Mandolin popularity: nadir or zenith?

[OldSausage]

I can't figure out from recent threads whether folks think mandolins are more popular then ever, or so unpopular that Gibson can hardly be bothered to make them any more. Obviously it's something that ebbs and flows with musical tastes and influencers, but where are we right now?

[OldSausage]

I looked on Google trends, and they seem to think mandolin is in something of a decline

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Mandolin

[Ivan Kelsall]

I got the impression just a few years ago that mandolin was achieving a new popularity in a similar manner to the upsurge in popularity of the 5-string banjo back in the early to late '60's. Personally,i think it was on the rise,but maybe now it's stabilised,with new players coming along still,but maybe not in as great a number as 5 - 6 years ago. I must add that for many of the folk i know who are involved in the UK Bluegrass scene,the advent of Chris Thile as a main force in the mandolin world,was a big drive to take up mandolin,in a similar manner to the way Earl Scruggs was to all the folk who heard him & decided that was for them as well.
Great musicians seem to have that effect on folk who are maybe 'hedgeing' & just in need of the added push to get them going - long may it be so,
Ivan

[Astro]

I think its on the rise. Pop music is into it. The Lumineers, Heart In Hand, Mumford&Sons, a large number of popular bands spout mandos and other "alternate instruments". Taylor Swift got up and strummed on banjo almost as a fashion accessory at the grammys for pete sakes. (emmeys or whatever that was).

We are also in a Golden Era of instrument production right now. Guitars and Mandos. Very good instruments are being built out of Pac Rim and other spots at very good prices so the corporate high end American makers may be struggling and cutting production as the market remains saturated with inexpensive fairly good quality instruments. The boutique mom and pop builders, with half the overhead costs, also seem to be doing OK-- they seem to sell product as fast as they can build.

Doesnt there seem to be more solo luthiers building them now? Standardization of design, supplies, and instruments (reverse engineering) must have helped. Internet marketing/sales help them too. This forum helps for example. Very different than 10 years ago.

I'm guessing that the same quality instrument that Gibson needs to sell at 6000 dollars can be built by many a solo luthier for 3000 dollars. And that you can get a pac rim "equivalent" that is 80% as good for less than 1500 dollars.


I've been comparing sound clips of my Eastman MD 305 (bought used for 350) with 3000 dollar US made mandolins.

I know its tough to tell much on internet sound clips but I do think the higher end mandos usually sound a little better than mine.

But 2500 dollars better? Not to me at my level. I'm guessing in todays dollars a mando of equivalent quality to mine would have cost 1000 bucks just 10 years ago. And I probably wouldnt have tried one.

We are lucky to be mando heads today.

[Jim]

I think , among musicians, becoming a mandolin player is more popular. However I think becoming a musician is less popular. In my childhood , in the 60s and young adult years (70s) it seemed everyone was trying to play something ( mostly guitar) now not so much. Neither the town I live near nor the town I work in has a musical instrument store of any sort. Most of the players I know are over 50.

[Folkmusician.com]

Mandolin is absolutely on the rise as far as sales statistics. I feel the Geico commercials are a prime sign that the mandolin will start to resurface as a popular instrument.

Interestingly, Acoustic guitar sales are now exceeding electrics for the first time in decades.
Banjo is the fastest growing instrument.
The Uke craze still hasn't stopped.
Acoustic groups are becoming "cool" to you younger generations with lots of new genres popping up. New-Time, Thrash-Grass, etc...
There is progressively more interest in Bluegrass out here in the west. There had always been a good acoustic scene, but recently there are more Bluegrass groups performing.

I don't see the mandolin reclaiming its former glory of 100 years ago, but I would be very surprised if it doesn't continue to gain in popularity over the next 10 years. Unfortunately, Banjo has the jump on us!

[allenhopkins]

Neither nadir nor zenith. Zenith was probably a century ago, maybe a bit more, when mandolins filled mail-order catalogs, mandolin orchestras were being organized, colleges featured mandolin clubs, etc. My paternal grandfather was a mandolin orchestra member back around 1900-05, and I have inherited some of his music books. Then around 1920 the mandolin began a long decline, as far as general pop music was concerned.

Nadir? I'd say in the 1940-1960 period, when Gibson discontinued many of its models, as did other manufacturers, and mandolins were limited to certain types of ethnic music, and to the just-started hillbilly sub-genre of bluegrass. The folk revival of the late 1950's and early '60's, which brought tradition-based musics like bluegrass into broader notice, started a revival of interest in the instrument.

Current situation is really pretty good, if not "zenith-ish." I will say that I have never seen such a broad range of excellent instruments available, from top-line factory-built and luthier-made instruments, to reasonably-priced and quite serviceable imports at the entry level. When I got my first mandolin around 1970, there was little to choose from, and the older Gibsons that everyone seemed to want, were hard to find. When I bought my first F-2 in 1972 or '73, the dealer demanded a Gibson mandolin in trade for any that he sold, and took my "attic find" A-1 in exchange.

Many of us don't seem to realize how fortunate we are, to be able to choose among a variety of available instruments. There are still broad stretches of "mandolin desert" where no dealers seem to carry them, but with the internet we still have many more options than even 25 years ago. If it's not a "zenith," at least it's a high-level plateau...

[Randi Gormley]

fwiw, I don't get asked what instrument I'm playing when I wander into a new session, and even audience members seem to know what a mandolin is, or ask if that's what I'm playing. They may not ever be as recognizable as a guitar, but more people do seem to know what they are than even, say, five years ago. I think that might speak a bit to an increase in interest among the fringes of folk music or something.

[SincereCorgi]

That Google trend line is very interesting, especially if you type in the one for 'banjo' or 'ukulele' or 'Portuguese water dog' and compare. People are pretty clearly searching for 'mandolin' less than a few years back.

My suspicion is that mandolin is hanging around but not really keeping pace with the recent popularization of banjos and ukuleles. Mandolin popularity sort of reminds me of accordion popularity- they're sort of 'cool' again, but they're also expensive and rare relative to other instruments and much more dependent on proper adjustment.

[Mandorocker]

It's popular in my house...One out of four love it..

[Steve L]

I teach at a large private music lesson business just outside of Boston. There is currently zero interest in mandolin lessons. I teach guitar all day. I've had a few mando students in the couple of years I've been there, but that's about it.

[SternART]

People don't need to search on Google.......after you find this place it is all here! Thanks Scott!!!

[Shelagh Moore]

Nadir or Zenith? Don't know either of those makes...

Seriously though... while guitar and fiddle are still way more popular in this part of Scotland, I would say mandolin is increasing in popularity. I have a student who's just taken it up and is very keen and know several others who've started on the mandolin recently.

[Tim2723]

I'm not convinced the mandolin has actually ever seen either nadir nor zenith. It's sort of always been there, but it's never reached super-stardom of things like the violin and piano. It's always had a fan base, sure, and popularity waxes and wanes. Now the ukulele, there's a nadir/zenith instrument!

[klaezimmer]

Like others, I am not getting as many questions as to what that little guitar is as I was 35 years ago. On the other hand, I was in a Sam Ash in northern Illinois over last weekend and dared to ask if they had any octave mandolins. He responded that the only mandolins they had were three boxed Fender starter packs. "Mandolin seems to be in decline," he continued, "however, the ukelele is skyrocketing. We can't keep them in stock." I did see a remarkable selection of various sized ukes on display - and appearing to be in stock.

If you want to get questions as to what the instrument is you are playing, whip out a bowed psaltery and see what kind of dropped jaw response you get....

Ron

[Tim2723]

What's really weird is that the BP is more popular than the mandolin in some circles.

[Pasha Alden]

Hi there

This is an interesting discussion. In South Africa,especially where I live, I must be one in a thousand people, if that, owning a mandolin. You can go for months without hearing one. That is apart from a visit to an exotic restaurant where Mediterranean music is heard of course. So naturally the comparison cannot be made. However, I do believe that talented players can increase the popularity of the instrument as happened in other places across the world. Sometimes someone sees or hears someone play and then hear the mandolin and fall in love with it. This happened to a colleague the other day. Unfortunately, he is hampered by cost. In SA mandos are not easy to come by, or even if they can be ordered by music stores the choice of mandolin, especially the make and model remains rather limited. I really struggled to find an oval hole mandolin at a reasonable price. So to answer your question: In SA the mandolin is a far off and very newly discovered star. Once my playing is improved I intend to change that.

[Pasha Alden]

Hi there

In SA people are extremely uneducated about the look and sound of the mandolin. Colleagues wanted to see what one looked like the other day. So I showed them, with a tease from my boss that my mando was a uke, but I quickly could correct him on that one. <big smile> Now let me see what I can do for mando popularity in SA

[Pasha Alden]

About being fortunate as to the variety you have absolutely right.

[JH Murray]

The mandolin's popularity definitely reached its zenith in the 1920's. So here's a question to the historians among us. How big was the mandolin in the 1920's? I get the sense that the ukulele was the more popular instrument, surpassing the mandolin in the 1920's. The simplicity of the ukulele as a rhythm instrument seems to have eclipsed the virtuosity of the mandolin. And given the size of the ukulele revival which has been going on for more than a decade, that simplicity seems to be striking a chord with people.
Here in Ottawa the Folklore Centre has about ten mandolins on the back wall, which is the biggest selection in the city. They have over a hundred ukuleles on display at the front of the store.

[neil argonaut]

I don't know how much the google query represents the popularity of it, or how other factors might affect this (i e if the mandolin is more popular, less folk need to google to find out what it is); however, what I found interesting, if you add the term "bluegrass", it seems like every small peak in mandolin google searches coincides with a trough in bluegrass searches.

Also, seems like over the last decade or so, dobro is gradually overtaking mandolin as a search term.

Also, just thought, surely the google results will also be affected by the popularity of the kitchen appliance sharing the same name as our instrument!

[Shelagh Moore]

I've also noticed a recent rise in popularity of the ukelele here in Scotland.

[Pasha Alden]

Often thought that increase in different kinds of music such as bluegrass has a direct affect on popularity, however, I need to probably rethink that one as Uke is not found in mainstream music? Anyhow not here in SA. Perhaps we also need to research what drew people to their mandolins - was it the sound? The music? or a song? I for one was drawn by the sweet sound of a mandolin in a specific song.

[OldSausage]

I don't know how much the google query represents the popularity of it, or how other factors might affect this (i e if the mandolin is more popular, less folk need to google to find out what it is); however, what I found interesting, if you add the term "bluegrass", it seems like every small peak in mandolin google searches coincides with a trough in bluegrass searches.

Also, seems like over the last decade or so, dobro is gradually overtaking mandolin as a search term.

Also, just thought, surely the google results will also be affected by the popularity of the kitchen appliance sharing the same name as our instrument!

I agree, and I think there are many factors at play, so I don't think the Google data should be looked at as anything more than one datapoint which could easily be an outlier.

[John Flynn]

Exact sales numbers would tell the tale, but there are some economic and marketing measures for "popularity." Not perfect, but still fairly reliable:

> Is the number of builders increasing, decreasing or staying the same? Well, the names on the Builders DB here keeps growing, but it's hard to tell how many are still active. Still with outfits like Northfield starting up and established builders like Collins adding more models, I put a small plus on this one.

> Is the size of the retail chain increasing, decreasing or staying the same? I'd say I see more places you can buy mandolins than I did 10 years ago, as well as more and higher priced mandolins at a lot of those outlets, so I'd put a plus on this one.

> Is the mandolin-related accessories market increasing or decreasing? This tends to cross over with accessories for other instruments, so it's hard to tell. Still, I'd say increasing slightly. I see more products aimed specifically at mandolins than I used to.

> Is the number of mandolin recordings and artists increasing, decreasing or staying the same? It seems to me there are more, but I listen to a fairly narrow spectrum of mandolin recordings. From my limited perspective it's increasing, but I don't have the big picture on this one, so I'm not sure.

> Is the apparent spending on mandolin and mandolin-related advertising increasing, decreasing or staying the same? I think it's increasing. I'd say increasing. I think I'm seeing more ads here on the Cafe'. Advertisers wouldn't pay for that if it it didn't pay off. Also, I see more listings on the online music store sites.

> Are we seeing mandolins in the media, more, less, or the same? I'd say a bit more. As was mentioned, the Geico ads are an example. It seems I see them in more performances of big music groups.

My conclusion from just my general impressions of these questions is that the popularity of the mandolin is likely increasing, but it is not a huge increase. Also, there is obviously no science behind this analysis and I am biased. I am interested in others' answers to the questions above.