How'd this happen?

[UsuallyPickin]

If four is excessive I am a very bad person. < sigh R/

[fatt-dad]

when in school, you need more than one textbook. It all makes sense as you learn more and more to try different instruments! You're not there yet, obviously?

f-d

[roysboy]

When I first read about MAS here on the Cafe , I found it a pretty funny way to describe ' things' . Over time I've realized there's nothing funny about it at all . 4, 5, 6 or more mandolins ? Really ? I'm certain there are a few folks here who are professional mandolinists and can justify the number of instruments by the various professional circumstances they are called upon to perform in .....to make a living .

I'm going to go ahead and assume that the rest of us have far too much time on our hands and end up feeding this insane addiction rather than using that time more constructively - practicing , learning and gigging on the instruments we already have ....or perhaps gardening . All kidding aside , I do believe that if we're chasing yet another mandolin to add to a 'fleet ' of 4 , 5 or more we may want to consider what need we're REALLY trying to address .

Also , I'm assuming that most large 'fleet' owners have an unlimited access to $$$$ which , of course, is the biggest factor in developing ANY kind of addiction. If that's the case ...knock yourselves out as long as your MAS isn't affecting anyone in your orbit ....lol . I'm endlessly amused by the concept .

[Charlie Bernstein]

I'll be done:

- an F-hole A. (Done.)
- a flat-top. (Done.)
- an old Gibson oval A.
- a National reso (walnut, of course).
- a solid-body electric.

So many mandos, so little money!

[Hudmister]

Doesn't Chris Thile just have one? The Loar is all I ever see him play. Just kidding, I'm sure he has a stash somewhere but I always see him just playing that Loar. So I'm going sell the ones I've got now and just get a Loar (with signature of course) and just be done with it.

[Denny Gies]

Sell them all, call Randy Wood and order an F 5 and you MAS will be permanently cured.

[foldedpath]

I know I'm breaking the unwritten rules of the Mandolin League here, but I'm still playing the first mandolin I bought, my only one, and very happy with it. I did a lot of research beforehand, had a medium-high end budget to work with ($4k-$5k), and got a good one right off the bat. There are probably two reasons why this worked out:

First, I already went through a 30 year process of buying and selling acoustic and electric guitars, gradually drilling down to find out what I liked, and ending up with custom orders. By the time I got around to buying a mandolin, I already had a pretty good idea of how fretted instruments worked, and I knew that -- finances permitting -- luthier-made instruments were the way to go. So I researched the field, made a choice, and bonded with the instrument: a redwood-top Lebeda F-style.

I also picked up a Weber OM, but I don't think that counts. It's a very different instrument and I play different tunes on it, where I can milk the sustain.

The other reason one mandolin ended up being "enough" was that I ended up playing mainly Irish/Scottish trad, where there aren't any hard-and-fast rules about what a mandolin should sound like. This mandolin has a clear, direct tone, and enough volume to be heard in a session with fiddles. Not much warmth in the tone, but a mandolin with a more open tone and more harmonics probably wouldn't be heard as clearly in a session. I don't need a collection of more mandolins with different tones, because I play just one style of music, and this one works fine in that style.

There may be an additional factor in my starting to learn "Irish" flute over the last few years, buying two very nice ones. That may have siphoned off some interest in mandolins. But honestly, aside from a windfall that would allow trying some Gilchrists or Monteleones just for kicks, I'm happy with what I have. Although I appear to be immune, I still enjoy reading what others here are going through in dealing with the various forms of MAS.

[Tomando]

Only four! How many mandolins does a person need - one more that they already have! At the last count it was in the region of 14; and they all sound different.

Please don’t use the “N” word. Its very offensive… 😉

[Br1ck]

My reasoning:

Everyone needs a beater to take camping. My Michael Kelly fits the bill splendidly. In a blatant effort to recruit another mandolin player, I intend to take this to a friend two weeks after his heart surgery,remembering I was able to play mandolin a good month before guitar was comfortable.

My A-1's warm and resonate tone covers the Celtic and old timey territory admirably. O'Carrolen tunes are really lovely.

Need a bit more punch than you can get from an oval? The Silverangel spans the gap. Fiddle tunes have more spunk on the SA. You can imagine dancing to it's more direct and lively tone, but you can also imagine playing it in a bluegrass setting.

Flat out need to punch through a dense mix? The adi topped Arches kit does that. High register double stops explode from the sound holes.

So, that leaves an entirely different sound void, an OM. Time to find a birch cheapie arch top to convert.

[pheffernan]

Sell them all, call Randy Wood and order an F 5 and you MAS will be permanently cured.

Didn’t you just buy Gibson A4, Denny?