Uncharted territory in my mandolin life
I’m happy with the progress I’ve made on mandolin in the past year (after a long hiatus from music), but much of my mandolin life has been spent looking and listening and learning, figuring what different mandolins brought with sound, playability, monetary value, etc., and what my next upgrade should be. I started with a Kentucky KM150 years ago and have worked my way up through the low end of the Kentucky and then Eastman models (highest was an Eastman MD505 and an MD315).
I bought a Silverangel last fall, and that brought satisfying tone, but not enough volume for my live jams. Friday I received a 2018 Kimble Two Point. That gives me satisfying tone AND volume. There are nicer mandolins out there, F-bodies and interesting inlays, colors and shades, and different sounds and histories, but my Kimble is “enough” for me.
Now, I seem to be set. Yes, I could keep shopping for mandolins (there are many wonderful mandolins out there), but at this point I can’t justify any more “big” expenditures on mandolins (I know, my Kimble is NOT a big expenditure for many folks out there, but for me, at this point, it was a stretch.).
This is a new phase for me. I spent a lot of hours shopping and reading and wondering. Now I can hopefully channel some of that time and energy into PLAYING my mandolins. I’ve been very happy with my progress in the past year, but I can’t help but wonder what the next year might be like with even more focus on playing and less on wanting.
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
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