Re: Tacoma mandolins
Originally Posted by
rpolf
I have M3 sunburst that I bought new back in 2000 and I loved it back when I was playing mandolin. I've been a professional musician and teacher for 30 years so I've played and evaluated a lot of instruments in my time. I'd like to think I'm a pretty good judge of these things by now. I think the Tacomas were a fine instrument, well made and very playable and nice sounding...I quit playing mandolin, in part, because I got tired of all the negativity I encountered on this site, and elsewhere, because I liked this instrument and, when asked, told people so. I just wanted to play music, not defend my choice of axe. ...I went back to...the guitar world, where there is a lot less discrimination based on what instrument you play, and am much happier there.
Sorry you took others' comments so personally and seriously, that it impacted your choice of instrument and music. Hard to believe that you'd stop playing an instrument you really loved, because some people you don't even know personally didn't respect Tacoma mandolins the way you did. I've only played Tacomas at a dealer's shop a time or two, and they didn't "float my boat," but I'd never put someone down for liking or playing one.
Also, I've seen a fair amount of "nameplate snobbery" among guitarists as well, since I walked into bluegrass jams with a Guild D-40 "back in the day." See, it wasn't a Martin D-28, so obviously I didn't know squat about bluegrass. People of that ilk can be found in the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and probably bassoon worlds. But if I like the instrument, and it does the job for me, who cares if it's not the Generally Accepted Standard.
Hope you and your Tacoma will be back playing together again...
Allen Hopkins
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