Who has just one?

[Frost]

Up until yeterday evening I could have said that I had only one...a Kentucky KM272.

Today I have two, after taking delivery of a new Girouard Ensemble A from TME.

I can rationalize 2, 'cause of the different shaped holes. But if I ever get to 3, I'll know I have a problem.

[LadysSolo]

How about I am owned by my mandolins? No? I own a mandolin, but the mandolin has "pets" (other mandolins.) Perhaps I have an addictive personality.......

[Ignatius]

I had two for a couple years, but now I just have my Ratliff R-5: my first mandolin and the one recommended to me many years ago by a very helpful staff member at Elderly Instruments. If only I were good enough to justify owning such a great mandolin. . . .

[rgray]

Me!

[Louise NM]

I have just one. (A mandola is not a mandolin, right?) That's probably not a permanent thing, but for today, just one.

[Herzen]

I am an inveterate collector, but I also live in an apartment, so I have so far limited myself to one of each type of instrument. Best way to keep my wife from skinning me.

[MoreThanQuinn]

Congrats on the Girouard, Frost. I just looked it up. Wow, that looks like a sweet mandolin.

I just have the one, a Kentucky KM-252. Working saving up for my second here in the next few months.

I think this thread is super interesting. I love hearing about what everyone has and is playing!

[mandomick]

I only have 1 Passernig F, 1 Old Wave oval A, and 1 Old Wave C# Mandola.

[ollaimh]

it has been thirty years since i had just one mandolin

[michaelcj]

Only one mandolin..... Ratliff RA-5......
Clark Octave Mandolin

[Full disclosure though..... 9-acoustic guitars. 3-electric guitars. 3- fiddles and a Harmonium.... so I'm just as sick as anyone else]

[Hudmister]

"Who has just one ?" raises another question. Who has one? As in how many people out there in the general population own a mandolin? I imagine that most everyone who plays mandolin owns at least one and if you own more than one now, at some point you only owned that first one .

[FLATROCK HILL]

If only I were good enough to justify owning such a great mandolin. . . .

If you bought it fair and square and you enjoy playing it... you are good enough to own it.

[Jim Garber]

Back in my Jurassic period, I ony had one mandolin. First a bowlback which I traded for a Vega cylinder back which I sold to a friend so I could buy my first Gibson (1919 whiteface A-3) which was my only mandolin through my formative mandolin years. Then I bought my snakehead and decided I needed to sell my A-3. And I played only that Gibson A-2 snakehead until I needed some fretwork done on it. At that poiint, I realized that I was a mandolinist, playing in a band or two as well as the New York Mandolin Orchestra and I needed a backup. Luckily, Flatiron just came out with their carved top A's in 1983 and I bought one of the very first ones from Mandolin Brothers.

That was the end of "just one."

[Mike Scott]

Well, I guess I have just one.....one F style, one A oval hole, and one A ff hole.......so.........

[jasona]

Me!

same

[Bunnyf]

Mandolin was not my first stringed instrument, so I've been through "acquisition syndrome" before and am cured. I learned to pare down on my first instrument to just one, so when I went on to guitar I was satisfied with just one nice guitar and the same with mandolin. I guess I got it out of my system. If I ever get good enough to upgrade my mandolin further, I'll rehomed my perfectly nice a-style Bend Breedlove.

[ManjoMan]

I am on my 8th mandolin since I was 13 yrs old. I still have 5 of the 8. I am considering selling 1 or 2. I have my eyes on a Northfield Octave mandolin that I have been lusting after...

[yankees1]

I have owned several--one at a time ! I now own an Ellis F5, an Ellis A5, a soon to be delivered F5 Wienman and a soon to be delivered Girouard A oval. This is it and no more !

[Givson]

I have just four. But what I would really like to own is a talented luthier/repair person, to keep them all in top playing condition.

[Mando Mort]

I have just one and love it just fine. No real MAS symptoms at this time.

[Simon DS]

Wow, is it really five years that I’ve been borrowing this 90 dollar Stagg?
Soon. It’s gonna be so cool to play a mandolin...
and now you guys know why I don’t like to post videos.

[indexless]

Just one here, went through a raft of them for a few years but settled on my Lebeda Jazz Supreme. About 6 months ago I bought a Kentucky A, very nice, brought it home, changed the strings, played it for about 20 minutes, sold it a month later, made 50 bucks, lesson learned. Everytime I think I want another, I go play mine....only play one at a time....amps..electric guitars, a whole other story

[mtm]

well, one acoustic and one electric ... they ARE pretty different

[Kevin Winn]

Just one. Started the mandolin journey a little over 18 months ago with an MD315, and recently sent that off to another new player so it could continue to bring more into the fold. Replaced it with a wonderful 2000 Weber Bitterroot F that I am really loving.

I dream of getting a Givens or Kimble A, though, so I may increase that inventory to 2, if I can find a way to justify it to the House Accountant, who is very understanding of these things.

Also have two bass guitars (my primary instruments), a Fender Telecaster and an old Yamaha FG 180 acoustic.

And last week I checked out an old standup bass from the instrument library at Taborgrass, just to make things interesting...

[Caleb]

I only have one, my Collings MT. Only one guitar too, my old Larrivee. I find that multiple instruments distracts me from the music and it becomes more about the gear. YMMV.