... is your go-to at home to pick up and have a little fun the same as the one you play live?
Also, what they are and adding pictures to your response would be wildly entertaining
... is your go-to at home to pick up and have a little fun the same as the one you play live?
Also, what they are and adding pictures to your response would be wildly entertaining
It depends. When practicing at home I tend to use one particular mandolin - the one I will use for the gig. So like a classical ensemble I use one mandolin, an open mike solo or with friends playing fiddle tunes or bluegrassy another, when playing a contradance, I would use a loud instrument. So when practicing material for a gig I use the one I would use for the gig.
For messing around at home I just pick up my current favorite. And also that is the one I would take to a jam session. My current favorite depends on my mood. Presently it is my recent purchase, but soon enough I will put into rotation and fall in love with one of the others in my closet, waiting to come out and play.
You sir, know how to have fun - and I dig that about you! :D
Well to balance it out, my newphew, when he was pretty young, asked me very earnestly: "Uncle Jeff, why do you play the mandolin? Isn't that something musicians do?"
Big mandolins are a lot of fun. This Weber Guitar-Bodied Octave Mandolin "Octar" has been getting plenty playtime at home on the couch. It's totally awesome with tons of voice and resonance - it sounds great alone.
Regular-sized mandolins are fun too. They get more playtime away from home though - I like them better with others. These two from Gavin Baird are very different from each other (there's such a world between F4's and 5's!) but I really enjoy both!
Enjoy!
Gavin Baird F4 & F5, Weber Octar, Gibson K-1, Guild D50, Martin D35, Yairi DY-84, etc...
Yup! My sitting around home practicing instrument right now is this one -
1935 Kalamazoo KM-21 with sinking top and replaced bridge. Living in the northland, things can get dry in the house. But I need to have a mandolin out to give me incentive to practice more. At present, it's got the balance of easy to play, and it's not too precious that I have to worry about it. It does have a damp it in the F hole which I fill every couple of days.
This mandolin has a wonderful bass response. And needs a pick like a Wegen Bluegrass to pull out enough treble to be heard in a group. That's another reason it's my couch instrument.
For my main band (Laulu Aika) this is what I normally play now -
Collings MT with Tonegard and arm rest. It's modern sounding, but has the best treble to compete with the fiddler and clarinet player (when she is able to make gigs). It's also easy to play and I have no hand fatigue even after a couple of hours. Easily the best instrument for a full band, but I want more tonal depth when playing in a small ensemble.
This mandolin has mostly replaced my A Jr. That was my first "good" mandolin and it still gets played if I need to plug in as I have a JJB pickup system on it.
For my duo with a fiddler, I now use this one -
1935 Gibson A-50, with elevated fingerboard. This is a true gem of an instrument. It's between the other two in tone, which makes it just right for a small group. I had been using the Collings, but was dissatisfied. This one came along and is everything I could ask for. The neck is basically identical in shape and feel to the Kalamazoo. No surprise, both are 1935.
Full disclosure - the Kalamazoo has been out of the house a couple of times for jams, vacation and one duet practice. So it's not just an at home instrument right now. However, for performance, either of the other ones will get picked first.
Brentrup Model 23, Boeh A5 #37, Gibson A Jr., Flatiron 1N, Coombe Classical flattop, Strad-O-Lin
https://www.facebook.com/LauluAika/
https://www.lauluaika.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Longtine-Am...14404553312723
I have two mandolins that are in playable order right now, both are F-style and both are setup pretty close to identically. One would cost quite a bit to replace today, the other was quite inexpensive.
Of the two, the inexpensive mandolin is my backup for those situations where I don't want to play the more expensive instrument. This inexpensive mandolin is pretty loud and has respectable tone, and I wouldn't be at all ashamed to play it in front of people. However I do prefer the tone of the more expensive mandolin, and lately it is my go to mandolin for playing at home as well as for gigs.
-- Don
"Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
"It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."
2002 Gibson F-9
2016 MK LFSTB
1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
[About how I tune my mandolins]
[Our recent arrival]
Jim
My Stream on Soundcloud
19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
2010 Heiden A5, 2020 Pomeroy oval A, 2013 Kentucky KM1000 F5, 2012 Girouard A Mandola w ff holes, 2001 Old Wave A oval octave
http://HillbillyChamberMusic.bandcamp.com
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@hillbillychambermusic
In my case, it's a Kentucky KM-272.
Just about anything and everything that you could possible want to know about the mandolin (including video) is in this old thread:
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...+km-272+review
I play an oval hole A at home, its also the mandolin I carry to the grandkids house when I sit for them. I think its got great sound and good volume, but its older and has been around the block a time or two and I don't worry about scratches and etc too much. For playing with the band I use an F hole A model. I think that it also sounds great plus its got a little extra punch and volume so I feel it can get heard a little better.
Peace
I only have one mandolin, an Eastman MD515, so it's in my hands wherever I play. But based on 25+ years of playing my guitars, I know that when I upgrade my mandolin, the 515 won't see the light of day except for rare circumstances.
I had a feeling you guys would 1. provide thoughtful replies, and 2. nice pics... and you didn't disappoint!
Kind of odd, really, but my 'best' instrument (Phoenix Neoclassical) isn't the one I pick up just for playing around the house. That is usually my Crystal Forest flat-top, or lately my Ovation MM68. The Ovation is getting a lot of play time these days both at home or out, especially out. These CT made Ovations are often overlooked for acoustic play, but really sound great. The neck feels great, too.
If I am playing around the house just for my own pleasure, it is often on my Mike Black Piccolo mandolin. Not so much if I am preparing something for playing out with others, but just for my own pleasure, getting my head into the music and the music into my head, that piccolo is just the thing.
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
I own a bunch of mandolins but i only play one -- my snake -- both at home noodling around and at gigs, with one exception. if i'm playing plugged in, i'll switch over to my Eastman since I have a bridge mike on it. Then i'll practice on that to make sure i'm used to it before I go back to the snake. alas, I don't appear to have a photo of my Eastman readily available.
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1920 Lyon & Healy bowlback
1923 Gibson A-1 snakehead
1952 Strad-o-lin
1983 Giannini ABSM1 bandolim
2009 Giannini GBSM3 bandolim
2011 Eastman MD305
2018 Girouard Concert oval A
2015 JP "Whitechapel" tenor banjo
2018 Frank Tate tenor guitar
1969 Martin 00-18
my Youtube channel
My Randy Wood, F 5 made in 1993, period.
I have 2 awesome instruments. My most frequently used and go-to is my Silverangel Econo A. When I play out, I am either at an acoustic BG or Gospel Jam that requires the SA's volume, or in the Praise Band at church which requires both volume and the on board K&K.
The Jacobson has a very different tone and is quieter than the SA, but I play it a lot at home or in my office at work it has a lovely strumming bell like tone that is beautiful, but doesn't suite either of the above venues well, but is still lovely to play... yes, I take a mandolin with me to work everyday and try to steal away a little playing time.
Last edited by soliver; Dec-18-2019 at 12:29am.
aka: Spencer
Silverangel Econo A #429
Soliver #001 Hand Crafted Pancake
Soliver Hand Crafted Mandolins and Mandolin Armrests
Armrests Here -- Mandolins Here
"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore, ...and also a boat with no holes in it.” -anonymous
When playing out, if it's an all-acoustic jam/event, I'll take the Kimble A. If I am playing a gig or need to amplify, I'll take the F5S, as I have a K&K pickup in that one and a Fishman Loudbox 100 amp.
At home, I try to be equitable. I play one for a week, then the other for a week. Don't want either feeling left out, and I love them both like my children...
On a personal note, I am glad to see a good number of oval holes making appearances here . . . it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't put some sort of F-5 at the top of their list.
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