The best

[Kirby161]

Ive been playing for a year and have been working on alot of celtic, bluegrass, and jazz music. I would like to continue playing all of them but i want to pick up one more style; Blues.

Whats the best blues mando? Ive seen a few resonators out there but i dont know which one is the best or for the best price.

Where can I buy blues CD's? I know Yank and some others but i dont know where any of their CD's are. Where can i find them?

Anybody know some Eric Clapton on the mando? I know you wanna.

[John Flynn]

I really like my Rigel A+ Deluxe with J74s for a blues sound. I am not as crazy about it for bluegrass or old-time, but for blues, it has just the sound I want: Loud, clear and consistent across the fretboard with a simple "in your face," edgy kind of sound.

You can find Yank and some of his contemporaries on the Elderly site, or at least you could this past Christmas season.

[Stillpicking]

I got a "Wailing" resonator mandolin from Stuart Wailing this past Dec. I been fooling with it for doing some slide mando, sounds nice but I need to practice that technique a bit more.
Recently I been getting into a couple Irish sessions and its really great for that. Trad. Irish sessions can be really loud and the Wailing cut right through, only problem is that everyone wants to play it and I am a bit slow at letting others grab my mandolins, just the way I am . If it is going to get dinged I want to do it myself.
My only upgrade was I had the neck narrowed a little. Stuart is a real nice guy and I am sure if you wanted to request some minor adjustments he would do it. The best part is the price ! and man these are WELL made don't be fooled by the price.

[bmac]

Since you are already knowledgable about mandolins and some mandolin playing styles I would suggest Steve James' Blues Mandolin video. In it he discusses several types of mandolins: banjo and resonator and amplified mando, in addition, of course, to the acoustic Gibson. He also makes some interesting recommendations for inexpensive mandolins especially suitable for blues. I would highly recommend his video to someone who already has a grounding in mandolin and wants to learn something about traditional acoustic blues.

James uses an A style Gibson from the 1920s if I recall, and from what I have been able to glean the Gibson A seems to have been the mandolin of choice by pre-amplified blues musicians. The nice thing about that is that if you want one it is considerably less expensive than F style Gibson mandolins. It is still not cheap though.

[Perry]

i posted the following under another thread


If you are really serious about blues mando then I think the BLUES MANDOLIN record on Testament Records is mandatory listening AND studying. It has some Yank, Carl Martin ( a personal favorite) Willie Hatcher, Johnny Young etc... There is plenty of licks to steal here!. When I'm in a blues mando mode I put this in my car and just absorb it over and over.

Old Blues mando is as much about the attack and lack of fancy notes then anything else. An old cheap oval hole sounds the most authentic

Plus detune your mando a bit

here's some thread form another group I jsut stumbled across

http://www.guitarseminars.com/ubb/Fo...ML/000862.html

[Kirby161]

I like the looks of a wailing mando but im kinda broke! I just put down 1600 for a new weber last spring and need something a little cheaper.
what is the consensus on the quality and pricing of the johnson national-mando?