned regarding what you would like to own?

You're darn right about the set ups; they all came in needing at least some tweaking.

I've learned a few things about my preferences. From reading descriptions, I thought I would really like the sound of a flat top mandolin, but after trying a Big Muddy (the base model with the walnut), its just not my sound. I play a lot of Irish Trad tunes, so I thought it would suit me, but I like the better "articulation" of the arch top style mandos. Between F and O holes, I would say that I prefer the F hole sound (even for the trad tunes), but still want to own an O for when I want something a little different.

I learned that I really care a lot about how the neck and fretboard feel. Radiused fretboards are a must; what a difference that makes. As far as nut width, I tend to prefer narrower sizes; Eastman's 1-3/32" feels nice.

Cheap mandolins are really CHEAP. Anything for a couple/few hundred bucks new are generally TERRIBLE. Thin frail feeling frets, with thin frail voices to match. One mandolin that was particularly bad was an F style "Hohner" that I tried. The darned thing barely made a note once u started going a little up the fretboard.

I've yet to try really high end stuff, like a Weber or a Collings. I was really only trying things in my sub $1,000 budget, and right now have an Eastman 505 that I think I'm going to stick with.

I really want to keep going and trying nicer instruments; its such great fun.