One Mandolin - forever...

[Demetrius]

I've gone through so many mandolins, but with guitar its been a bit different. I've had my #1 parlor guitar since 2005 and I haven't really gassed over any other one since about a year after that. To me, I have the best acoustic on the planet. This is what I was wanting in a mandolin but kept buying and selling. In hind sight I don't think I ever gave any of these mandolins a fair chance. Some instruments just take time to bond with. In fact when I first received that #1 Parlor guitar, I almost sent it back to the builder cause I didn't like it very much. I made the choice to stick with it for a year before deciding on wether to keep it or not and I'm glad I did. Don't get me wrong I quickly saw the the potential so this made it easier to make the right decision. Anyway, back to the mandolin. I've had some amazing mandolins and they each had something special but I always found myself still keeping my eye open for something else. Finally with this latest mandolin it was an immediate bond and I simply don't want anything else. I don't even want to own two mandolins. I want to play that one and nothing else. I don't care what else is for sale, and have no desire to play anything else. It's a good feeling to be able to finally say that.

[JeffD]

I guess I am contrary to the sentimentalism of "one" mandolin. I have more than one, not a lot, but more than a few. Their forever-ness is not reduced because there is more than one. Absent being compelled by extreme exigencies, I intend to keep every one of them forever.

My point is that should something extreme occur I really don't know which one I would keep. They all are great for the purposes I use them. Do I keep the bluegrasser, the classical, etc., etc.,

[Caleb]

My Spira is one I will not part with.

Jamie

That’s one of the coolest mandolins I’ve ever seen. I’d not part with it either.

[Scott R]

My Ellis F5. Would be the last to ever leave, after I kick it.

[Homer Savard]

A Gilchrist I’ve owned since 1987....

[Denny Gies]

I'd put my money on a Randy Wood. I have played Gilchrists and Gibsons and other assorted stuff. None of them compare to my Randy Wood F 5.

[tiltman]

I've got a '96 varnished Gibson F5 that I've had since '04. I've had a lot of other mandolins come and go but that's the one that I've held on to. The neck is very comfortable (a big thing for me!) and it sounds really good...like, compliments from pros - good sound (and it wasn't my playing!). Whenever I look at other mandolins - I just can't find one that sounds better - so it's probably my keeper.

Kirk

[pheffernan]

Two months ago I could have given you an answer I believed to be true. In fact, at that time it was true. Now, that instrument will soon appear in the classifieds along with my number two choice. Everything changes. Wait long enough and you will see. . .everything changes.

I am not a patient man, Bob. I believe you to play a Phoenix two-point, a Weber octave, and a Black piccolo. What’s changing?

[Cornelius Morris]

Frank Wakefield still plays the same old Loar that he bought in 1960. That's a 60-year run.

[Eric Platt]

Haven't been playing mandolin long enough this time around to be sure about a forever instrument. And I will always own multiple. It's been that way as a guitarist and that's stuck around to mandolin.

Long way to say the A Jr. might well be the one that will always be there. Maybe because it was my first good one this time around. Maybe because a number of folks I admire have complimented the sound, but it's the one that would be the toughest to sell.

[CES]

My current “best” is my Kelley A5, and I’d have a hard time parting with it, but were I in a situation where I had to choose just one of the ones I have, I might keep the Rigel CT-110, for the versatility and the pickup. It’d have to be a game time decision, as I really like them both...

If I could pick anything, it would probably be the Giacomel I played at Gruhn’s several years ago. Man, that was a beast...

[Timbofood]

I was wondering if Demetrius was going to ring in with that one! When I gave it its test run back in ‘07 I really didn’t want to give it back! It just felt good!
Play it long!
I’m particularly pleased with the “Australian” shot!(upside down)
That’s kind of how I felt when I was playing it.

[Drew Streip]

Probably the 1913 Gibson A that I brought back from the dead. The labor I have in it is easily double or triple its actual market value as a heavily restored & refinished mandolin, so for that reason alone it'd be foolish to sell. But I also love being the caretaker of old things, and it's something I'd want my children to keep after I'm done with it.

[Doug Brock]

I can’t imagine having only one mandolin. I need to have a beater for times when I don’t want to risk a nicer mandolin. I need to have a good spare when my best mandolin is in the shop. So for me, three is my minimum number (I currently have four in house - I have some that are more-or-less permanent residents at my boys’ homes.)

[MontanaMatt]

Hey Demetrius, be careful using that fishing lure humidifier! I had one drip inside a 130 yr old fiddle, it wrecked the makers signature on the label. One small error of shaking and squeezing out excess lead to frownytown

[Doug Brock]

After further thought, in a theoretical world in which I could have only one mandolin, WHICH mandolin I could have would matter a lot less than it does when I’m playing multiple mandolins. I’ve noticed that if I play my Eastman MD315 a lot, for instance, it seems to sound better and better. I guess my ears and brain get used to it.

As long as intonation is set up properly, strings are in good shape, and general setup is reasonable, any of my mandolins do the job and make me happy.

[grassrootphilosopher]

As the original question was "what if you could only own one mandolin out of the ones you have played or you own" it´s a pretty wide margin. It could be your own former mandolins, a mandolin that you played but never owned or your current axe...

I wouldn´t mind to own a Lloyd Loar F-5 that I once played.

Oh, wait, I am pretty satisfied with my expensive (newer) mandolin.

Ah, well, the other day I played my trusty Strad-O-Lin, albeit with its crusty strings. It sounded so good it allmost brought tears to my eyes.

I don´t think I could chose...

[Don Grieser]

I'll be keeping my Heiden A5. You can hear it in the recording in my signature.

[CarlM]

Ever time I see this thread I keep thinking of "One Mandolin to Rule Them All".

"One mandolin to rule them all,
one mandolin to find them,
One mandolin to bring them all
and in the darkness bind them."

[Bob Clark]

I am not a patient man, Bob. I believe you to play a Phoenix two-point, a Weber octave, and a Black piccolo. What’s changing?

Hi Pheffernan,

Just sent you a PM.

Best wishes,

Bob

[Joe Dodson]

This question is irrelevant to me unless y'all want to send me your extra mandolins. I'll even pay shipping. Maybe.

[Joe Dodson]

Ever time I see this thread I keep thinking of "One Mandolin to Rule Them All".

"One mandolin to rule them all,
one mandolin to find them,
One banjo to drown them all
and in the darkness bind them."

Fixed that for you.

[Mark Gunter]

Forever is a long, long time.

[pheffernan]

My Passernig F5. Many came and went until I got it 13 years ago. On the other hand, the search for the right oval hole may not be over...

The OP specified mandolins played or owned, not those unplayed or unowned. And like Cary, I would pick a Passernig. Stefan flies so far under the radar, as he maintains nearly no web presence and as far as I know accepts no custom orders. Only I’d keep my A5, which fits my left hand so comfortably and offers such dynamic response to my right. A couple of fine instruments that I owned at the time of its purchase have since departed (Collings MT / Pava), and several acquired subsequently (Silverangel / Stanley) did not stick. I even pounced on a Passernig F5 when it was available, and it is exquisites, but were I forced to pick just one, it would be the A5. It just suits me somehow of any that I’ve handled. Now, I didn’t say that I was done handling . . .

[dan in va]

Simply elegant 2012 Stanley A5s; it notes good. The others have come and gone...'86 KM-1000, Martin A (x 2), '25 Gibson A, AL Smart A5, CE Ward A5, Girouard A Mandola.