Re: How do you test the qualities you're looking for in a Mandoli
That’s exactly how I feel too Tom,
You can get an idea if a few things but, until you “baptize it by fire” in a band (or whatever situation you will most play in) situation you can’t really evaluate the potential of the instrument.
That also sometimes takes a little time, when I was asked to “test drive” a well respected builders prototype, I had it for 6-7 months and I dug right in on it, initially it took me a few hours to find the spot between not enough and too much right hand power, it was easy for me to go too hard for what the better response was, I needed to learn to lighten up even when playing with a really loud banjo player. It was counter intuitive but, it did make a difference. It took time to see what it had. I wish I still had it, I could learn a lot more about how it responds and what my technique shortfalls are.
Big learning curve in each instrument, they are living things and need to be treated as such. They need care and respect to reach their best performance.
Timothy F. Lewis
"If brains was lard, that boy couldn't grease a very big skillet" J.D. Clampett
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