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Thread: Is my MAS dead?

  1. #26
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I look every day several times, but I am loving my instruments so when I am tempted I play what I have and doubt that anything else could sound much better. I still want it, but don't act. Tho there is one now that has my attention, just when I thought I had the perfect few.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  2. #27
    Registered User Denman John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    As of tomorrow, I’ll be a single mandolin owner/player for the past 5 years. There are a couple of other mandolins in the house that I can play when the urge hits, but I usually stick with my Kimble oval. I haven’t really had the urge to add another mandolin since getting my current one 5 years ago, but one day I’d like to add an A style f hole. In the meantime, I’m happy with what I have. It took me 5 years to wear the frets down and I’m kinda proud of that. If I had multiple mandolins, I doubt I would experience that satisfaction.

    For financial reasons I’m probably a few years away from getting another mandolin, so I’ll keep trying as many different mandolins as possible. Although I’m thinking of an A style, f hole, that Brian Dean German bowlback that hit the classifieds last week made my heart skip a beat. Enjoy the ride!
    ... not all those who wander are lost ...

  3. #28
    Registered User Nick Gellie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    All good sentiments being expressed here. MAS in remission is a good thing if you are really happy with your mandolin(s).

    I for one have narrowed my tastes and will only countenance a trade-up to something at the top-end of my financial position if it going to make a real difference to my mandolin playing and tonal sound. Like others I am happy to let things pass in the classifieds. As a part-time luthier I am very happy with what I have. I have sampled a few different mandolins in the past. I know what I like now and that is a good thing.
    Nic Gellie

  4. #29

    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I can relate. After years of buying, selling, buying, selling, etc. - I have finally reached a point where any reasonable person would say - I have everything I need.
    There is sort of a sadness in it though - because there was something about that MAS, GAS, whatever process, that has a certain excitement to it!
    So, now I must buy something I really do not need.

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  6. #30
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Mando View Post
    . . . working at a music store also quelled my need for acquisition.
    The same thing seemed to have the opposite effect on my son. He took a part-time job at one of the chain music stores, just for the substantial employee discount - but instead of quelling the 'acquisition' syndrome that he inherited from me, his job and the contacts he makes from working at the store, only enable him to find some absolutely incredible deals.

  7. #31

    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I'm 72 and honestly feel that I've 'seen them all' and can't get really moved or MAS about instruments apart form looking for a Gibson F4 mandolin. I've held two Lloyd Loar mandolins and countless so called 'high end guitars that I just feel I've lost the passion I used to have. I've owned hundreds of guitars and mandolins so now I feel my attention moving to other enjoyments such as reading.

    It doesn't stop me looking every day or going to antique or second hands shops in the hope of finding something rare but I just feel uninterested in particular in new instruments. 'Toffee apple' mandolins have no appeal to me. Yeah I'd love to find an old Martin 000-45 or such but I'm very content with the half dozen instruments I have which are all I need so MAS is just not something that gets me like it used to. Apart from an Old Gibson F4 form around 1917 which would press my buttons.

    I like instruments that work. i.e. Great set up, balance, intonation, playability, volume and tone so you you just can't really get that from a picture. MAS is probably activated by looking at a picture of an instrument but if it is any consolation, it may well be that as you get older, it wanes. Then again I suppose we don't really want it to fade. Good to have something to look forward to as Kenny Rogers so correctly identified. So MAS may well fall into that category.

    Many years ago Kenny Rogers said three things for happiness in life: he was 100% correct in my view.

    1. Someone to love
    2. Something to do
    3. Something to look forward to.

    If one of these is missing, then happiness is not fulfilled. I reckon he was right so MAS is I suppose number 3.
    Last edited by jimmy powells; Nov-05-2019 at 7:04am. Reason: typos

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  9. #32
    Front Porch & Sweet Tea NursingDaBlues's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    With apologies, I recently posted the following in a guitar forum. That thread revolved around finding a lifetime guitar. By substituting ‘mandolin’ for ‘guitar,’ the last paragraph offers my point of view of what has been discussed in this thread.

    ################################################## ################################

    We age. Our tastes change. And evolve. In fashion, in food, in music, in pastimes, in what we find comfortable, enjoyable, and pleasurable.

    As our tastes evolve, so do our preferences. We continually build upon our tastes. What we appreciate, enjoy, and pursue today is a maturing of what we enjoyed “back when. “

    Thank goodness.

    I still wear jeans But I’m glad that I no longer want to wear bell bottom jeans.

    My Lee denim jacket that I bought in 1970 still lives in a dresser drawer. It’s a little worse for the wear, but I think it still looks pretty cool. However, my Patagonia Down Sweater is exceedingly more practical.

    I continue to enjoy the occasional glass of wine. But I’m ever so thankful that I moved past the days of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill.

    And I still have my 1967 D-28 that I got new. For years it was everything that I wanted and needed. But as time went on, I found myself enjoying other woods, other sizes, and other voices of guitar. So the D-28 shared time with other dreadnaughts, and grand concert, and auditorium, and other size guitars in mahogany, maple, or other rosewoods. While that D-28 is a magnificent guitar, it didn’t fill all of the needs that I was looking for through the years simply because my tastes and preferences were evolving.

    Yet today, as I approach 70, I find myself picking up that D-28 more and more and more. Why? Maybe familiarity. Maybe nostalgia. Maybe because that while it still doesn’t fill all of the wants and needs, it fills enough of them. But even saying that, I continue to play other models simply because I want to.

    What we like now, will not necessarily represent our tastes 5, 10, 25, or 50 years from now. So, is there a “lifetime” guitar? Maybe. Maybe not. Just realize that, to me, GAS is simply a symptom of wanting something a little different to accommodate our personal evolution with guitars. Your lifetime guitar may be residing with you now. Or it may surface somewhere down the road. It’s a conundrum. My wish for you is that you never find yourself saying “I wish I had never sold that guitar.”

    ################################################## #######################

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  11. #33
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I have my signature line for a reason. I have found the right mandolins for me. Camera gear is a bit different since it is evolving in a manner that instruments aren't anymore. Again, I have to remind myself that more gear or different gear may not improve my art. So I make those purchases with intention as well.

    The cure to MAS (or xAS) is being honest with oneself. That said, if you have the money to easily spare, enjoy the hunt. There are worse ways to kill time.

    Jamie
    There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want; and, after that, to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second. Logan Pearsall Smith, 1865 - 1946

    + Give Blood, Save a Life +

  12. #34
    Gummy Bears and Scotch BrianWilliam's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    Quote Originally Posted by NursingDaBlues View Post
    With apologies, I recently posted the following in a guitar forum. That thread revolved around finding a lifetime guitar. By substituting ‘mandolin’ for ‘guitar,’ the last paragraph offers my point of view of what has been discussed in this thread.

    ################################################## ################################

    We age. Our tastes change. And evolve. In fashion, in food, in music, in pastimes, in what we find comfortable, enjoyable, and pleasurable.

    As our tastes evolve, so do our preferences. We continually build upon our tastes. What we appreciate, enjoy, and pursue today is a maturing of what we enjoyed “back when. “

    Thank goodness.

    I still wear jeans But I’m glad that I no longer want to wear bell bottom jeans.

    My Lee denim jacket that I bought in 1970 still lives in a dresser drawer. It’s a little worse for the wear, but I think it still looks pretty cool. However, my Patagonia Down Sweater is exceedingly more practical.

    I continue to enjoy the occasional glass of wine. But I’m ever so thankful that I moved past the days of Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill.

    And I still have my 1967 D-28 that I got new. For years it was everything that I wanted and needed. But as time went on, I found myself enjoying other woods, other sizes, and other voices of guitar. So the D-28 shared time with other dreadnaughts, and grand concert, and auditorium, and other size guitars in mahogany, maple, or other rosewoods. While that D-28 is a magnificent guitar, it didn’t fill all of the needs that I was looking for through the years simply because my tastes and preferences were evolving.

    Yet today, as I approach 70, I find myself picking up that D-28 more and more and more. Why? Maybe familiarity. Maybe nostalgia. Maybe because that while it still doesn’t fill all of the wants and needs, it fills enough of them. But even saying that, I continue to play other models simply because I want to.

    What we like now, will not necessarily represent our tastes 5, 10, 25, or 50 years from now. So, is there a “lifetime” guitar? Maybe. Maybe not. Just realize that, to me, GAS is simply a symptom of wanting something a little different to accommodate our personal evolution with guitars. Your lifetime guitar may be residing with you now. Or it may surface somewhere down the road. It’s a conundrum. My wish for you is that you never find yourself saying “I wish I had never sold that guitar.”

    ################################################## #######################
    Oh come on, there’s always a time for bell bottoms and Boone’s

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  14. #35
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    My Randy Wood F 5 cured my MAS.

  15. #36

    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    Well, Dehergert, I suspect we are in a similar space. I think age and experience has a lot to do with it. Before retirement, we need vacations and stuff to reward ourselves for working. Once we get a collection of nice instruments and a decrease in income, we realize that spending a lot more wont buy us much of an upgrade, and a nice inlay on the headstock is just going to clash with our growing decrepitness anyway. Time is best used to practice. Or to build mandolins as the case may be.
    Silverangel A
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    1913 Gibson A-1

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  17. #37
    Registered User archerscreek's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I think it's possible. I had GAS even after I found my two lifer guitars. But then after playing some guitars that were supposedly better than my two lifers and seeing they were not, I realized I'm much better off playing and improving on what I already had than wasting time searching for something that's not out there.

    However, I'll likely upgrade my mandolin someday, so maybe the focus/addiction simply shifted from one thing to another.

  18. #38
    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    I don’t have a lack of mandolin desire, just a deficiency in money acquisition syndrome.
    I have great instruments, but there are so many flavors to enjoy!
    Anyone with excess money troubles, please look me up!
    2007 Weber Custom Elite "old wood"
    2017 Ratliff R5 Custom #1148
    Several nice old Fiddles
    2007 Martin 000-15S 12 fret Auditorium-slot head
    Deering Classic Open Back
    Too many microphones

    BridgerCreekBoys.com

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  20. #39
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    Quote Originally Posted by NursingDaBlues View Post
    My wish for you is that you never find yourself saying “I wish I had never sold that guitar.”
    Like many of us - off the top of my head I can think of at least several long-gone instruments that fall into the 'Wish I had never sold' category, but in the end I can still be very content with the 'keepers' that I have now. The great hockey player Phil Esposito once said that retiring from hockey and finding a new career was like reading a great book - it was terriffic while you were reading it, but now you're done and it's time to look for the next great book . . . I guess the same can be said for great instruments.

  21. #40

    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    The good thing about MAS is that it diverts a lot of out attention away from our playing shortcomings. Once you have a no excuses mandolin, you are left alone with your playing abilities. That can be a sobering place to be and one that needs you to judge yourself not by the virtuiosity of others, but by your own personal progress. Keeping the line moving becomes your reference point for progress.

    It helps to not look at twelve year olds too.
    Silverangel A
    Arches F style kit
    1913 Gibson A-1

  22. #41
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    Well, my GAS and MAS have been in remission for over a year. That being said, if I happened on a teens or 1920s Gibson for an incredible price, I would likely give in and buy it, but the chances of that are virtually nil, so I am not worried. I am more than satisfied with the instruments I have.

  23. #42
    not a donut Kevin Winn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Is my MAS dead?

    My MAS was beaten into submission when the box arrived from Ohio with my Kimble A inside. I now have the perfect kid brother for my Northfield F5S. I don't even cruise the Classifieds anymore.

    If a Sullivan A were to wander into view, tho.......

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