Brian Dean Grand Concert Mandolin

[MikeEdgerton]

I can't even begin to figure out how this conversation has turned the way it has but I can tell you that this site is the largest repository of mandolin information in the world. To ignore the older posts on a subject is akin to going to the library and simply reading the periodicals and not going through the reference section. I have no idea who this is aimed at but there's some serious misconceptions being put forward in some of these posts. If a link to a past discussion is posted there is no reason that a discussion can't continue but it seems a little short sighted to simply dismiss the old discussions as stale information. Do we have to reinvent the wheel for every thing we do? That seems a waste of time. There is always room for new thought but that doesn't mean you throw away the old knowledge.

[labraid]

People can harvest information anywhere they choose, if they choose. But let them choose to do a search if they want to harvest links and hard facts. Everyone is quite capable of performing searches in the age of Google, no one is special in that capability. People come to a forum precisely because it is not a library -- they come to talk, and when the talking stops, the forum dies. What I and some others are trying to tell the management of this site, is that it is BORING to be smacked with links all the time, and if management doesn't want to listen, if management doesn't want to evolve, if nothing can change because it is so perfect it doesn't have to, then it will go the way of the Edsel....

[MikeEdgerton]

OK, now that I've determined who that all was pointed at, let me assure you Brian that not everyone can find old information, even using Google. I'll also point out that the link that I was going to post was posted in a previous message to mine by your own customer Joe Brent. If you have an issue, you might aim it at him. Beyond that, I will continue to point people at old information as it isn't stale, it's historical. I'm sure that you have reference books that you refer to. Look at those links as being one in the same. By the way, Edsel's sell for a fortune these days.

[labraid]

I and others have said what they have to say...... I respectfully disagree with your (main) point.

[mtucker]

Slightly off topic, but the Edsel's failure was not due to the fact that Ford failed to innovate, quite the opposite actually. The Edsel was highly innovative for it's time and had been drawn up for a number of years prior to its launch, some say they waited too long. It was supposed to represent one of Ford's crowning achievements and as such wore Edsel's name.

It really failed because it was too pricey for its time, the economy was just coming out of the tank (bad timing) and Ford made perhaps one of the greatest marketing mistakes in their history by over-hyping the car and its capabilities/innovation coupled by the fact that they prevented the general public from seeing it (it's a big secret) before one could actually purchase the car.

BOT: Brian, your work speaks for itself and you have some great stuff going on in the Nord country. Joe you are a terrific player, I enjoyed your lighthearted interview with Avi.

[labraid]

Thanks for the welcome change in mood and subject. :) And thank you.
Old cars are the greatest...

[hank]

I think we can add Betamax/VHS, Apple/microsoft and many more to the Edsels fate. To my mind commercial success and bean counting have nothing whatsoever to do with Genius. Brian I applaud you and your work and hope you'll keep sharing your joy of invention with us.

[Bernie Daniel]

I think we can add Betamax/VHS, Apple/microsoft and many more to the Edsels fate. To my mind commercial success and bean counting have nothing whatsoever to do with Genius. Brian I applaud you and your work and hope you'll keep sharing your joy of invention with us.

And "New" coca cola....

Hank, I completely agree with your statement about bean counting and genius -- there is one link however and that is without geniuses there would be a lot few beans to count! Thinking out of the box -- so many cases of where that kind of experimentation in one area lead to major advancements in a totally different arenas.

[journeybear]

... It really failed because it was too pricey for its time, the economy was just coming out of the tank (bad timing) and Ford made perhaps one of the greatest marketing mistakes in their history by over-hyping the car ...

True enough, though the economy was still in a recession. Still, bad timing. Here are a couple of links.

[labraid]

Here's a link too

[mtucker]

hehehe...niiice! ..well he most certainly changed the paradigm of a rock frontman, with that flute..didn't he.

[Dan Hoover]

wait..i'm missing something?....Whom is playing the mando in the Edsel?

[journeybear]

I played one while driving a Triumph TR-6 once, which is neither here nor there. Perhaps Edsel Ford played mandolin? I dunno. This is one confusing thread.

[mtucker]

I played one while driving a Triumph TR-6 once, which is neither here nor there. Perhaps Edsel Ford played mandolin? I dunno. This is one confusing thread.

...well at least you were in a TR6 and not a sprite!

okay, back to mandolins..wait...Edsel's old man (Henry), certainly helped gibson discover lacquer and color since DuPont developed it initially for his cars in the mid-20's! okay, how's that for a degree or two of separation...?

really, bot ... i think brian's complex box of curves and cuts looks sweeeeet and just sounds stellar with Joe at the wheel! yay!!!



second thought ... the old bugeyes were pretty cute!

[DougC]

Like Brian, I get a little tired of hack-kneed comments. I also like to follow good meaty discussions and I go looking for them here. Often there are links that lead me to some other planet and I wonder what the heck happened? I also worry that the discussions can become boring or worse; just think about the hype that drove Hans Bentrup out. So friends, let's keep this on track and honest. O.K.?

[Chris Biorkman]

Just think about the hype that drove Hans Bentrup out.

Hans got mad and left because someone sold one of his instruments, which they had every right to do without being harrassed.

[journeybear]

... let's keep this on track and honest. O.K.?

Actually, let's let this one fade away, which I thought it was doing. Why stir things up again? Clearly something about links or the way they are used touched a nerve with Brian and the discussion got way strange and heated, far beyond where it should have been.

Links are a useful tool if they lead to something related to the topic. For example, my Edsel links, which were an attempt at defusing this volatile discussion. Which I thought was pretty much done. And should be, by my reckoning. I think the original topic was covered, and overshadowed by the derailment. Might be better to start a new thread on the OT than keep this one going. Just my 2¢.

So, on a slightly less threatening topic ... BTW, mtucker, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were some interaction between those captains of industry in the Wolverine State. Such a thought was running through my mind but didn't feel like researching it.

[Bernie Daniel]

Actually, let's let this one fade away, which I thought it was doing. Why stir things up again? Clearly something about links or the way they are used touched a nerve with Brian and the discussion got way strange and heated, far beyond where it should have been.

Links are a useful tool if they lead to something related to the topic. For example, my Edsel links, which were an attempt at defusing this volatile discussion. Which I thought was pretty much done. And should be, by my reckoning. I think the original topic was covered, and overshadowed by the derailment. Might be better to start a new thread on the OT than keep this one going. Just my 2¢.

So, on a slightly less threatening topic ... BTW, mtucker, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were some interaction between those captains of industry in the Wolverine State. Such a thought was running through my mind but didn't feel like researching it.

Somewhere in my brain a neuron is flashing that someone in the Ford family (maybe not Edsel) did play mandolin -- it would hardly be surprising given to popularity of the instrument in the early 1900's. I think I am remembering a picture I saw several decades ago at the either the Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village -- I cannot recall which.

[mandolirius]

Hans got mad and left because someone sold one of his instruments, which they had every right to do without being harrassed.

Chris, I think that's a bit of an unfair accounting. Builders wind up being sort of armchair psychologists because they deal with some people that are a little neurotic. We've all heard the stories. The way I understood it is that the years of trying to satisfy the demands that customers can make, dealing with their worrying ways and eventually come up with exactly what they are wanting finally had an impact. You try so hard so please someone, put your heart and soul into the instrument and find that someone is selling it not too long after receiving it.

You're right. You buy it and it's yours to do with what you will. But to leave the impression that one person selling an instrument caused Hans to have a hissy fit and flee the site strikes me as well, not quite accurate let's put it that way.

[Dave Cohen]

It is most certainly not accurate. Speaking with my builder's hat on, Mandolirius has made a point that does resonate with builders. Speaking strictly as one of Hans' friends, I can say without qualification that Hans is far too mature to just get mad and leave with his marbles. I am going to assume that Chris did not intend to be dismissive of Hans, but his remark did have the effect of being dismissive, particularly since Hans is not participating in the discussion.

http://www.Cohenmando.com

[brunello97]

It's Twine Time, but you know, I only have a minute to check in here after dinner and I'm not genuinely interested in anything.

Man, what a mess. Shotgun!? Shoot him before he runs now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtvBdgyDH8U

I'm using up a bit of my quota......

Mick

[journeybear]

Somewhere in my brain a neuron is flashing that someone in the Ford family (maybe not Edsel) did play mandolin -- it would hardly be surprising given the popularity of the instrument in the early 1900's. I think I am remembering a picture I saw several decades ago at the either the Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village -- I cannot recall which.

I've done some websearching in my usual hamfisted way and found nothing worth reporting, other than a mention of Henry Ford's involvement in a series of fiddle contests in the 1920s (no citation). That ain't no part of nothing, and there may be more to this story, but so far I am not encouraged to keep searching.

Ford probably had more contact with the "other" Orville, Mr. Wright.

[billhay4]

So, Brian, what was it about Joe's tonal needs that led you to do a false back? Was it the need for absolute clarity of note? or something else?
Bill
Having gone back and re-read the original thread, I withdraw this question. Brian explained it then and, like the old man I am, I promptly forgot it.

[MandoNicity]

...well at least you were in a TR6 and not a sprite!

okay, back to mandolins..wait...Edsel's old man (Henry), certainly helped gibson discover lacquer and color since DuPont developed it initially for his cars in the mid-20's! okay, how's that for a degree or two of separation...?

really, bot ... i think brian's complex box of curves and cuts looks sweeeeet and just sounds stellar with Joe at the wheel! yay!!!



second thought ... the old bugeyes were pretty cute!

Hey! I owned a Bug Eye Sprite and it was a hum dinger! [as long as you could afford your own personal mechanic]

[Irénée]

Yes, Nice mandolin...