Everybody wants the high $$ instruments, but the instrument I had the most fun playing was an epiphone mm20. It was really easy to play. I zip-tied a Seymour Duncan woody pickup to the end of a squared-off fretboard, I plugged it in to an electric guitar amp, and proceeded to "melt faces." (Jack Black reference).
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Originally Posted by Andy Hatfield
Everybody wants the high $$ instruments, but the instrument I had the most fun playing was an epiphone mm20. It was really easy to play. I zip-tied a Seymour Duncan woody pickup to the end of a squared-off fretboard, I plugged it in to an electric guitar amp, and proceeded to "melt faces." (Jack Black reference).
What was the most fun instrument you ever had?
Andy
Ditto , Andy...minus the pickup.
An Epiphone mm20...completely gloss black....beautiful looking great action ...very easy to learn on . The actual tone was another issue , of course ..but with low action and no buzz it was a great motivator for me to stick with it .
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
My fave is still my first, the MD605 with the sunburst gloss finish. :-) I originally bought it because I loved the look, coming from the guitar and bass guitar world, sunburst has always been my favorite look.
But the thicker finish quiets it down, and gives it a darker almost almost oval-hole sound, which I was originally disappointed with, but it has grown on me over time. It's just different, and it turns out it fills a need for me quite well:
I live in an apartment and need a quiet practicer.
During my travels I bought a lot of so-called quiet mandolins, none of which worked out that well. Somehow the MD605 is still the best. As I've grown I've learned to play with a softer touch. I can pull a soft sweet tone out of that thing that is to die for, and that takes care of the volume problem too.
It wouldn't hold up well in an acoustic jam, but I realize that is what my MD305 is for, it's a noticeably louder and brighter instrument. And my first acoustic jam is coming up in a few weeks, looking forward to that: Fiddlers.org San Jose, if anyone else is going let me know and we can say hi.
The louder MD305 is actually almost too loud for my aging ears, which have become sensitive to loud noises, so I am beginning to realize that a more expensive and powerful instrument may not be a good fit for me, but I still want to try one out. :-)
The quieter nature of the glossy MD605 also makes it sightly less feedback prone when plugged in onstage.
So in summary that instrument hits a few sweet spots that I was clueless about when I bought it.
It needs taller frets though, which it is getting this week (going from .30s to .60s).
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.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
I once restored old Czech made mandola (typical german/czech style flattop) that had the top sanded too thin and many cracks appeared as it was stored in dry attic (not worth the work IMO, but had sentimental value to owner). Once restored I strung it up with regular mandolin strings (tuned as mandola) to reduce tension on the weakened structure and strummed few chords... that thing really sucked me in and I just couldn't stop playing it for hour or so... that resonant, loose "zingy" sound and sympathetic vibrations of strings created very different possibilities from what I was used to (I'm F-5 guy).
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Most fun playing?
I got a four string Epi Mandobird (gold sparkly finish) the first year they were produced. It was so fun to play I called it TooFun. Since then I have moved up to a JBovier EMC-5 TV Yellow with white pickups and pickguard ala Jeff Beck.
Recently put a set of Aquila 31-U strings on a concert uke my wife got me for a few years ago. Tuned it CGDA. That comes a close second to 4 and 5 string emandos.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Wow, that's a tough one.
Back in the late 90's I really bonded with a beautiful black Morgan Monroe f-style that I bought from the good people at Folk-Of-The-Wood, (I can't remember the model number) . . . but if I had to pick one that was the most fun and influential to my playing, it would have to be my $129 Washburn M1SDL. Looks great, plays as smooth as butter and forever turned me into an oval-hole guy.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
For all around musical satisfaction, it would be my Fullerton Gloucester. With a few mods I just love the way it plays and sounds.
For fun, it would be the Eastwood Mandocaster I used to play in our band. I play it through a small Fender 1 which was plenty loud for the small venues we played at. With the right setting it had a decent acoustic sound-- good enough that I don't think anyone noticed the difference in noisy pubs.
That little amp has a lot of built in classic amp models,plus built in effects. That was a blast to fool around with on my own,pulling Heavy Metal, Psychedelic 60's and other sounds from my tiny Telecaster.
For wooden musical fun that doesn't involve strumming, check out: www.busmanwhistles.com
Handcrafted pennywhistles in exotic hardwoods.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
My first mando in 1982 was the Gibson A '09 my wife's grandfather passed down to me. I played it a bit way back and enjoyed it, so when I revived my interest in it five years ago it sprang the mandolin to life for me. That was the most fun to play ever for me! The one with the pickguard--
2014 BRW F5 #114
2022 Kentucky KM 950 Master Model
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Originally Posted by Andy Hatfield
Everybody wants the high $$ instruments, but the instrument I had the most fun playing was an epiphone mm20. It was really easy to play. I zip-tied a Seymour Duncan woody pickup to the end of a squared-off fretboard, I plugged it in to an electric guitar amp, and proceeded to "melt faces." (Jack Black reference).
What was the most fun instrument you ever had?
Andy
A distressed Gibson MM Ricky Skaggs a few years ago at Carter's, but it was $20k+. I've also enjoyed playing Ellis and Kimbles.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
I was at Gruhn's on Saturday and had LOADS of fun playing a couple of different Lawrence Smart F style Octaves... WAY out of my price range but SUPER fun to play. One was a smaller scale length than the other and that one I enjoyed more. It was just super cool how deep and resonant they were!
aka: Spencer
Silverangel Econo A #429
Soliver #001 Hand Crafted Pancake
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
A Brentrup that someone brought to a jam and was kind enough to let me try out. Couldn't tell you which model, except that it wasn't unorthodox looking. Far and away the best mandolin I've ever laid hands on.
"The paths of experimentation twist and turn through mountains of miscalculations, and often lose themselves in error and darkness!"
--Leslie Daniel, "The Brain That Wouldn't Die."
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
I think the most fun I ever had was the whole weekend I spent jamming with my friends at Lake Cachuma, getting drunk and peeing on the lid of the outhouse toilet (oops) and then dropping my eyeglasses by the campfire and having people dance on them all night long (shoot, and they were brand new, too), then having the cops come and chew us out like we were in high school, then going off to the fiddler's convention on Sunday morning and finally around 5pm on Sunday my brain and my fingers were completely fried to the point I couldn't play another tune. That was the most fun. Can't remember what mandolin I had for all that though. Probably the one I have now.
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Originally Posted by Andy Hatfield
Everybody wants the high $$ instruments, but the instrument I had the most fun playing was an epiphone mm20. It was really easy to play. I zip-tied a Seymour Duncan woody pickup to the end of a squared-off fretboard, I plugged it in to an electric guitar amp, and proceeded to "melt faces." (Jack Black reference).
What was the most fun instrument you ever had?
Andy
A well worn Ratliff, I have a few good mandolins including a new Ellis that the old Ratliff just blows away[smile]
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
Well, I know I have a strong bias toward whatever I am currently playing and liking. I have a couple of really nice examples of less-than-real-high-priced-but-very-good-quality mandolins. Right now my funnest one is a Weber Yellowstone 2pt that I got used a month or two ago. I have one or two I paid significantly more for. Sometimes I get buyers' remorse. This one gives me buyers' delight. For now anyway.
New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.
Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).
Re: The mandolin I had the most fun playing was....
A Mitchell AM100. As a long-time mediocre rhythm guitarist, I was leading a co-curricular strings activity at my school when my student brought in her recent Christmas present. She let me try it out, and we spent much of the week laughing as we teased out simple songs like "Mr. Jones" by the Counting Crows. Before long, I had searched out the Mandolin Cafe and was awaiting my tax refund so as to purchase my first mandolin. And thus an obsession was born.
Last edited by pheffernan; Sep-15-2018 at 9:18am.
1924 Gibson A Snakehead
2005 National RM-1
2007 Hester A5
2009 Passernig A5
2015 Black A2-z
2010 Black GBOM
2017 Poe Scout
2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
2018 Vessel TM5
2019 Hogan F5
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