Re: Off in the weeds on my first mando purchase ...
I recently bought a Finnish mandolin made for the Espana company in the USA (by now, you should be thoroughly culturally confused) circa 1965. I was first attracted by the sign saying "Wide-Neck Mandolin." I like the sound and look of it, and I do like the wider than usual neck -- it's not so wide that anyone looking at it notices, but it does have more finger room than usual. I've had it for a month and a half and I'm quite happy with it. After negotiating the price, I bought it with a good brand-new-looking case, for a little over $425 (Canadian), with picks and a tuner thrown in. Espanas aren't common, so I'm not recommending that you get one, but it's worth finding a mandolin that your fingers comfortable with, especially if you don't have great manual dexterity. Still, as others have said, some of the discomfort might just be the switch from guitar to mandolin.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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