Both these Red Diamonds got my attention.....

[pheffernan]

How, if at all, is this going to impact the rest of your stable?

[Josh Levine]

Thinking about getting rid of the Flatiron Cadet and Morris A5.

[pheffernan]

Would that leave the F9 and the Flatiron A? I seem to recall you moving an MT but find it very difficult to keep track of your instruments.

[Josh Levine]

... Sold the F9 and MT. Have an 85 Stiver A, 2001 Flatiron Festival F, and 1996 Festival A.

[DataNick]

Well... Looks like I am about to be the proud owner of Red Diamond #159. Hopefully I can hold off the beast that is MAS for a while after this purchase...

Congrats Josh!

[Josh Levine]

Thanks Nick... I have a sickness and I am aware of it. Awareness is the first step. I told my fiance I wouldn't buy another mandolin for a year yesterday...

[DataNick]

Thanks Nick... I have a sickness and I am aware of it. Awareness is the first step. I told my fiance I wouldn't buy another mandolin for a year yesterday...

Uh-Oh! "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness"...LOL!

[sgrexa]

Thanks Nick... I have a sickness and I am aware of it. Awareness is the first step. I told my fiance I wouldn't buy another mandolin for a year yesterday...

Well, at least it is comforting to know I am not alone! Was that year before or after the RD purchase? Been there done that.

Sean

[Atlanta Mando Mike]

Sean Grexa, you have killer tone sir. Saw a youtube of you playing an a style Coombe-very good indeed. Still have that mandolin?

[pheffernan]

Have an 85 Stiver A, 2001 Flatiron Festival F, and 1996 Festival A.

That's a fine stable, and I'll be interested to hear your report on where the Red Diamond fits in that lineup.

Thanks Nick... I have a sickness and I am aware of it. Awareness is the first step. I told my fiance I wouldn't buy another mandolin for a year yesterday...

Curiosity is no vice . . . I tell myself.

[sgrexa]

Sean Grexa, you have killer tone sir. Saw a youtube of you playing an a style Coombe-very good indeed. Still have that mandolin?

Mike, thanks for the kind words, I sent you a PM.

Sean

[DataNick]

...Been there done that.

Sean

And I got the T-Shirt too!

[Brian scott]

Chris and Wendy Miller are great freinds of mine. Chris is playing Melvins Buckeye mandolin in this video. This was long before Wendy had a RD mandolin. They have started a band together called Wendy Miller and Country Grass. They just got done with their first cd and man it is awsome.

[pheffernan]

Thanks ya'll. Arrives tomorrow. Then we will really see what its worth.

So what's it worth?

[flatwound]

I play number 189 which is a Vintage 22 A style. It is an awesome mandolin. Very responsive on the entire neck.

[Chris Miller]

Really enjoyed that video of Chris Miller. He's a great player but I noticed how different his technique is from his father's. He plants his thumb on the back of the neck, which is very difficult to do, if you haven't tried it. He didn't get that from his father. I have seen very few players, especially in Bluegrass, play this way.

Hello!


The reason I plant my thumb behind the neck was the result of an accident that nearly cut off my index finger. the tip doesn't bend so I had to adjust to it. I hope that clears it up.

Thanks for the compliment

[Chris Miller]

Thank you!

[Chris Miller]

Not sure where it was recorded, but I too really like the singer and just about everything about that group. The singer is Wendy's son Chris Miller and I will be looking into CDs featuring his voice. He is also a great mandolin player and tenor singer and can also be seen picking a Red Diamond. Here is a great Monroe song I never heard before, again that voice is great and this Red Diamond (wonder if it his dad's?) sounds nice and dry, wonderful stuff:



I must confess that I just inquired about that A5 in the classifieds and it is surprisingly still available. I would snatch it up in a heartbeat if I didn't have my crusher Nugget. It is lacquer and even though it isn't a "vintage" model my understanding is that these are simply built with an "average" of all the Loar specs he measured. Works for me. I think that one is priced very fairly.

Sean

The mandolin I am playing in this video is a Buckeye mandolin made by Pete Hart.

[FLATROCK HILL]

WOW. It's really cool to have you chime in here...welcome! I've enjoyed listening to your rendition of this Monroe classic.
Your vocal and mandolin abilities are tremendous.
I had an opportunity to play a Buckeye (one of Pete's early efforts) at the Monroe Camp this fall...loved it. In the hands of its owner, it was a KILLER !

[roysboy]

Yup ...that singer in that first clip above kills .....

[Timbofood]

I agree, wonderful to have you join in Chris,
Your father was one of the big reasons I started playing mandolin!
The buckeye sounds great!

[Danny Clark]

ive been playing a Red Diamond A #209 since 2010 with the exception of a couple months that i sold it and had to have it back ,Red Diamonds are among the best,
Danny