Re: Match guirar chords to Octave Mandolin
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by match guitar chords, but a lot of people say the sound of their OM gets lost if there are one or more guitars in the group. Here's what I have done (I have an Eastman MDO-305 as well). If I'm the only rhythm instrument, as when backing up my wife on her fiddle, I just play open chords up near the nut (like "cowboy chords" on the guitar). However back in the summer I was playing some in a group with two other guitars and in that case I would capo up and play further up the neck. For instance if they were in the key of C I would capo at the fifth fret and play in G. (One of the nice things about an OM is it lends itself well to capoing.) I could play chords and fills and not get as lost in the guitars. It doesn't cut through quite as well as a regular mandolin, but well enough to be heard and add some texture to the mix.
I should mention that I tune my OM to GDAD and play bouzouki-style, with more emphasis on open strings and drone notes.
Unless you have hands that can palm a basketball, I wouldn't worry about 4-finger chop chords, etc. There are plenty of videos and resources online that can show you two and three finger open chords for the OM. If I need a "chop" sound I just palm mute with my strumming hand.
As for strings, I wasn't excited about the sound of the EJ-80 OM strings that come on it. EJ-76 mandola strings will work well. I settled on EFT-76 flatwound mandola strings, which cut some of the twang and most of the finger noise. I've been quite satisfied with them so far.
-- Johnson MA-100 Mando
-- Eastman MDO-305 OM
-- 3 Seagull Merlin dulcimers (2GDG, 1DAD)
-- 1952 Harmony Roy Smeck guitar
-- Ortega Lizzie Ubass
-- Leigh Campbell electric violin
-- Pfretzschner violin
-- Glaesel viola
-- Ibanez acoustic/electric guitar
-- Misc: a cello, 2 cigarbox guitars, charango, djembe, slide dulcimer.
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