I'm not a math expert (English was my goodest subject) and all these numbers are confusing. How 'bout just making a decision based on what easiest to play (or is that simplifying it too much)?
I'm not a math expert (English was my goodest subject) and all these numbers are confusing. How 'bout just making a decision based on what easiest to play (or is that simplifying it too much)?
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
Nut width and fret height are some of the things that make a difference to me and are hard to shop for because those specs aren't easily available, and you can't sort by them on a website so very tedious.
Someone suggest some under $2k wide-nut, tall-fret (.45+) F-hole (no scroll is ok) mandos for me? :-)
Preferably that can be had at Gryphon or the mandolinstore. Pickup is preferred, but not hard to add later.
Davey Stuart tenor guitar (based on his 18" mandola design).
Eastman MD-604SB with Grover 309 tuners.
Eastwood 4 string electric mandostang, 2x Airline e-mandola (4-string) one strung as an e-OM.
DSP's: Helix HX Stomp, various Zooms.
Amps: THR-10, Sony XB-20.
kurth83, Searching on the web is very tedious. Agreed, but at least we can. Looks like you've managed to build a good sized stable of mandos all the same.
Ray Dearstone #009 D1A (1999)
Skip Kelley #063 Offset Two Point (2017)
Arches #9 A Style (2005)
Bourgeois M5A (2022)
Hohner and Seydel Harmonicas (various keys)
"Heck, Jimmy Martin don't even believe in Santy Claus!"
While we're discussing neck shape, hand and finger size, etc., we shouldn't ignore the fact that some of the more useful techniques of mandolin playing require close-spaced string courses, more akin to fiddle technique.
This is what guitar players often miss, when they first encounter mandolins and think the standard nuts are too narrow.
For example, it's incredibly useful to use my index fingertip to hold down all four strings of the G and D courses for a 2200 "modal A" chord (or dyad), leaving my other fingers free for fretting other notes. Move that shape over one set of strings and it's a "modal E." There are a few other shapes that work this way, using a single fingertip. It only works effortlessly (except for the callus required) when the string pairs are close enough together. That's a function of string spacing at the nut, not the nut width itself, but there is a correlation on most mandolins.
I'm 6'2" tall with proportionate hands and fingers, and I don't find this technique difficult on a more-or-less standard sized mandolin nut width. I do find it more difficult, although not impossible, with wider spacing of string courses like my octave mandolin. I just have to think ahead a bit more to "stick the landing" when playing a faster tune using that 22OO fingertip chord on the OM, whereas on mandolin it's effortless.
Of course it's possible to play mandolin well without ever using this technique. It depends on the genres of music you're playing (not sure if Bill M. ever did this?). But I don't think I'd ever choose a mandolin with a "wide nut" because it would limit this techniques that I've come to depend on,
Silverangel A
Arches F style kit
1913 Gibson A-1
Ok, maybe I've got this math thing figured out after all. My main Breedlove has a 1 3/16" nut and I'm comfortable with it. It feels almost the same as my buddy's 1 6/32". Now, if you go shopping for a 1 1/8" nut, don't get the 1 1/4" nut because it's 8/64" larger. If you find one with a 1 11/16" width, put it back because that's a Martin D-28.
See, I told you I had it figured out.
Tomorrow, our cipherin' lesson will be division so study up.
David Hopkins
2001 Gibson F-5L mandolin
Breedlove Legacy FF mandolin; Breedlove Quartz FF mandolin
Gibson F-4 mandolin (1916); Blevins f-style Octave mandolin, 2018
McCormick Oval Sound Hole "Reinhardt" Mandolin
McCormick Solid Body F-Style Electric Mandolin; Slingerland Songster Guitar (c. 1939)
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of political correctness, incompetence and stupidity.
"You have no evidence for that and it doesn't follow from the information in the (let's be generous and call it an) article. "
Ok, I'll buy your unsubstantiated retort..
Human hands have remained the same size in spite of a significant increase in body height and weight since 1900.
ie .. the human body has increased in size while the hands have remained the same.
Yeah, that'll sell.
"If you find one with a 1 11/16" width, put it back because that's a Martin D-28."
Post 1939 perhaps.
Pre 1939 the standard nut width on a Martin guitar was 1 3/4" as was my 00-17. .
"You are totally right and wrong!"
As I am old and dimmer than a 5 watt bulb, please expound.
I recall an incident in an upscale stringed instrument store in the SF Cal area about 30 years ago.
I was a frequent customer.
On this visit they showed me a new Martin ( I have owned 14 of them)
I played it and said.. ok but the nut width is too narrow.
Sales person..
What if I take $300 off the price, is the nut width wide enough ?
I related this to the owner ( of this famed store)
This used car hustler is no longer there.
Some folks get used to a certain width. My 1910 A is 1 1/8", the one my mentor owns, which is a couple years newer, is probably 1 1/4". Very wide. He has a terrible time trying to play my Gibson. Although I have no problem using his if needed.
As to nut width, I was once told, when handling an original Roy Smeck Radio Grande, that if I couldn't handle the 2 1/8" nut width, that I should maybe just give up trying to play guitar.
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Big Muddy M-11, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
https://www.facebook.com/LauluAika/
https://www.lauluaika.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Longtine-Am...14404553312723
Well, my human body has increased substantially in weight since I was 21, but my hands aren't any bigger. Height does affect hand length, but since your hand length is less than 1/9th of your height, for every inch in height you gain, your hands get less than a ninth of an inch longer (on average). Americans have gained an increased average height of 3 inches over the last century, so about, what, a third of an inch on your total hand length at most. I'm 6 foot 4 and I have no trouble playing a 1 and 1/8 inch neck mandolin.
Last edited by OldSausage; Jul-24-2018 at 9:15am.
https://twitter.com/simpsons_tweets/...98151239266304
Mike Marshall could probably easily palm a basketball, and he plays one of those The Loars, don't he? But, you know, from before they made 'em with real chunky necks? And then there is this guy: https://www.thestrad.com/violinist-i...s/6114.article
But while I don't find the 'my hands are too big' argument entirely persuasive, I constantly use my smaller than average hands as an excuse for my trouble playing well.
My friends have had a vintage clothing store for 40+ years and have noticed that vintage clothes don't fit today's kids! That is, kids today are a lot bigger than 100 years ago. They blame pre-natal vitamins, believe it or not. Not sure how that has affected the vintage glove market!
If you want to blame something, how about corn syrup.
This thread started with "Wide nut is subjective." That said, that's all that had to be said.
Correctamundo.
The point is that some folks advertise "wide nut" when it is utter bs based on the fact that most mandolin nuts are under-nutted by my standards and the standard of many others.
Rather than state "wide nut" why not just post a number.
Thank you Mr. Obvious
Also since some folks state "wide nut" .. considering Eastman and other mandolins suffer from NNS ( narrow nut syndrome) with weenie 1 1/16th nuts, why are the sellers not advertising/stating.. the "desirable narrow nut" ?
Just musing.
Maybe the airlines should advertise "Now offering narrow seats!" (Though it's the legroom that bothers me, and I'm under six feet.)
What I've see advertised as a jumbo guitar.....
When I bought my Collings wide nut, I thought it was the right thing, but I could never play a comfortable G chop on it.(I have long fingers too) Now that I have a narrower neck C#, I feel more comfortable playing overall. It’s weird.
Peter Kaufman violin
Old Wave two point
Chaconne a son gout! (obscure French pun )
I lean toward 1-1/8" nut width and moderate thickness of neck. The only mandolin I have kept with a 1-1/4" nut width is my RM-1 and it does take me a bit of time to adjust to it. My 23 Gibson snakehead is actually narrower than 1-1/8" but everything else is in that general range.
I have also played some mandolins with thin (in depth) necks and those I find hard to get used to.
Jim
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19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
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