I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to spend a few K on a mandolin. I'm not a great player, but I hope to be. Will this feeling pass?
I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to spend a few K on a mandolin. I'm not a great player, but I hope to be. Will this feeling pass?
No it is hopeless, if you are thinking about it you have already lost the battle.
Weber Bitteroot Custom
Eastman 905D 2 point
Scott Cao 850
Taylor NS34CE
"You have to go out on a limb, that is where the fruit is"
The best you can do at this point is not buy new. Watch the market and do your research. God speed.
Yes buy used because if you don't then soon you will want to buy another that costs more, if you buy used you can skip a level and get a great one
Ibanez 70's 524, 521, 3 511's,2 512's,513,1 514,3 80s 513's, 522
J Bovier F5-T custom shop
Kiso Suzuki V900,
The Loar lm600 Cherryburst
morgan monroe mms-5wc,ovation
Michael Kelly Octave Mandolin
Emandos Northfield octave tele 4, Northfield custom jem octave mandolin 5 octave strat 8
2 Flying v 8, octave 5, Exploryer octave 8 20"
Fender mandostrat 4,3 Epip mandobird 2,4/8, Kentucky. KM300E Eastwood mandocaster
Gold Tone F6,Badaax doubleneck 8/6
2005 Rigel G5 #2196
2005 Phoenix Jazz #400
1988 Jeff Traugott Acoustic #4
2012 Eastman 905 Archtop Guitar, BLOND!
Remember to grin while you pick, it throws folks off!
I am a terrible mandolin player (trying to fix that) and have spent a large amount of money on mandolins...because the feeling does not pass and I could. If I had listened to the advice posted here - buy used - I would have saved a great deal of money and had the same or better level of instruments. So if you can afford it, indulge in a nice instrument! A very fine used instrument will cost serious coin but will also retain its value if you want to sell/trade it, and most likely, you will.
-Jim
I am struggling with it now too. I have been a guitarist for most of my life, but have always been drawn to the mandolin. About 3 months ago I shifted my focus to the mandolin and acquired a 1976 Ode A5 which I love. I still crave more mandolins, and I was never that way with guitar.
1994 Gibson F5L - Weber signed
"Mandolin brands are a guide, not gospel! I don't drink koolaid and that Emperor is naked!"
"If you wanna get soul Baby, you gots to get the scroll..."
"I would rather play music anyday for the beggar, the thief, and the fool!"
"Perfection is not attainable; but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence" Vince Lombardi
Playing Style: RockMonRoll Desperado Bluegrass Desperado YT Channel
Well, you can see that no one here is going to talk you back from that ledge. We're more a support group for MAS.
I will offer this consolation, though. I jumped on an opportunity to buy a really nice mandolin that far exceeded my ability, and I have found that it really advanced my playing substantially. I hope it does for you, too!
Think globally, bike locally.
That's something we seldom see here. Much more common is the complete beginner who jumps straight in for an instrument costing several thousand dollars, then complains about how it doesn't feel 'right' (how can it be 'wrong' if you're a complete beginner?) - so he dumps it and grabs another one, and another, so that six months into his mandolin experience he has bought and sold several high-grade instruments, each one at a loss, and each one perfectly good enough to have lasted him for years.
eadg145 rather brilliantly avoided that minefield. Well done, that man
order a mandolin from a builder with a long waiting list. That'll give you temporary relief.
f-d
¡papá gordo ain’t no madre flaca!
'20 A3, '30 L-1, '97 914, 2012 Cohen A5, 2012 Muth A5, '14 OM28A
I am shocked that absolutely no one is talking me down! I do have my eye on a used instrument, I appreciate that advice.
"Just one?", now that cracks me up.....
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
eadg145's support group concept is on target - we're more like 'enablers'. Buy what [as many as] you want and have fun!
Mike
Those who think they should think, like they think others think they should think, need to think out their thinking, I think.
No envejecemos, maduramos. -Pablo Picasso
Misery loves company!
Don't do it. Mandolins are a horrible waste of money. Get yourself a nice banjo instead.
Now take that plunge and get it over with
But don't come back to me when you toss in your sleep at night, haunted by nightmares of that mandolin, waiting for you in its case under your bed, silently, patiently
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
Buy a guitar instead! Reasons why:
1. The quality will be twice as good as the mandolin for the same amount of money.
2. When you want to sell it you won't have to explain what it is to anybody. Nobody will say "What is that? A really big ukulele?"
Don
2016 Weber Custom Bitterroot F
2011 Weber Bitterroot A
1974 Martin Style A
I say jump off of that ledge and make sure you land in the deep end, just like all of us did.
Its a wonderful place to be. You will either have a new mandolin, or you will have a couple of K hanging around burning a hole in your pocket. An envious position either way. Enjoy the moment, then enjoy the fall.
If you have the disposable income, just get it! If it will put a strain on the household, don't. But, if you must/can find something in the gently played department, better bang for buck.
In other words, no, we can't talk you off the ledge.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
Also, did you know that The Mandolin Store has easy payment financing? NFI.
Oh wait, weren't we supposed to be discouraging you?
Don
2016 Weber Custom Bitterroot F
2011 Weber Bitterroot A
1974 Martin Style A
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