Since you asked why you "should", I'll just say IMHO you "shouldn't". Nothing against users of add-ons ,I'm just old school enough to think the mandolin is pretty perfect and needs only a good musician to be all it can be...
Since you asked why you "should", I'll just say IMHO you "shouldn't". Nothing against users of add-ons ,I'm just old school enough to think the mandolin is pretty perfect and needs only a good musician to be all it can be...
Pickguard - nope
Armguard - nope
Toneguard - nope
Right Guard - yep
My sweat damages the finish on my mandolin so I use an arm guard. I use a pickguard to protect the mandolin top from errant pick scratches. I use a Toneguard to increase the volume without pounding on my mandolin. Not that I don't pound ... occasionally.
I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...
Pro for using armrest, no more holes in the sleeve of my shirts from the tailpiece.
There are lots of good reasons for and against armrests (and tonegards, since they've been mentioned here too).
Basically if you're getting an armrest for comfort, get one that has gentle edges where your arm hits it. If you're getting one for tone or volume, make sure it doesn't rest on the soundboard of the instrument. If you're getting one to change your playing posture to avoid touching the bridge, make sure the armrest is high enough to do that. If you're getting one to preserve the finish, make sure the contact area of the armrest has nothing on it that will marr the finish under the armrest mount. If you're getting one because it looks cool, well, that's up to you.
Note that if you're getting a wooden armrest, there's nothing that says you cannot re-profile it to your preference.
Really, all of these benefits are based on your personal preference and how you execute using it.
In my experience ToneGard benefits, while brought up here in a similar mindset, are really less debatable. There are lots of other threads here on the Cafe' that discuss this. But again, personal preference overules all.
-- Don
"Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
"It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."
2002 Gibson F-9
2016 MK LFSTB
1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
[About how I tune my mandolins]
[Our recent arrival]
I've always felt like armrests are beneficial for more than just comfort and wear. I do like my "roll cage" (Tonegard) on the back of mine and feel like the armrest does the same for the top. It keeps my arm off the sound board and frees it up to move better than without. I honestly feel like the first time I put one on my mando, it did make a difference in the sound. I do recognize that that is subjective though much the same as folk's feelings about the tonegard.
aka: Spencer
Silverangel Econo A #429
Soliver #001 Hand Crafted Pancake
Soliver Hand Crafted Mandolins and Mandolin Armrests
Armrests Here -- Mandolins Here
"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore, ...and also a boat with no holes in it.” -anonymous
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
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