Looking for a mandolin for blues

[Dano Reible]

I am looking to get a mando for blues.....a style oval hole condition not #1 one on list but nothing that need repair. I saw an Eastman on the board and accualy looking to grab it unless someone has any recomendations or another option. Looking in the $600 range. I have a perfect Mid Mo I will be selling or trading in the process.

Thanks
Dano

[Dave Harbst]

Dano,
Have you considered a good Stradolin(solid top, not plywood)? They normally have f holes, but they have been known to produce that classic mandolin blues sound. Is your oval hole interest influenced by Rich Delgrosso, who, as you may know, plays a lot on a few old Gibson A models? BTW, are you that truck drivin' Dano?

[Dave Harbst]

Oh, forgot to say that you should be able to find an good Stradolin for way less than $600.

[Dano Reible]

Yes I am the truck driver Dano.
I will keep my eye open for a stratolin but I am making a more in the next day or so as I don't want the Eastman blond 604 to get away if nothing else is available.
I wish I could get an old model like Delgrosso has and yes I love hid stuff.
Thanks
Dano

[mandoforme]

Hi Dano, glad to see you are still playing the mandolin. An old oval-hole Gibson would probably be a good blues mandolin. I am enjoying the tone of my '24 Gibson Snakehead A-Jr. Sounds good for blues, oldtime, etc. There is a 1929 A-Jr. on the auction site with a starting bid of $500.00. Not much time left in the auction. Might be a good option.

[mandoforme]

Link to '29 Gibson A-Jr. auction. Only three hours left in auction. NFI, just throwing the mandolin out there for your consideration. http://cgi.ebay.com/Vinatge-1929-Gib...179QQssPageNam
eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Hugh Jape]

Where can you get a Stradolin?

[Dave Harbst]

"Where can you get a Stradolin?"
Probably just have to wait until one shows up in the classifieds, or maybe a web search would lead to one somewhere.

[Dano Reible]

How hard would it be to fix the issues with that Jr. you showed me? I guess if a good enough deal could be had I could even update it a bit and refinish it keeping the tone and sound but she would never be an original again now would she. But maybe a fixer upper Gibson would be better than a perfect blond Eastman?

[mandoforme]

How hard would it be to fix the issues with that Jr. you showed me? I guess if a good enough deal could be had I could even update it a bit and refinish it keeping the tone and sound but she would never be an original again now would she. But maybe a fixer upper Gibson would be better than a perfect blond Eastman?

I am not sure. Might be able to play the Gibson as it is. No offense to anyone, but I will take an old repaired Gibson mandolin over the most perfect Eastman anyday.

The seller does offer an approval period on the A-Jr. Dano, you pick whatever mandolin you will be happy with! I am simply suggesting a vintage oval-hole Gibson, as I have had good luck with them. YMMV. Let us know what you end up getting. If the Eastman speaks to you, then buy it. What sounds good to me, might not sound good to you, etc.

[Spruce]

I would save your money and get one of the new Nationals....

You'll never look back....

[Dano Reible]

The vintage Gibson is what I realy want just afraid of a problem showing up but then again, what can't be fixed, and I have always wanted to refinish a mando but never thoght of an old Gibson as the project. I guess I couldn't make it any worse right.....

I think I will see if I can get the Gibson, but then again someone else may be thinking the same thing..

Less than an hour to go!!!

[Dano Reible]

I am now the owner of a 1929 Gibson Jr. A...........:p

[Hugh Jape]

Nice, I want one of those A-Style Oval hole Gibsons so bad (I like the blues too). #Just dont have the cash right now. #Make sure you update us on it.

[Dano Reible]

Can't wait to get her, Now I will have to get my Mid-Mo MM-8 sold and get a pick guard and arm resy for the Gibson from Hill Country Stringworks. That's who made the arm rest on my Mid-Mo. He does beautiful work.
I will have to research the best way to refinish the Gibson. Going to go with an amber finish I think.

[mandoforme]

I believe $500 to be a good price. Shipping included with the price. A 1924 Snakehead A-Jr. is now on the auction site, current bid at $900. Dano, if you decide to keep the A-Jr. after you get it, then send me a PM. I have an older chipboard case that I will be glad to ship to you. It came with my A-Jr., but I had a vintage hardshell case from the same time period that I am using for the A-Jr.

[Dano Reible]

Of course I may get it hear and think is looks too bluesy to refinish right away...

[Hugh Jape]

That mandolin is awesome Dano!

[Dano Reible]

Dano, if you decide to keep the A-Jr. after you get it, then send me a PM. #I have an older chipboard case that I will be glad to ship to you. #It came with my A-Jr., but I had a vintage hardshell case from the same time period that I am using for the A-Jr.

Thanks,

I will let you know. I have a real nice hard case that my mid-Mo is in and thought about useing that but I may let it go with the MM-8. Having a piriod care sounds cool.

[mandoforme]

Dano, here is a video link of Jim Richter giving a blues mandolin lesson on YouTube. He is playing a Gibson A-Jr. Might be helpful for playing blues. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtYjR1yUDIA&feature=related

[JimRichter]

My 2cents on mandolins for blues:

Blues is about the music and not about the mandolin.

You don't need an oval hole, you don't need a National, you don't need an old Harmony batwing that won't stay in tune.

I gig routinely on an A5 f-hole mandolin. #Not what most would consider a "blues" mandolin.

Blues is about emotive technique--how you attack the strings with your right hand and where you attack them. #It's about vibrato on the left hand. #It's about microtonal bends, digging into the bridge, and all those wonderful possibilities. #And frankly, the sound of an oval hole vs an f-hole instrument is virtually the same when you dig in at the bridge.

Let's consider early blues guys. #Those early field recordings of Muddy Waters circa '41 or '42 caught him playing acoustic on some old acoustic guitar. #When he recorded for Aristocrat and Chess in the late 40's/early 50's, he was playing an electrified archtop instrument. #By the early 60's, he was playing his red Tele. #And actually, most of the Chicago blues guys had moved away from deep hollowbody electrics by the late 50s or early 60's in favor of solidbody instruments for a variety of reasons (reduce feedback, less prone to damage, increase volume).

Should someone have tapped Muddy on the shoulder and said, "Oh, by the way Mr. Waters, the minute you play electrified you're no longer playing blues." #or tell Buddy Guy, "Gee, Mr. Guy, we know you like that Fender Stratocaster, but you really need to play this big Gibson archtop cause that's what T-Bone plays."

I know I'm beating the issue. #I've seen comparable threads before and it always comes down to some old oval hole or Stradolin mandolin. #It is true--they can give a shade of the blues. #It can be a very nostalgic sound. #But blues is about the feeling and not the instrument.

And frankly, I'd have the blues playing a Morgan Monroe

Jim

[generankin]

My 2cents on mandolins for blues:

Blues is about the music and not about the mandolin.

You don't need an oval hole, you don't need a National, you don't need an old Harmony batwing that won't stay in tune.

I gig routinely on an A5 f-hole mandolin. #Not what most would consider a "blues" mandolin.

Blues is about emotive technique--how you attack the strings with your right hand and where you attack them. #It's about vibrato on the left hand. #It's about microtonal bends, digging into the bridge, and all those wonderful possibilities. #And frankly, the sound of an oval hole vs an f-hole instrument is virtually the same when you dig in at the bridge.

[snip]

I know I'm beating the issue. #I've seen comparable threads before and it always comes down to some old oval hole or Stradolin mandolin. #It is true--they can give a shade of the blues. #It can be a very nostalgic sound. #But blues is about the feeling and not the instrument.

And frankly, I'd have the blues playing a Morgan Monroe

Jim

He's right, you know. #You can play the blues on an original 1959 Les Paul that costs a mint ... or you can play 'em on a cheap Silvertone (as did Mississippi Fred McDowell. #I've got me a reissue '59 LP, and I've gotta tell you: #Fred sounds better.

Blues mandolin players play on cheap #### they could afford, and on really nice stuff. I prefer my Phoenix to my Eastman, but that has more to do with the way the neck and fingerboard feels than anything else. The Phoenix is prettier, too.

[LKN2MYIS]

Jim -

A true voice of reason!

Thanks!

[mandoforme]

I agree with Jim, but I still like the tone of the oval-hole Gibsons, even more when played by Rich DelGrosso. Dano, your price range was around $600, so you found a '29 Gibson for $500, which of course is $100 less than your budget. Even if you decide you don't like the Gibson, then you can always resell, or return to the buyer, as he did mention an approval period on the auction. Let us know when you get your A-Jr.

[LKN2MYIS]

I like the tone as well.

I just think that the player dictates the style, not the instrument.