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Thread: Public service anouncement

  1. #1

    Default Public service anouncement

    Please be advised: Want vs Need IMHO, which is of course correct:

    Need is
    1. you don't own a mandolin
    2.your mandolin is not solid wood
    3. your mandolin is solid wood but hasn't had the special fairy dust sprinkled on it like all those used $1000 and up small shop mandolins that are all anyone ever would need

    Want is:
    1. That one historic brand is the only thing that will give me that special sound.
    2.Well. That is close but I heard a YouTube clip through my 2" computer speakers. THAT is the one.
    3. Can't decide, strap button or tie to the headstock? Scroll. Need a scroll
    4. I have what everyone says is a fine mandolin, but I've tried every kind of string and my mandolin will just not do Thiele. I need to spend more to get that.
    5. A friend bought an Ellis. Says he doesn't need to play anymore. He just gazes into the flames. He smiles a lot but never leaves his room. Nirvana?
    6.I've developed such a keen ear I need a mandolin for jigs, one for reels, one for hornpipes, one for Monroe, one for all other bluegrass, one for old timey, pre 1890, one for post 1890, one for Bach, one for 50s TV themes, one for camping, and one for the office.
    7. Mama won't let me have a Porsche, so my revenge is that Collings MF5 varnish
    8.People eat abalone?
    9.I only own one at a time. Only coincidental I've never bought a mandolin cheaper than the last one. I go for sound and playability. It is not my fault builders build their best mandolins with binding ,scrolls, and fancy inlay.

    Delusion:
    1. If she walked into this crowded room, she'd want me.
    2. I've done it. Bought my last mandolin.
    Silverangel A
    Arches F style kit
    1913 Gibson A-1

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Delusion #3:

    If I buy the same mandolin that (name a player) uses, I will sound like (him/her).

  4. #3
    Orrig Onion HonketyHank's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Ouch ...
    New to mando? Click this link -->Newbies to join us at the Newbies Social Group.

    Just send an email to rob.meldrum@gmail.com with "mandolin setup" in the subject line and he will email you a copy of his ebook for free (free to all mandolincafe members).

    My website and blog: honketyhank.com

  5. #4
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    It is likely that nobody actually needs a mandolin. < sigh … What is odd to me is that not everybody wants one. . . . . R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

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  7. #5
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Delusion: Mandolins don't "open up" with age and frequent playing. They just stay the same and any perceived improvement is probably psychological or wishful thinking.

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  9. #6
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    I actually “need” to spend all my money before heading to that great Cafe in the sky. I “want” to keep going and play my mandolins for ever but I doubt it’ll happen.

    What I want doesn’t necessarily equate to what I need.

  10. #7
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    In my case my life evolved. It changed. I am surprised at how much it has changed. It is to point that if the music stopped there would be a huge hole in my life. I sure did not start that way. It gets harder to figure out what a need is.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

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  12. #8
    Certified! Bernie Daniel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by Hudmister View Post
    Delusion: Mandolins don't "open up" with age and frequent playing. They just stay the same and any perceived improvement is probably psychological or wishful thinking.
    Meaning that mandolins don't really open up that is just a delusion? if so I agree.

    Opening up is a delusion. What changes is your hearing/ears (i.e., the little bio-mechanical mechanism -- the three tiny bones and muscles in the inner ear) adapts to the sound and likes it better with familiarity. Now that's just my opinion.
    Bernie
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  14. #9

    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    If perception is delusion, it becomes reality.
    Silverangel A
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    1913 Gibson A-1

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  16. #10
    Registered User DougC's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Wishful thinking is spending time reading this stuff and thinking that I will practice enough to play well.

    Delusion is reading this stuff and thinking it helps develop my musical abilities.

    However it provides some humor and comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. Sigh....(she's right, I'm hopeless).

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  18. #11
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by Br1ck View Post
    Delusion:

    1. If she walked into this crowded room, she'd want me.
    See, the problem is that for some of us, that might have been true at one time. Like when I was a drummer in a Rock band in my teens. The trouble is letting go of the idea after 3 or 4 decades as one becomes older, heavier, scruffier, and decrepit looking. I've finally reached the point of having no illusions about it.


    2. I've done it. Bought my last mandolin.
    A financial windfall might change things, but for the record, I'm still playing the first mandolin I ever bought, and that was 12 years ago. I just bought a good one to start with. I never reached the point where I thought it was the mandolin holding me back, which put the kibosh on justifying a more expensive one.

    So let that be a warning, kids. If you want to enjoy the hunt, don't buy a really good mandolin as your first one!

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  20. #12
    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Exclamation Catch & release

    I want to find out what an [X] mandolin is like , but I have no one to give or lend me theirs..

    then comes the release part.. Might be hard to let go , then..
    writing about music
    is like dancing,
    about architecture

  21. #13
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Please don't take away my delusion that I bought my last mandolin.
    And I don't think mandolins "open up" as much as we adapt to them and learn to play them the way they want/need to be played to sound their best.

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  23. #14
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Mandolins DO 'open up' . . . they open up your wallet!

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  25. #15
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Super Bowl commercial break -
    I am completely confused by this. I just turned 60....will be working until 70. I WAS convinced that I NEEDED a Derrington MM, since I will most likely make a living as a Nashville mandolinist upon retirement, and start my streak of IBMA mandolin player of the year awards. Now I’m not so sure. 😉

  26. #16

    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    I've got some spare fairy dust if you need some. Most people don't know, but we buy it by the 50lb bag and there's no way I'll use it all up in my lifetime.

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  28. #17
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    What’s the step beyond delusion?

  29. #18
    Registered User Rodney Riley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by re simmers View Post
    What’s the step beyond delusion?
    The Twilight Zone????

  30. #19
    Eschews Obfuscation mugbucket's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    I WANT to play like Thile.

    I would NEED a major talent upgrade and a 2 hand transplant.
    Despite the high cost of living, it still remains popular...

  31. #20
    Mando accumulator allenhopkins's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Different mandolins (mandolas, OM's, mandocelli) sound, well, different. They also look different, feel different, cost different, etc. etc. They can also serve different purposes in different bands, for different kinds of music. and so forth.

    So it's not inherently irrational to have a bluegrass mandolin, a Celtic mandolin, a blues mandolin with a resonator, a bowl-back for when you do historical programs, an octave for playing rhythm in a band or to accompany your vocals... Of course, you can carry this to extremes (as I have), but I think trying to lay down a strict demarcation between "want" and "need" fails to take individual circumstances into account.

    Don't criticize another mandolinist, until you've walked a mile in his/her shoes. Then you can criticize all you want; you'll have a mile head start, and the mandolinist will be barefoot...
    Allen Hopkins
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  33. #21
    Martin Stillion mrmando's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by allenhopkins View Post
    So it's not inherently irrational to have a bluegrass mandolin, a Celtic mandolin, a blues mandolin with a resonator, a bowl-back for when you do historical programs, an octave for playing rhythm in a band or to accompany your vocals...
    Yeah, but if you get the new Shmergel Defenestrator with Dial-A-Tone(TM), you can have each of those different sounds at the twist of a knob!
    Emando.com: More than you wanted to know about electric mandolins.

    Notorious: My Celtic CD--listen & buy!

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  35. #22
    Certified! Bernie Daniel's Avatar
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    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by mrmando View Post
    ...the new Shmergel Defenestrator ...
    What? How do you spell that?
    Bernie
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    Due to current budgetary restrictions the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off -- sorry about the inconvenience.

  36. #23

    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    To quote my own song lyric," Don't let your body be the victim of your eighteen year old mind."
    Silverangel A
    Arches F style kit
    1913 Gibson A-1

  37. #24

    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    The OP's timing is perfect, since I'm shopping for my first mandolin but have already cycled through several of the Want phases even though all of that is far beyond my budget, knowledge or abilities. This is odd because I am completely realistic about fiddles -- I bought a good starter fiddle and am not likely to outgrow it -- but I want to go on a quest for the perfect mandolin and I don't even play the thing yet.

  38. #25

    Default Re: Public service anouncement

    Quote Originally Posted by Trubadur View Post
    The OP's timing is perfect, since I'm shopping for my first mandolin but have already cycled through several of the Want phases even though all of that is far beyond my budget, knowledge or abilities. This is odd because I am completely realistic about fiddles -- I bought a good starter fiddle and am not likely to outgrow it -- but I want to go on a quest for the perfect mandolin and I don't even play the thing yet.
    See need number three. If you can at all afford it, I've seen the likes of Weber Galatins in the classifieds lately for $1000. Pixie dusted for sure. More common are those and other fine brands in the $1200-1500 range. More than that and you are in the want category. Saw a Galatin F for $1750, so that's $500 extra for want.

    You have brought up what I believe is one of the most common pitfalls of the beginner, the belief you need to play at some level to afford a fine instrument. Wrong. If fact I know of no greater path to successful learning than a good instrument from the start. And if you are fearful you won't stick with it, buying a good used A is a sure way to not loose money. There is no argument against, except a significant one, that you just don't have the money.

    Now I hope no one took my post too seriously, as I was spoofing MAS. I am 100% convinced that buying a nicer instrument induces more playing time leading to progress in playing ability, and if it takes something more awesome on a yearly basis, you will get no argument from me. And I have witnessed my daughter's technical ability surpass her viola bow's capability, so I'm even willing to believe at some advanced level a mandolin could be holding you back.

    But a beginner can get a decade out of something like a Galatin, or another quality relatively modest mandolin, and probably a lifetime.
    Silverangel A
    Arches F style kit
    1913 Gibson A-1

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