If it hasn't been done elsewhere in the forum, could we please discuss the jargon I see everywhere, bark, dry, etc. They are only reference points, I know, but what say you??
If it hasn't been done elsewhere in the forum, could we please discuss the jargon I see everywhere, bark, dry, etc. They are only reference points, I know, but what say you??
Billy Packard
Gilchrist A3, 1993
Weber Fern, 2007
Stiver Fern, 1990
Gibson 1923 A2
Gibson 1921 H1 Mandola
Numerous wonderful guitars
The one that really grates with me is 'mando' - but I'm crotchety, I know.
Its just plain difficult if not impossible to describe the subtle differences in sound using words. As soon as I think I know what something means, someone plays a video clip as an example and it seems I was wrong. Or people resort to onamonapoeia, which is more effective in some ways and misleading in others.
But I will give a few of my favorites, and let the discussion begin.
Bark is a quality of a chop chord well played. Its not to short where you can't hear which chord it is, but it is not so long as to be more than a percussion element. Sharp, loud, distinct tone, like a bark.
Dry versus wet I have heard lots of different explanations. I will leave that alone, except to say I have heard of wet tunings, where the strings are ever so slightly out of unison, to give a sort of chorus effect. I sometimes use wet tuning, not intentionally though.
Another you hear a lot is woody, and the only way I can explain what I mean is to site its total opposite. Metallic. I think we can easily imagine what a metallic sound would be, so woody would be the other end of that.
And here is another one, I can only explain through its opposite. Throaty. To my understanding the spectrum is from nasal to throaty. And we can all imagine a nasal sound, so throaty is the opposite.
I hope that helps.
There is a term I use, which I don't see others using too often, creamy. By that I mean the full bodied thick sound of a classic Gibson. Like the difference in taste between say 2% milk and half and half. I don't know how to define full bodied and thick without begging the question so I guess I am as fast and loose with these terms as anyone.
Last edited by JeffD; Aug-08-2016 at 12:58pm.
Near-totally subjective terms; hard to express a consensus on what they mean.
"Bark" seems to have some relation to volume, and a piercing quality that cuts through ensemble sound when the mandolinist is playing "chop" chords -- mostly in a bluegrass context. The typical carved-top, f-hole characteristic of strong attack and quick decay, accentuated by relaxing the fretting fingers and not letting "chop" chords ring, contributes to a "bark" sound. There's also "woof," which I've heard, which seems to be non-synonymous with "bark," oddly enough. "Woof" seems to designate a more bassy sound.
"Dry" to me seems to imply a more treble and mid-range emphasis, somewhat opposite to "woody," which implies more bass, but I hear mandolins described as having a "dry, woody sound," which would seem contradictory to me.
The real problem with defining terms such as these is that they mean different things to different people -- and that people hear things differently, and prefer different sounds. If we stuck to terms like "treble" and "bass," "loud" and "soft," which have broadly accepted connotations, we might avoid talking past each other. It becomes like Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: "I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material...But I know it when I see it..." So, I won't try to define a "dry" mandolin sound, but I know it when I hear it (I guess...).
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
Not sound related, but two words that make my skin crawl:
gibby
adi
Dale Ludewig
http://www.ludewigmandolins.com
A term I use, deliberately, because there aught to be such a term, is "mandolinner". I suppose I could say mandolinist, but that seems to imply a specific genre. What we need is the equivalent of "fiddler" for "violinist". That is what I am going for anyway.
I s'pose, but at least it has a specific unambiguous meaning.
Onomatopoeia
IM(NS)HO
onomatopoeia is, sadly, not an onomatopoetic word itself. Still looking for a better, more swooshy or chopropoptimized word.
the world is better off without bad ideas, good ideas are better off without the world
I think of dry as the opposite of having lots of overtones and almost internal reverb of sorts. Again, subjective I know.
This subject actually gets discussed now and again although I'd be hard pressed to find older threads.
My favorite is "Plays like butter". I'll probably find some if I search for that term.
"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
"Bargain instruments are no bargains if you can't play them"
--J. Garber
Nate Lee
Music Teacher
Mandolin Player & Twin Fiddler for the Becky Buller Band.
Proud owner of Pava mandolins #83 & #194
www.TheNateLee.com
www.PlayNately.com
Don't forget "hog".
Then there's "your old oval hole Gibson sounds tubby" (not corpulent, lol)
Old Hometown, Cabin Fever String Band
I can't explain dry and woody, but I know it when I hear it.....
Living’ in the Mitten
Adi, "First name abbreviated of Mr. Dassler, creator of "Adidas" sport shoes!"
Ok, I'll go to my corner now.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
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