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
There is quite a bit of (mostly) good-natured ribbing of the banjo-mandolin to be found. But they are actually quite fun little instruments. Good for kind of raucous old-timey/ragtimey music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-BqHli5sc8
Also try it for uptempo Irish (and other) tunes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YK8R9MwYgE
Enjoy!
Last edited by jesserules; Aug-10-2018 at 2:04pm.
Well said Jesse, fun with a capital F!
The mandolin banjo is great for Ragtime and Oldtime and can add a nice defining rhythm in large fiddle jams where the rhythm can often become muddy. It is not well suited to bluegrass which is I suspect our largest group of members.
I love that Jackson Stomp!
Here is a modern recording of The Three Arrows playing Tico Tico at the Mt Airy (NC) festival in 2016.
Notice that her mandolin banjo is strung with just four strings.
https://youtu.be/8LZeB8cMLEo
Mark
Mark Lynch
https://www.ebay.com/itm/-/292673142...2047675.l10137
(The link may not work, but ended at $322)
This one just ended nicely priced. And I really don't care about selling it at all, I'm just happy to have it and to feel good about the purchase. Thanks again everyone!
I'm accustomed to being in the minority here, but $200 seems like an entirely reasonable price to me. Maybe even a good price. There's a lot of interest in mandolin these days, and people are interested in learning more about pre-bluegrass mandolin styles and other ways of playing the mandolin. It wasn't that long ago that every conversation about a non-F5 mandolin began with "it's not much good for bluegrass, but. . . ." By now I'll bet a lot more people will understand that this instrument could be just the right sound for early blues, ragtime, and string band music. And new instruments never really have quite that same sound.
Financial interest disclosure: I have a big pile of vintage bowlback mandolins, worth not very much -- and once more people figure out how great these are, I'm going to sell all my instruments and buy an island in the south pacific.
Last edited by August Watters; Aug-13-2018 at 3:51pm.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
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